Lasting Powers of Attorney, prepared with you by a team that has spent careers on the other side of them
An LPA is the document that stops a family being locked out when someone can no longer decide for themselves. We prepare both types with the donor in one ninety-minute meeting, act as the certificate provider, and guide the registration with the Office of the Public Guardian. It is not legal advice, and it does not need to be.
The document everyone means to make, and few do in time
Without a registered LPA, a spouse cannot speak to the bank, a daughter cannot agree a care plan, and the only route is a deputyship application to the Court of Protection – slower, dearer, and under the court’s supervision for life. We see the consequence every week on the hospital discharge and care home pages of this site.
The two LPAs do different jobs. Property and financial affairs can be used as soon as it is registered if the donor wishes. Health and welfare is used only once the donor lacks capacity for the decision in question – including, if they choose, decisions about life-sustaining treatment.
How we prepare them
Free call
What the donor wants, who the attorneys are, whether capacity is in any doubt.
90-minute meeting
At home or by video. Forms LP1F and LP1H, or the OPG online service, completed with the donor in their words.
Certificate
One of our team confirms understanding and freedom from pressure, as the OPG requires.
Registration
Attorneys sign, the application goes to the OPG, and we track it until the registered LPA arrives.
What this is not
- Not a will. Our will-writer partner drafts wills; we do the capacity check.
- Not an EPA conversion or a deputyship application – solicitor work.
- Not a substitute for talking to your attorneys. The meeting includes them wherever possible.
LPA fees
Fixed, including VAT. The OPG registration fee (£82 per LPA, with remission for low income) is paid to the OPG, not to us.
Are you ready to make the LPA – and what will the OPG charge?
LPA readiness check and OPG fee calculator
Answer the six questions; the calculator tells you whether you are ready to make the LPA, what the Office of the Public Guardian will charge to register it, and whether the donor may qualify for a reduced fee or exemption.
OPG registration fee £82 per LPA (England and Wales). A 50% remission applies where the donor’s gross annual income is under £12,000; an exemption applies where the donor receives certain means-tested benefits. We check the current figures on GOV.UK before every application.
Who can be the certificate provider?
The commonest reason an LPA is rejected. Three questions.
Questions about LPAs
How long does registration take?
The OPG currently takes several months from receipt. The LPA cannot be used until it is registered, which is why we say do it before it is needed, not when it is.
Can we do it online?
Yes – the OPG online service produces the forms, but they still have to be printed, signed in the right order and posted. We complete it with the donor either way; the digital LPA reforms under the Powers of Attorney Act 2023 are being phased in and we track them.
What if my parent already has dementia?
A diagnosis does not by itself mean they cannot make an LPA. Capacity is decision-specific. We assess whether they understand what an LPA is, who the attorneys are and what they could do; if they do, the LPA can be made and the assessment protects it from challenge later.
Do the attorneys have to be present?
They sign after the donor and the certificate provider, and they must sign before registration. We can include them in the meeting or arrange their signatures afterwards.
What is the difference between jointly and jointly and severally?
Jointly: every decision needs every attorney, and the LPA fails if one dies unless a replacement is named. Jointly and severally: any attorney can act alone. Most donors choose the second, sometimes with an instruction that large decisions need all of them.
Do you charge a percentage or hidden fees?
No. £474 or £780 including VAT, the OPG fee paid to the OPG, and nothing else. We take no referral fee from anyone.
Make the LPA before it is needed.
Free 20-minute call; the meeting within two weeks.
No pressure. No care-provider commissions. A written next-step note after every free call.