Most people associate Lasting Powers of Attorney with older age. Those circumstances do make an LPA essential, but they are only part of the picture. Capacity can be lost at any age, with no warning, through illness, injury or accident, and the protections an LPA provides are just as valuable at 35 as at 75. In one survey, 80% of British adults wrongly believed their loved ones could simply take over if they lost capacity, yet only around one in five have set up an LPA.
The rule that changes everything
An LPA can only be created while you still have full mental capacity. Once it is lost, it is legally too late. This is a fundamental requirement of the Mental Capacity Act 2005: you must be able to understand and freely sign the document. You cannot wait for a diagnosis, create one retrospectively, or fast-track it in a crisis. Registration also takes roughly 8 to 10 weeks, so even acting immediately leaves a short window in which you are unprotected. The only way to be certain is to set up your LPAs well before you need them.
Who needs a Lasting Power of Attorney?
The short answer: every adult over 18.
Young adults
A road accident leaves a 28-year-old temporarily without capacity. Their partner cannot access the bank account to pay rent; their parents have no authority to discuss treatment with the medical team. Without an LPA, the family must apply to the Court of Protection, an avoidable burden at a moment of shock.
Parents of young children
A Financial Affairs LPA keeps household finances running if a parent is incapacitated; a Health and Welfare LPA ensures the right people can make care decisions quickly and in line with your wishes.
People who own property or run a business
Without a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, a mortgage could go unpaid and a property could not be sold even if selling became necessary for care. The more significant your assets, the more important the right legal authority becomes.
People approaching retirement
Retirement is one of the most natural prompts. Pension management, investments and care planning all crystallise here. Yet 47% of LPAs registered in 2025 were from donors over 75, meaning most people still wait until very late, the opposite of the point of having one ready in advance.
Those with a family history of dementia or serious illness
The legal test requires full capacity at signing, and early cognitive change can be subtle. Acting well in advance removes the risk that capacity might later be questioned.
Life events that should prompt an LPA review
- Turning 18, when parents lose automatic authority to act for you
- Marriage or civil partnership, as a spouse has no automatic authority without an LPA
- Buying a home, a major financial commitment to protect
- Having children, sharpening the need for both LPAs
- A health scare or diagnosis, a valuable prompt, and a reminder not to delay
- Divorce or separation, when an LPA naming a former partner should be revoked and replaced
- A change in financial circumstances, such as a business or inheritance
- Retirement, consistently one of the strongest prompts
The cost of waiting
Without an LPA, the alternative is a Court of Protection deputyship: several months, costs that can run to thousands of pounds, ongoing annual reporting, and a deputy who may not be the person you would have chosen. Families also face immediate practical problems, frozen accounts, care decisions made by professionals who do not know the person. LPAs are simpler, faster and kinder than deputyship.
What does it cost?
Registration is currently £92 per LPA (£184 for both), the statutory OPG fee, with reductions and exemptions for those on low incomes or certain benefits. Measured against a Court of Protection application costing several thousand pounds, it is modest, and one of the most straightforward decisions in estate planning.
How to choose your attorney
For a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, choose someone financially capable, organised and trustworthy. For a Health and Welfare LPA, the most important quality is that they truly know you, your values and your wishes. You can appoint different people for each, name more than one, and set whether they act jointly or jointly and severally. Tell them you have appointed them, discuss your wishes, and make sure they know where the registered LPAs are stored.
The best time to set up an LPA is always before you feel the need to. We help families across North Somerset, Bristol and Bath put both types in place at home, in plain English, and handle the paperwork from start to finish.