Lasting Power of Attorney Explained: Protecting Yourself While You're Still Here
A Will looks after your loved ones after you're gone — but who looks after you if you can't make decisions for yourself? Here's how an LPA works in plain English.
Most people know a Will is important, but far fewer have heard of a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). Yet an LPA is arguably just as vital — because it protects you while you're still alive, if illness or injury ever leaves you unable to make your own decisions.
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
An LPA is a legal document that lets you choose one or more trusted people (your 'attorneys') to make decisions on your behalf if you ever lose the mental capacity to make them yourself. Crucially, you can only set up an LPA while you still have capacity — you can't wait until you need it.
The two types of LPA
- Property & Financial Affairs LPA — lets your attorney manage your bank accounts, pay bills, collect pensions, and sell property.
- Health & Welfare LPA — lets your attorney make decisions about your daily routine, medical care, and care-home arrangements.
"An LPA can only be made while you still have mental capacity. Once capacity is lost, the court has to get involved — and that's slow, stressful and expensive."
— Office of the Public Guardian guidance
What happens without an LPA?
If you lose capacity without an LPA in place, your family can't simply step in. They'd need to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order — a process that can take many months, cost thousands of pounds, and add real distress at an already difficult time.
How we help across Oldham & Rochdale
We help families across Oldham, Rochdale, Hyde and the wider Tameside area set up both types of LPA, guiding you through the Office of the Public Guardian registration from £180 per document. We explain every option in plain English at your kitchen table — no jargon, no pressure.
Sources & further reading
We believe in honest, well-sourced advice. These independent, official resources offer more detail on the topics covered above.
- Gov.uk — Make, register or end a lasting power of attorneyOfficial guidance on setting up and registering an LPA.
- Office of the Public GuardianThe public body that registers and supervises LPAs in England and Wales.
- Age UK — Lasting Power of AttorneyClear, trusted guidance aimed at older people and their families.
- Alzheimer's Society — Power of attorneyPractical advice for families affected by dementia.
Talk it through with a friendly local expert
Reading is a great start — but a quick chat can answer everything specific to your family. Free home visits across Oldham, Rochdale & Tameside.