LPA Attorney Duties UK (2026): Responsibilities of an Attorney Under a Lasting Power of Attorney

The overriding duty of an attorney is to act in the donor's best interests at all times — section 1(5) and section 4 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This is not simply 'do what the donor would want', although that is a vital consideration. The attorney must consider the donor's past and present wishes, feelings, beliefs, and values; consult people close to the donor where practical; and choose the least restrictive option that still achieves the purpose. Best interests is an objective test — a court or the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) can review the attorney's decisions against it. An attorney who consistently acts for their own benefit, against the donor's wishes, or without consulting relevant people risks being removed by the Court of Protection.

Section 1 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 sets out five principles every attorney must follow: (1) Assume the donor has capacity unless established otherwise — do not treat someone as lacking capacity simply because they are old or have a diagnosis. (2) Take all practicable steps to help the donor make decisions before concluding they cannot — use simpler language, pictures, or familiar environments. (3) The donor is entitled to make unwise decisions — an eccentric or even foolish decision is not evidence of incapacity. (4) Act in the donor's best interests when making decisions on their behalf. (5) Choose the least restrictive option — the act or decision must be the one that least restricts the donor's rights and freedom of action consistent with their best interests.

For a Property and Financial Affairs LPA: the attorney may use it as soon as it is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, unless the donor has restricted this in the LPA document itself (e.g. 'only to be used if I lack capacity'). For a Health and Welfare LPA: the attorney may only act when the donor lacks the mental capacity to make the specific decision themselves — the attorney cannot override the donor's own health decisions while the donor has capacity. Both types of LPA require OPG registration before they can be used; an unregistered LPA has no legal effect.

A Property and Financial Affairs attorney must: (1) keep the donor's money and assets completely separate from their own — use separate bank accounts and never mix funds; (2) keep clear accounts of all transactions involving the donor's funds, including income received, bills paid, and investments made; (3) be able to produce accounts to the OPG on request; (4) not benefit personally from the donor's assets unless the LPA expressly permits a reasonable payment for the attorney's time, or unless the benefit is something the donor would have given in any event (e.g. a birthday gift within normal amounts). An attorney who cannot produce clear accounts, or whose own financial situation has improved at the donor's expense, faces investigation by the OPG.

Attorneys acting under a Property and Financial Affairs LPA can make only limited gifts from the donor's estate — under section 12 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Permitted gifts are: (a) gifts to people related to the donor or in relationships with them, on customary occasions (birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, religious festivals); and (b) donations to charities the donor made or might have been expected to make. All gifts must be of a value that is 'not unreasonable having regard to all the circumstances and in particular the size of the donor's estate'. Attorneys cannot make gifts to themselves (unless expressly authorised in the LPA) and cannot make large capital transfers to family members as 'IHT planning' without Court of Protection approval — this is a common area of financial abuse.

An attorney cannot: (1) write or change the donor's will — only the Court of Protection can authorise a statutory will when the donor lacks testamentary capacity; (2) make gifts to themselves beyond what section 12 MCA 2005 permits, unless expressly authorised; (3) delegate their authority to another person unless the LPA expressly permits this; (4) act if they are bankrupt (this automatically terminates a Property and Financial Affairs attorney's appointment); (5) act when the LPA has been revoked — by the donor while they still have capacity, or by the Court of Protection; (6) restrict the donor's contact with family members or friends without Court of Protection sanction; (7) demand payment for acting as attorney beyond what the LPA authorises or what is agreed.

Abuse of a donor's assets by an attorney is a serious matter. The Office of the Public Guardian can investigate complaints and, where abuse is found, apply to the Court of Protection to revoke the LPA and remove the attorney. The Court of Protection can appoint a Deputy to take over instead. If the abuse amounts to theft or fraud, it is a criminal offence — attorneys have been prosecuted and imprisoned for misappropriating funds under an LPA. Family members or the donor themselves (if still having capacity) can raise concerns with the OPG by completing form OPG103. The OPG's safeguarding team will investigate. The sooner concerns are raised, the easier it is to recover misused assets.

Appointing a replacement attorney is strongly advisable — if the primary attorney cannot or will not act (due to death, mental incapacity, or disclaimer), a replacement steps in rather than the LPA lapsing. Where joint attorneys are appointed to act 'jointly', all must agree on every decision — one attorney cannot act alone. Where appointed 'jointly and severally', each attorney can act independently. Jointly-and-severally is far more practical in day-to-day financial management. If one joint attorney cannot act, the appointment of a replacement attorney specific to that situation is essential, particularly for a jointly-appointed pair where the LPA would otherwise fail entirely if one attorney died or became incapacitated.