Powers of attorney

What is a power of attorney

A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document that appoints one or more people to help you make decisions, or to make decisions on your behalf.

You might like to take a look at our short guide that provides more detail about powers of attorney (POA).

The process and types of POA differ slightly in England and Wales, to Scotland and Northern Ireland. For more information see the useful websites.

What is a lasting power of attorney

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf.

This gives you more control over what happens to you if you were to have an accident or illness and cannot make your own decisions.

You must set up a LPA while you are still capable of making decisions for yourself and the document will need to be registered with the relevant authorities.

How to set up a lasting power of attorney

Complete yourself online at Gov.uk

You can make a lasting power of attorney (LPA) online or using paper forms. You can get someone else to use the online service or fill in the paper forms for you, for example a family member, friend or solicitor. You must register your LPA or your attorney will not be able to make decisions for you.

Entirely in Expert Hands

Just work with APS Legal and Associates, specialists in will writing and estate planning, who provide a professional end to end POA service to create and register an LPA on your behalf. Click here to find out more.

Use a solicitor

There is no legal requirement that a lasting power of attorney (LPA) be prepared or reviewed by a solicitor. However, if you're going to give important powers to an agent, you may wish to get individual legal advice before setting up a LPA.