Lasting Power of Attorney UK: What Immigrants and SEN Parents Need to Know

By Neha Mehta, Chartered Accountant & Financial Coach

When my father was ill in India, and we were facing end-of-life decisions, our family gathered around him. His daughters. His wife. His brother. His mother. The doctors consulted us, listened to us, and together we made the decisions that needed to be made. We decided when to intervene and when to let go. No one questioned our right to be there. No one asked for paperwork. We were his family. That was enough.

I have lived in the UK for many years now. And I know that if I were the one in that hospital bed tomorrow, say I had an accident, or a stroke, or a sudden illness that left me incapacitated (even temporarily), the people who love me most would have no automatic legal right to make decisions about my treatment. Not my closest friends. Not the people I would want by my side. Unless I have a Lasting Power of Attorney, the NHS doctors would be under no obligation to consult them. Decisions about my care would be made on a "best interests" basis, by medical professionals who don't know me.

That realisation changed everything for me.

What Is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you appoint one or more trusted people called attorneys, to make decisions on your behalf if you lose the mental capacity to make them yourself. It is governed by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) in England and Wales.

There are two types:

1. Health and Welfare LPA

This covers decisions about your medical treatment, daily care, where you live, and your personal wellbeing. Crucially, it can include the power to make decisions about life-sustaining treatment- whether to give it or to withdraw it. Your attorneys can speak with your doctors and care team, advocate for your wishes, and ensure the people who know you best have a voice in your care.

This type of LPA can only be used when you have lost mental capacity to make a specific decision at that time.

2. Property and Financial Affairs LPA

This covers your money, bank accounts, bills, property, and financial affairs. Your attorney can pay your rent or mortgage, manage your accounts, deal with your pension, and keep your financial life running while you are unable to.

Unlike the health LPA, this one can be used while you still have capacity, if you choose to allow it. Useful if you are temporarily incapacitated, in hospital, or simply want support managing your finances.

You can make one or both, and most people are advised to make both.

How Is It Different from an Ordinary Power of Attorney?

You may have heard of a "Power of Attorney" (PoA) in other contexts. In the UK, there is also something called an Ordinary Power of Attorney (OPA). It's a simpler legal document that lets someone manage your finances on your behalf. But here is the critical difference: an Ordinary PoA ends when mental capacity is lost. It is only useful while you are still well enough to make decisions yourself.

An LPA, by contrast, is designed specifically for when you can no longer make decisions. It is the only type of PoA that remains valid, and comes into effect, when capacity is lost. That is why it matters so much.

What Happens Without One?

If you lose capacity without an LPA, the people who love you have no automatic legal standing. For financial decisions, your family would need to apply to the Court of Protection for a Deputyship order, the application can take around four to six months, sometimes longer, and costs £421 to apply, plus possible hearing, assessment, and annual supervision fees. It results in a court-appointed deputy (who may or may not be who you would have chosen) managing your affairs under ongoing court oversight.

For health decisions, without an LPA, your doctors will make decisions based on your "best interests"- guided by clinical judgement and the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act. They are not legally required to follow the wishes of your family or friends, even if those people know you better than anyone else. Your family can be consulted, but they cannot override clinical decisions. They have no legal standing to advocate for your specific wishes.

This is not a criticism of the NHS or British medicine. It is simply the law. And it is very different from how things work in India, or in many other cultures, where family authority in medical decisions is assumed and respected without formal documentation.

The Cultural Gap — What Those of Us from India Need to Understand

Growing up in India, end-of-life and medical decisions are a family matter. The family gathers. Everyone has a voice. Doctors speak to the family as a unit. A daughter, a sibling, a parent- their role is understood and respected. You do not need a legal document to sit at your father's bedside and be heard.

That is not how it works here.

In the UK, the law starts from a position of individual autonomy. Unless you have formally appointed someone to speak for you, no one has the right to do so- not even a spouse. Many people find this shocking. Even married couples need a Health and Welfare LPA if they want to be certain that their partner can make medical decisions on their behalf.

For those of us who moved here from cultures where family is the default, this requires a genuine shift in thinking. The love and trust are still there. But here, the love needs to be backed by paperwork.

Why It Matters Even More If You're a Parent or Carer

If you have children- especially if you are a single parent or the primary carer for a child with additional needs, an LPA is not just about you. It is about continuity of care for your child.

If you are suddenly hospitalised, incapacitated, or temporarily unable to manage your affairs, the bills still need to be paid. The rent or mortgage still needs to be paid. The support systems your child depends on need to keep running. Without a financial LPA, your accounts may be frozen. Without people who are legally empowered to act, the machinery of daily life can grind to a halt at the worst possible moment.

An LPA gives you the peace of mind that, if something happens to you, the people you trust can step in immediately and not after months of court proceedings.

Who Can Be Your Attorney?

Your attorney must be 18 or over, must have mental capacity themselves, and cannot be a professional care worker (with limited exceptions). Beyond that, the choice is entirely yours.

For many people, it is a spouse or partner, adult children, or siblings. But it does not have to be family. I do not have family in the UK. My attorneys will be close friends, my tribe; people who know me, who know my values, and who I trust completely to speak for me if I cannot speak for myself. Choosing your attorneys is a deeply personal decision, and it deserves real thought.

You can appoint more than one attorney and specify how they should act: together (jointly) for all decisions, or independently (jointly and severally). You can also appoint a replacement attorney in case your first choice is unable to act.

When Can You Make One? How Long Does It Take?

You must be 18 or over and have mental capacity at the time of signing. This is essential: you cannot make an LPA after you have lost capacity. It must be made while you are well.

Here is a common misconception: many people assume LPAs are for the elderly. They are not. An accident, a stroke, a sudden mental health crisis- these can happen to anyone at any age. Anyone over 18 can, and arguably should, have an LPA in place.

The process:

• Complete the LPA forms (online or on paper)
• Sign the forms, with a certificate provider confirming you have capacity and are not being pressured
• Have your chosen attorneys sign
• Register with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)
• Wait for the OPG to process the registration

You cannot use an LPA until it is registered. Registration currently takes approximately 8 to 20 weeks from receipt of your application by the OPG. There is a mandatory four-week notice period during which named individuals can raise objections. This cannot be shortened.

Do You Need a Solicitor? What Does It Cost?

No, you do not need a solicitor. You can complete the LPA yourself, entirely online, using the official government service at www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney. The online tool walks you through every question with guidance, saves your progress, and generates the forms for you to print, sign, and submit.

The government registration fee is currently £92 per LPA, payable to the OPG. If you make both a Health and Welfare LPA and a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, that is £184 in total.

Fee reductions are available:

• If your gross annual income is below £12,000, you may pay only half (£46 per LPA)
• If you receive certain means-tested benefits (Income Support, income-based JSA or ESA, Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit with a disability element, or Pension Credit Guarantee), the fee may be waived entirely. Check current qualifying benefits at gov.uk

If you choose to use a solicitor, expect to pay an additional £300–£600 per LPA on top of the registration fee. For straightforward situations, most people do not need this route, the online service is designed to be accessible.

That said, take care when filling in the forms. Errors can result in rejection and delay, and you may need to pay the fee again to reapply.

Making It Real: What I'm Doing

I have spent time thinking about who I want as my attorneys. I have chosen close friends who know me- people who understand how I think, what I value, what I would want. I have had discussions with them. I am going to do this myself, using the gov.uk online service. I am making both LPAs.

I am not doing this because I am expecting anything to go wrong. I am doing it because I know that if something does go wrong, I want the people I love to be able to help me. And I want the doctors treating me to know what I would want.

I am doing it because I have seen what happens when you don't.

The Next Step

Making an LPA does not need to be overwhelming. The key is to start before you need it, ideally long before.

To help you prepare, I have put together a companion guide: How to Prepare for Your LPA: Questions to Ask Yourself and a Step-by-Step Guide. It covers how to think about who to appoint, what instructions to include, and exactly how to use the gov.uk service to complete your LPA.

The official government tool to start your LPA today:

👉 www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

If you have questions, the Office of the Public Guardian helpline is available on 0300 456 0300.

Related reading: Joint Tenants vs Tenants in Common: The Question Every UK Couple Should Ask.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For complex circumstances, consider consulting a solicitor.

Neha Mehta is a Chartered Accountant and financial coach at Steady Steps Finance, helping UK professionals, immigrants and SEN families build financial clarity and peace of mind.