Vincent Oakley, Solicitor > Lasting Powers of Attorney

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

A Lasting Power of Attorney ('LPA') is a legal documents that you (the Donor) make using a special form.  It allows you to choose someone now (the Attorney) that you trust to make decisions on your behalf about things like your property and financial affairs or health welfare at a time in the future when you now longer wish to make those decisions or you may lack the mental capacity to make those decisions yourself.

An LPA can only be used after is is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Types of LPA

There are two different types of LPA:

• A Health and Welfare LPA
• a Property and financial affairs LPA

Who can make an LPA?

Anyone aged 18 or over, with the capacity to do so, can make an LPA appointing one or more Attorneys to make decisions on their behalf.  You cannot make an LPA jointly with another person.  Each individual must have their own LPA.

People involved in making an LPA

The Attoney or Attorneys

An Attorney is the person (or persons) you choose and appoint, using an LPA form, to make dicisions on your behalf about either your health and welfare or property and financial affairs or both. It is an important role and one that the person appointed has to agree to take on. st have

The Donor

A Donor is the individual who makes an LPA appointing an Attorney to make decisions about his health and welfare or property and financial affairs or both

The Named Person(s)

A named person is someone chosen by the Donor to be notified when an application is made to register the Donor's LPA.  The Named Person has the right to object to the registration of the LPA if he has concerns about the registration. The Named Person is specified in the LPA form.  Choosing the Named Person to be notified of an application to register is one of the key safeguards to protect you if you make an LPA.

The Certificate Provider

A Certificate Provider is a person the Donor must select to complete a Part B Certificate in the LPA form. The Certificate Provider must confirm that the Donor understands the LPA and that the Donor is not under any pressure to make it.  The Certificate Provider is another key safeguard.

The Witness

The Witness is the individual who signs the LPA form to confirm that he witnessed :

1. the Donor (the person making the LPA) signing and dating the LPA form
2. the Attorney or Attorneys signing and dating the LPA form

The need for a witness creates another important safeguard.

Further information

Further information about the roles and responsibilities of the individuals listed above can be obtained in the guidance booklets which are available on the Office of Public Guardian website. To see the guidance notes click here.