LPA for Elderly Parents UK (2026): How to Arrange a Lasting Power of Attorney

An LPA can only be created by the donor — the person granting the power. Your parent must have mental capacity at the time they make the LPA, and they must sign it themselves (or direct someone to sign in their presence if they are physically unable to do so). You cannot apply for an LPA on behalf of someone else without their knowledge and consent. What you can do is: identify the right forms, research the process, pre-populate the paperwork, book an appointment with a solicitor, and arrange for a certificate provider to confirm that your parent understands and has not been pressured. The decision and the signature must always come from the donor. If your parent already lacks mental capacity, an LPA is no longer available — see the Court of Protection deputyship route instead.

There are two types. A Property and Financial Affairs LPA allows the attorney to manage money, pay bills, access bank accounts, sell property, and make financial decisions. A Health and Welfare LPA allows the attorney to make decisions about medical treatment, care homes, and day-to-day personal welfare — it can only be used when the donor cannot make a decision themselves. An elderly parent typically needs both. The Property and Financial Affairs LPA is the most immediately useful (even a temporary health incident can make banking difficult) and the most commonly registered first. The Health and Welfare LPA is essential for decisions about care placements and medical treatment if dementia or another condition progresses. Registering both together saves the separate £82 OPG registration fee for each (£164 total in 2026), but they can be registered at different times.

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) currently takes approximately 20 weeks to register an LPA from the date of application (as at June 2026). This means: (1) complete and sign the LPA forms (the donor, the certificate provider, and all named attorneys must all sign in the correct order); (2) submit the registration application to the OPG with the registration fee; (3) wait approximately 20 weeks. The LPA is not valid until registered — an unregistered LPA cannot be used. Acting early is therefore critical: if a parent is diagnosed with early-stage dementia or another degenerative condition, there is typically still a window of capacity during which an LPA can be made, but that window can close unexpectedly. There is also a mandatory 4-week 'waiting period' after the OPG notifies named people (called 'persons to be notified') during which they can raise objections.

You cannot force someone to make an LPA. If your parent has capacity and refuses, that is their legal right. The most productive approach is a calm, non-pressured conversation: explain what an LPA is for (helping them in a health emergency, not taking control), what happens without one (banks freeze accounts, family cannot make medical decisions, Court of Protection is expensive and slow), and offer to go through the process together at their pace. Some people find a conversation with their GP, solicitor, or an independent financial adviser (who has explained LPAs to many clients) more persuasive than a request from a child. If your parent changes their mind later, the option is still open — provided they still have capacity. If they later lose capacity while still refusing, no LPA can be made and deputyship is the only route.

No. An LPA requires the donor to have mental capacity at the time of signing. If a parent has already lost capacity (for example due to advanced dementia or a severe stroke), it is too late to make an LPA. The alternative is a Court of Protection deputyship. To become a deputy, you apply to the Court of Protection (forms COP1 and supporting documents) for authority to manage your parent's affairs. The process typically takes 6–12 months and costs £1,000–£2,000 in court fees plus any solicitor costs. Once appointed, a deputy must report annually to the OPG, maintain accounts, and obtain court permission for significant decisions. This is considerably more burdensome than an LPA — which is the strongest argument for making the LPA while capacity is present.

The donor (your parent) chooses. A child is a very common choice — often the child who lives closest, is most financially organised, or has the strongest relationship. Key considerations: (1) attorneys must be 18 or over and not bankrupt for a Property and Financial Affairs LPA; (2) attorneys should be trustworthy, organised, and prepared for the responsibility; (3) it is strongly advisable to appoint a replacement attorney in case the primary attorney is unable to act; (4) if there are multiple children, appointing them jointly (all must agree on every decision) provides a check but can slow decisions; appointing them jointly and severally (any one can act) is more flexible but requires high trust between siblings; (5) a professional attorney — a solicitor or regulated care professional — is an option if no suitable family member exists. The attorney for a Health and Welfare LPA should ideally be someone who understands your parent's values and can make nuanced decisions about care.

An LPA and a will are entirely separate documents. An attorney under an LPA cannot change the donor's will — they have no authority to alter testamentary intentions. However, an attorney under a Property and Financial Affairs LPA can make gifts on the donor's behalf, but only within very narrow limits: customary gifts of a seasonal or celebratory nature, or gifts to people the donor would normally give to, in amounts that do not adversely affect the estate. Any larger gift or estate planning action requires a Court of Protection statutory will or gift application. This is an important limit: if your parent wants to make significant lifetime gifts for IHT planning, they should do so before losing capacity rather than relying on an attorney to manage it for them.