Lasting power of attorney cost UK: What you need to know

Most people, when they think about planning for the future, start with a will. That is understandable – a will deals with what happens after you die, and the consequences of not having one are reasonably well known. What is less well understood is what happens if you lose mental capacity while you are still alive.

A Lasting Power of Attorney – an LPA – is the legal document that gives a trusted person the authority to make decisions on your behalf if you cannot make them yourself. Without one, your family may find themselves unable to access your bank account, manage your property, or make decisions about your medical care – even in an urgent situation. Getting access to those decisions without an LPA in place requires a court process that can take over a year and cost several thousand pounds.

This article explains what LPAs are, how much they cost in the UK (including government fees), and why professional drafting makes a significant difference to whether your LPA actually works when you need it.

What is a lasting power of attorney?

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that authorises one or more people – your ‘attorneys’ – to make decisions on your behalf. There are two types, and they cover entirely different areas of your life.

1. Property and Financial Affairs LPA

This type covers decisions about your money, bank accounts, property, investments, and financial affairs generally. Your attorney can pay bills, manage your accounts, sell your home if necessary, and handle any financial matter that you would normally handle yourself.

A Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used while you still have mental capacity if you choose – for example, if illness makes it difficult to manage your affairs day-to-day, or if you simply want someone trusted to handle certain things on your behalf. It can also be restricted so that it only comes into effect if you lose capacity.

2. Health and Welfare LPA

This type covers decisions about your medical treatment, care arrangements, day-to-day personal welfare, and – if you choose to include it – decisions about life-sustaining treatment. Your attorney can interact with doctors, care providers, and local authorities on your behalf.

Unlike the financial LPA, a Health and Welfare LPA can only be used once you have lost mental capacity. It cannot be activated while you are still able to make decisions for yourself.

How much does an lpa cost in the uk?

The total cost of setting up an LPA has two components: the government registration fee and the cost of professional drafting.

Government Registration Fee

Every LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used. The current registration fee is £82 per LPA. If you are setting up both types – a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and a Health and Welfare LPA – the registration fee is £164 in total.

There is a fee exemption and reduction available for people on certain means-tested benefits. If your income is below a certain threshold, you may also be eligible for a 50% reduction. Your will writer or LPA specialist can advise you on whether you qualify.

Note: the government periodically reviews the OPG registration fee. The figures above are correct at the time of writing, but always confirm the current fee when proceeding.

Professional Drafting Costs

On top of the government fee, there is the cost of having your LPA professionally prepared. This is where the range varies significantly:

• DIY via the government portal (no professional cost): Free beyond the registration fee – but requires you to complete the forms correctly yourself, which is considerably more complex than it sounds.
• Online LPA services: typically £100–£200 per document, on top of the registration fee.
• High-street solicitors: typically £300–£500 per document, sometimes more for complex arrangements.
• STEP-qualified professionals: at Versatile Wills, LPAs are priced from £350 per document, inclusive of the drafting – government registration fees are additional.

Why does professional drafting matter for an LPA?

This is a question worth answering carefully, because it is tempting to look at the government’s own online LPA portal and conclude that drafting your own document is straightforward.

It is not straightforward – and the errors that people make in DIY LPAs are not always obvious until it is too late to fix them. The most common problems include:

Incorrect execution

An LPA is a legally witnessed document with strict requirements for how it is signed and certified. The donor (the person making the LPA), the certificate provider (an independent person who confirms you understand what you are signing and are not under pressure), and the attorneys must all sign in a specific order. If this process is not followed correctly, the OPG will reject the registration. Errors in execution are the most common reason LPA applications are returned.

Inadequate instructions and preferences

An LPA can include specific instructions that your attorneys must follow, and preferences that you would like them to take into account. These are optional but often critically important – particularly for Health and Welfare LPAs where you want to set out your wishes regarding specific treatments, care arrangements, or end-of-life decisions. A blank LPA with no instructions leaves your attorneys with very broad discretion, which may not reflect what you actually want.

Wrong choice of attorneys

Your choice of attorney – and of replacement attorneys if your first choice cannot act – is arguably the most important decision in the entire document. A professional LPA drafter will ask questions about your relationships, your circumstances, and your concerns that help you make a genuinely considered choice, rather than defaulting to the most obvious option without thinking through the implications.

Joint vs joint and several appointment

You can appoint multiple attorneys to act jointly (all must agree on every decision), jointly and severally (any one can act alone), or as a combination of both. Each arrangement has different implications for practicality, risk, and what happens if one attorney can no longer act. Getting this right matters enormously in practice.

Is it worth setting up both types of LPA?

Almost always, yes. The two LPAs cover completely separate areas – financial decisions and welfare decisions – and there is no guarantee that if you need one, you will not also need the other. A stroke, for example, might simultaneously affect your ability to manage your finances and your ability to communicate your medical preferences. Having both LPAs in place means your attorneys have the authority they need to act across every area of your life.

At Versatile Wills, setting up both types of LPA alongside a will is the most common arrangement for clients in their 40s and 50s – and it is also the most cost-effective, as bundled pricing is available.

Learn more about our will writing service , or if you are ready to get started, book a free consultation today. Your will can be completed within five working days.