Revoking a Lasting Power of Attorney UK (2026): How to Cancel an LPA and What Triggers Automatic Revocation

A donor can revoke a Lasting Power of Attorney at any time while they have mental capacity under MCA 2005 s.13(2). Revocation by the donor is absolute — the attorney cannot prevent it or challenge it. The process: (1) DECIDE TO REVOKE: revocation is the right step when you have lost trust in an attorney, your circumstances have changed, you want to appoint different attorneys, or you have made a new LPA and need to cancel the old one; (2) WRITTEN NOTICE TO THE ATTORNEY: formally notify the attorney in writing that you are revoking the LPA. State clearly that the LPA is revoked with immediate effect from the date of the letter. Keep a copy. This is a legal requirement under s.13(2) — the revocation is not complete until the attorney is notified; (3) NOTIFY THE OPG: for a registered LPA (stamped by the OPG), you must also notify the Office of the Public Guardian to update the register. Use Form LP3 (available from gov.uk/power-of-attorney), which is a deed of revocation executed in the presence of a witness. Send to: Office of the Public Guardian, PO Box 16185, Birmingham B2 2WH, with the original registered LPA document. The OPG will cancel the registration and confirm in writing. OPG fee: none for revocation. Processing time: approximately 2–4 weeks; (4) NOTIFY THIRD PARTIES: inform all institutions that have a copy of the registered LPA — banks, investment managers, pension providers, HMRC — that the LPA has been revoked. Request that they update their records and cease acting on the attorney's instructions. If the LPA has been used via the OPG's digital use-an-lpa service, the OPG revocation automatically invalidates the digital access codes; (5) FOR AN UNREGISTERED LPA: if you made the LPA but it has not yet been registered with the OPG, you can revoke it simply by destroying the document and notifying the attorney in writing. No OPG notification is needed for an unregistered LPA; (6) MAKING A NEW LPA: after revoking an old LPA, you may wish to make a new one with different attorneys. Do not assume a new LPA automatically cancels an old one — they can coexist unless one expressly revokes the other or you take the revocation steps above.

Several events automatically revoke an LPA without any action by the donor under MCA 2005 s.13: (1) DEATH OF THE DONOR: an LPA terminates immediately on the donor's death. After death, the executor named in the will (or administrator under intestacy) takes authority. The attorney has no continuing authority and cannot use the LPA after death for any purpose — including signing documents, selling property, or operating bank accounts; (2) DEATH OF THE SOLE ATTORNEY: if there is only one attorney and they die, the LPA automatically terminates. If the LPA appointed a replacement attorney (s.10(1)(b) MCA 2005), the replacement takes over. If there is no replacement, a new LPA must be made (by the donor while still having capacity) or a Court of Protection deputyship sought; (3) BANKRUPTCY OF THE ATTORNEY: if a Property and Financial Affairs LPA attorney is made subject to a bankruptcy order (Insolvency Act 1986), their appointment as attorney automatically terminates (MCA 2005 s.13(3)(a)). This only applies to Property and Financial Affairs LPAs — a Health and Welfare LPA is unaffected by the attorney's bankruptcy. If there are multiple attorneys, the bankrupt attorney's appointment terminates; the others continue unless the LPA required all attorneys to act jointly (in which case the entire LPA may fail); (4) COURT OF PROTECTION REVOCATION: the Court of Protection can revoke an LPA under s.22(4)(b) MCA 2005 if satisfied that: (a) the attorney has behaved or is behaving in a way that contravenes their authority or is not in the donor's best interests; or (b) the attorney intends to behave in such a way. Applications are made by interested parties (family members, other attorneys, social workers) or by the OPG. The OPG can investigate complaints about attorneys and refer cases to the COP; (5) DISCLAIMER BY THE ATTORNEY: an attorney can disclaim (decline or resign from) their appointment at any time — even after the LPA is registered. Disclaimer is not revocation by the donor — it is the attorney stepping down. The attorney must give the donor written notice and notify the OPG. If the attorney has already started acting, they cannot simply walk away without arranging for continuity of management for the donor; (6) DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE/CIVIL PARTNERSHIP — PROPERTY LPA ONLY: if the donor and attorney were married or in a civil partnership and that marriage or civil partnership is dissolved, the attorney's appointment under a Property and Financial Affairs LPA automatically terminates unless the LPA says otherwise (MCA 2005 s.13(11)). This DOES NOT apply to Health and Welfare LPAs. It does not apply to other relationship breakdowns (separation without divorce, cohabitation ending).

Yes — it is possible to remove one attorney without revoking the entire LPA, but this depends on the LPA structure and requires Court of Protection involvement: (1) DONOR REVOKES THE APPOINTMENT OF ONE ATTORNEY: while the donor still has capacity, they can sever their revocation — revoking only a specific attorney's appointment rather than the whole LPA. This requires: (a) written notice to the attorney being removed; (b) notification to the OPG; (c) confirmation that the remaining LPA structure is still valid (if the LPA required all attorneys to act jointly, removing one attorney may invalidate the LPA — depending on whether a replacement was named). The OPG should be consulted; (2) COURT OF PROTECTION — WHERE DONOR LACKS CAPACITY: if the donor has lost capacity, only the Court of Protection can remove an individual attorney (s.22(4)(b) MCA 2005). An application must be made to the COP by an interested party — family member, the OPG (following an investigation), another attorney, or a social worker. The court can: (a) remove a specific attorney while leaving others in place; (b) revoke the entire LPA; (c) substitute a deputy if no suitable attorney remains; (3) ATTORNEY MISCONDUCT — OPG INVESTIGATION: if you believe an attorney is abusing their position, report this to the OPG (safeguardingpolicyteam@publicguardian.gov.uk; 0300 456 0300). The OPG can investigate and, where it finds abuse or risk, apply to the COP for revocation or suspension of the attorney's authority. This process is used where the donor has lost capacity and cannot revoke the LPA themselves; (4) REPLACEMENT ATTORNEYS: the best preventive measure is naming one or more replacement attorneys in the LPA at the outset. If a primary attorney dies, becomes bankrupt, disclaims, or is removed, the replacement automatically steps up — without the need for a new LPA.

Revocation of an LPA does not automatically invalidate acts taken by the attorney before revocation, but it does affect what the attorney can do going forward: (1) ACTS BEFORE REVOCATION ARE GENERALLY VALID: where an attorney acted within their authority under the LPA before revocation, those acts remain valid unless the attorney knew (or had reason to know) that the LPA was invalid or that revocation was underway (MCA 2005 s.14). For example: if an attorney sold an investment before the donor gave notice of revocation, that transaction is valid even if the donor later regrets it; (2) THIRD PARTIES WHO ACTED IN GOOD FAITH ARE PROTECTED (MCA 2005 S.14(3)): a bank or other third party that acted in good faith on an attorney's instruction before revocation was effected is not liable if they had no knowledge of the revocation. This protects third parties from undoing legitimate transactions. Once notified of revocation, third parties must cease acting; (3) ACTS AFTER REVOCATION ARE VOID: any transaction the attorney purports to make after revocation — with or without the third party's knowledge — has no authority from the LPA. If the attorney continues to act after being notified of revocation (and notified that the OPG has been informed), they may be guilty of fraud; (4) GIFTS AND UNJUST ENRICHMENT: if the attorney made gifts from the donor's estate before revocation that exceeded the s.12 MCA 2005 limits (customary-occasion gifts; reasonable amounts), the donor can seek recovery of the excess through civil proceedings even if the revocation was not then in force. Systematic or large unauthorised gifts during the LPA period can be pursued through the Court of Protection; (5) REVOKING AND CLAIMING BACK: if an attorney has misused the LPA — making unauthorised gifts, mixing funds, using the donor's money for their own benefit — the donor (or OPG on the donor's behalf if incapacitated) can bring a claim for an account and repayment. The OPG maintains a public record of Court of Protection orders against attorneys.

Revocation and disclaimer are two distinct mechanisms by which an LPA ceases to operate: (1) REVOCATION — DONOR CANCELS: revocation is an act by the donor cancelling the attorney's appointment (MCA 2005 s.13(2)). Only the donor (while having capacity) or the Court of Protection (after loss of capacity) can revoke. The attorney has no say; (2) DISCLAIMER — ATTORNEY DECLINES: disclaimer is an act by the attorney declining or resigning from the appointment. An attorney can disclaim at any time — before or after registration, before or after beginning to act — provided they give notice. There is no requirement for the donor to agree. Form LP004 is used for disclaimer of a registered LPA, submitted to the OPG; (3) WHEN DISCLAIMER IS APPROPRIATE: an attorney may disclaim where: the relationship with the donor has broken down; they are no longer able or willing to fulfil the role due to their own health or circumstances; there is a conflict of interest they cannot resolve; they cannot work with co-attorneys; (4) DISCLAIMER DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY END THE LPA: if the LPA appointed multiple attorneys, one disclaiming does not terminate the others' authority (unless the LPA required all attorneys to act jointly and the structure fails). A replacement attorney steps in if named; (5) ATTORNEY WHO HAS BEGUN ACTING SHOULD NOT SIMPLY ABANDON: if an attorney has already started managing the donor's affairs and then disclaims without arranging continuity, they may be in breach of their fiduciary duty. Disclaimer should be managed carefully, with notice to other attorneys, the OPG, and relevant third parties; (6) LPA vs EPA vs CoP DEPUTY: an Enduring Power of Attorney (made before October 2007) follows slightly different revocation rules — contact the OPG directly. A Court of Protection deputy's appointment can only be ended by the court.