Choose who makes decisions for you, if you cannot make them yourself.
Two types: Property and Financial Affairs, and Health and Welfare. We prepare both.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you choose who makes decisions for you if you lose the ability to make them yourself. There are two types: Property and Financial Affairs (covering money, property and bills), and Health and Welfare (covering medical care and daily living). Most adults benefit from having both. Without an LPA, your family may need to apply to the Court of Protection, which is slower, more expensive and more stressful. We prepare LPAs from £300 to £1,200 including VAT per LPA (excluding the OPG registration fee).
Why an LPA matters, at any age.
Most people associate Lasting Powers of Attorney with old age. The reality is that any adult can lose the capacity to make decisions, at any age, through illness, accident or sudden medical event. An LPA put in place when you have capacity protects you and your family if you ever lose it.
Without an LPA, your spouse, your children or your closest relatives have no automatic right to deal with your finances or to make decisions about your care. They have to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your Deputy. The application takes months. It costs money. And the Deputy is supervised by the Court for the rest of their life, with annual reporting requirements. An LPA avoids all of this.
The two LPAs cover different decisions.
Most people benefit from having both. One without the other leaves a gap.
Property and Financial Affairs LPA
Lets your chosen attorneys manage your money, property, bills and investments. Can be used while you still have capacity (for example, to handle things while you are abroad) or only if you lose capacity. From £300 including VAT.
Read moreHealth and Welfare LPA
Lets your chosen attorneys make decisions about your medical care, where you live, who can visit you, and (if you choose) life-sustaining treatment. Can only be used if you lose capacity. From £300 including VAT.
Read more
Why most people benefit from both.
The two LPAs cover different decisions, and one without the other leaves a gap. Property and Financial Affairs deals with the money side; Health and Welfare deals with the care side. People often think they only need one, then realise they have a gap when an event arises that the LPA they have does not cover.
Many couples set up both LPAs as a package for both partners, four LPAs in total. SLS provides discounts for packages prepared together.
What's included as standard.
- Free consultation to understand your circumstances and choose your attorneys
- Professionally prepared LPA documents
- Detailed guidance on choosing your attorneys, including substitute attorneys
- Detailed guidance on the powers being granted
- Drafting of any preferences or instructions you want to include
- Witnessing and certification by Sara or one of our qualified consultants (required for the LPA to be valid)
- Optional registration with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)
- Secure storage of original documents
- Available individually or as packages (single, mirrored, both types)
What an LPA costs.
Single LPA from £300 to £1,200 including VAT per LPA. Discounts apply for packages (e.g. both types for one person, or both LPAs for a couple). The OPG registration fee (currently £92 per LPA) is payable separately and goes directly to the OPG, not to us.
A clear process, from consultation to signing.
- 01
Free consultation
A no-obligation conversation about your circumstances and what you want to achieve. We listen, ask the right questions and explain your options.
- 02
Tailored advice and quote
Once we understand what you need, we explain what we recommend and why, and we give you a clear written quote. You decide whether to proceed.
- 03
Drafting and review
We draft your documents from scratch, tailored to you. We send them to you to read, walk you through anything you want explained and adjust anything that is not quite right.
- 04
Signing and storage
We guide you through the signing process, which has to be done correctly for the document to be valid. Secure storage is offered, so the original is never lost.
Common questions.
LPAs are the modern UK form. Older 'Enduring Powers of Attorney' (EPAs) were replaced for new documents in 2007, though existing EPAs remain valid for property and finances. LPAs cover both property and financial decisions and health and welfare decisions, and are subject to clearer safeguards.
Anyone over 18 with mental capacity. They must agree to act, and they take on legal duties. Most people choose family members, but you can also choose friends or professional attorneys (typically solicitors or accountants, who charge a fee).
Yes. You can appoint multiple attorneys, and you can specify how they should act: jointly (all together for every decision), severally (any one of them can act), or jointly for some decisions and severally for others. We discuss the right approach with you.
A substitute attorney steps in if your primary attorney can no longer act (because they have died, lost capacity, or simply do not wish to continue). Including a substitute attorney is strongly recommended; without one, the LPA can fail.
Only in very limited circumstances, and only if you have specifically authorised it in the LPA. Attorneys are bound by fiduciary duties and cannot benefit from your funds beyond reasonable expenses incurred in their role. The Office of the Public Guardian investigates concerns about attorney conduct.
Currently £92 per LPA, paid directly to the Office of the Public Guardian. Some people on low income or means-tested benefits qualify for a reduction or full exemption. We help you assess this.
Drafting takes one to two weeks. Once signed and submitted to the OPG, registration currently takes around 16 to 20 weeks. The LPA cannot be used until it is registered.
Yes. You can cancel an LPA at any time while you have mental capacity. The cancellation must be done formally with the OPG. We can help with this.
“Most people do not think about LPAs until something happens. By then, it is too late to put one in place.”
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Thirty minutes with a qualified consultant, no obligation, with a clear sense of your options at the end.
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