What is a Lasting Power of Attorney for property and financial affairs?

Full answer

A Lasting Power of Attorney for property and financial affairs is one of two types of LPA available in England and Wales (the other covering health and welfare decisions), and it is specifically designed to ensure someone you trust can manage your money and property if you are ever unable to do so yourself. **What it covers** This type of LPA can give your chosen attorney(s) authority to manage a wide range of financial matters on your behalf, including operating your bank and savings accounts, paying bills, managing or selling property, dealing with investments, and handling tax and benefits matters -- essentially any property or financial decision you would normally make yourself, unless you specifically restrict the scope in the LPA document. **Registration is required before use** An LPA must be formally registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before your attorneys can use it -- this is different from the older Enduring Power of Attorney system it replaced, and registration can be done either at the time the LPA is created or later, though many people choose to register it straight away to avoid delays if it is needed urgently. **You can choose to let it be used before losing capacity** Unlike the health and welfare LPA (which can generally only be used once you lack the mental capacity to make a decision yourself), a property and financial affairs LPA can, if you specify this when setting it up, be used by your attorney even while you still have full mental capacity -- for example, if you are physically unable to get to a bank, are travelling, or simply want help managing your affairs -- though you can also choose to restrict it so it can only be used once you lack capacity, if you prefer. **Choosing your attorneys** You can appoint one or more attorneys, and specify whether they must act 'jointly' (agreeing unanimously on every decision), 'jointly and severally' (able to act together or independently), or a mixture for different types of decision -- choosing joint and several attorneys can provide useful flexibility (for example, if one attorney is unavailable) but reduces the built-in check of requiring unanimous agreement. **What happens without an LPA in place** If you lose mental capacity without a valid LPA already in place, your family cannot simply step in to manage your finances -- instead, someone would need to apply to the Court of Protection for a 'deputyship' order, a more expensive, slower, and more restrictive process than having an LPA already registered, and the court (not you) decides who is appointed and under what specific terms. **Cost and how to set one up** An LPA can be set up online or on paper, using the official government forms, and involves a registration fee payable to the Office of the Public Guardian (with reductions or exemptions available for people on certain low incomes or means-tested benefits) -- while you can complete the forms yourself, many people choose to use a solicitor, particularly where the financial affairs involved are more complex. **Worked example** Someone sets up a property and financial affairs LPA appointing their adult child as attorney, specifying it can be used even while they still have capacity, to help manage their finances as they get older. Years later, after suffering a stroke that affects their capacity to manage money, their child (already registered as attorney) can continue managing their bank accounts, pay their bills, and handle their property affairs immediately, without needing to apply to the Court of Protection, since the LPA was already in place and registered. **Practical tip** Set up an LPA for property and financial affairs while you have full mental capacity and are in good health, rather than waiting until it might be needed -- an LPA cannot be created once you have already lost the capacity to understand and agree to it, at which point a Court of Protection deputyship becomes the only remaining option for your family.

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