Lasting Power Of Attorney In Surrey
We support families across Surrey and the surrounding area, including Epsom & Ewell, Reigate & Redhill, Banstead, Leatherhead & Ashtead, Sutton, Coulsdon, Croydon, Caterham and Oxted.
The law on LPAs is the same everywhere in England and Wales. What makes a difference locally is knowing how LPAs are used in practice: with Surrey County Council Adult Social Care, local hospitals such as Epsom, St Helier and East Surrey, and local care homes. And it means having a trusted local solicitor to turn to.
If you're in Surrey and wondering whether it's time to sort out an LPA for a parent or partner with dementia, get in touch. We'll help you work out the next step.
For more local services, see our Dementia Support in Surrey guide. If you're at the very start, try New To Dementia.
How An LPA Is Used In Real Life
Once it's registered, an LPA becomes a working document. Families often need it for:
Banks and building societies. Register the LPA with each one so attorneys can manage accounts.
GP surgeries and hospitals. Ask for a copy to be added to medical records. It's vital during a hospital discharge.
Council care needs assessments. Attorneys can speak up during a Care Needs Assessment and the financial assessment that follows
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Paying for care. A Property and Financial Affairs attorney can manage care fees, benefits and savings. See our Funding Dementia Care guide.
Choosing a care home. A Health and Welfare attorney can be involved in decisions about a move. See our Choosing The Right Care Home guide.
End-of-life wishes. An LPA can sit alongside advance care planning, so people's wishes are known and respected. See our End Of Life Support.
Keep the original safe, tell your attorneys where it is, and use the Office of the Public Guardian's online access code service, or certified copies, so you don't have to hand the original to every organisation.
How Long Does It Take?
Registering an LPA isn't quick. There's a legal waiting period, plus the Office of the Public Guardian's processing time, so it can take several months from sending the forms to having a registered LPA you can use. Mistakes on the forms can add weeks or even months.
An LPA can't be used until it's registered. That's another reason not to leave it until there's a crisis.
Need More Personal Support?
Conversations about Lasting Power of Attorney can sometimes feel daunting, especially soon after a dementia diagnosis.
At The Care Lens, we can help you understand your options, explain the process in plain language and help you feel confident about planning ahead.
While we don't provide legal advice, we can help you ask the right questions and signpost you to trusted professionals where appropriate.
Legally, no. LPAs can be made using the official GOV.UK service. But for families affected by dementia, we usually recommend getting proper legal support, because:
a solicitor can assess and record capacity, which protects the LPA from being challenged later
forms that are completed incorrectly are a common reason LPAs are rejected, and in dementia, there may not be time to start again
second marriages, family disagreements, property, business interests or one child living far away all make things more complicated
they can make sure your LPA, will and wider plans all fit together
This is where we can help. We'll do our best to connect you with a solicitor who specialises in LPAs and understands dementia, so you're not picking a name at random.
Do You Need A Solicitor To Make An LPA?
If someone loses capacity without an LPA in place, the family usually has to apply to the Court of Protection to become a deputy.
In practice, deputyship is:
slower. It often takes many months, while bills, care fees and decisions can't wait.
more expensive. There are court fees, a yearly supervision fee and often thousands of pounds in legal costs.
more restrictive. Deputies are supervised by the Office of the Public Guardian, have to submit annual reports, and may need to take out a security bond.
not guaranteed. The court decides who becomes deputy, and it may not be who the family expected.
harder for health decisions. Health and welfare deputyships are granted much less often than financial ones.
For benefits only, the Department for Work and Pensions can sometimes appoint an "appointee" to manage someone's benefit payments. But that doesn't cover savings, property or care decisions.
The cost and stress of deputyship is exactly why we encourage families to think about LPAs early.
What Happens If There's No Lasting Power Of Attorney?
Lasting Power of Attorney Checklist
☐ Talk openly as a family, as early as possible
☐ Decide whether you need one LPA or both (usually both)
☐ Choose attorneys and replacement attorneys, and ask them first
☐ Decide how attorneys should make decisions (together or separately)
☐ If there's a dementia diagnosis, tell the solicitor at the start
☐ Complete and sign the forms in the correct order
☐ Register with the Office of the Public Guardian ☐ Register the LPA with banks, the GP and other organisations ☐ Tell your attorneys where the original is kept
Many families believe:
"I'm his wife, so I can deal with everything."
"The bank will let me sort it out, I'm her daughter."
"The doctors will just ask us."
Unfortunately, that isn't how the law works. Being married, or being someone's son or daughter, doesn't give you any legal right to manage their money or make decisions about their health and care.
Without an LPA, families can find:
bank accounts in the person's sole name are frozen or hard to access
they can't sell or rent out a property to pay for care
they're consulted on care and treatment decisions, but they don't get the final say
professionals make "best interests" decisions that the family may not agree with
The Myth That Catches Families Out
Dementia And Mental Capacity: Why Timing Is Everything
To make an LPA, the person must have the mental capacity to understand what it is, what powers they're giving, and the effect of signing it.
Here's what many families don't realise:
A dementia diagnosis does not automatically mean someone lacks capacity. Many people make a perfectly valid LPA after a diagnosis.
Capacity is decision-specific and can change. Someone may be able to make this decision on a good day, but not on a difficult one.
Once capacity is lost, it's too late to make an LPA. There's no way to back-date one or make one on their behalf.
Dementia doesn't follow a timetable. Some people keep the ability to make decisions like this for years. For others it changes much faster, sometimes after a fall, an infection or a hospital admission.
That's why our advice is simple: if there's a diagnosis, or even early concerns about memory, now is the time. Not after the next appointment. Not after Christmas. Now.
Dementia And Mental Capacity: Why Timing Is Everything
Knowing you need an LPA is one thing. Starting the conversation, choosing the right attorneys and knowing when to act is often the hard part, especially soon after a diagnosis.
The Care Lens helps Surrey families understand where LPAs fit into the bigger picture of dementia care, so they can feel confident about what needs doing and in what order. That includes:
explaining both types of LPA in plain English and how they're used in real life
helping you prepare for those difficult family conversations
thinking through who might make a good attorney
connecting you with a solicitor who specialises in LPAs and later-life planning
making sure the LPA links up with everything else, from care needs assessments to funding and care home planning
We're fully independent and take no commissions from care providers.
Start The Conversation See our fees
Need Help Getting Started?
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that lets you (the "donor") choose one or more people you trust (your "attorneys") to make decisions on your behalf if you lose the mental capacity to make them yourself.
It isn't about handing over control today. It's about deciding, while you still can, who you would want beside you if you ever needed help.
In England and Wales there are two separate types of LPA, and they do very different jobs.
Property And Financial Affairs LPA
This lets your attorneys help with things like:
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bank and building society accounts
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paying bills and managing household costs
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pensions and benefits
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buying, selling or renting out property
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investments and savings
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paying for care
A Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used as soon as it's registered, with your permission, even while you still have capacity. Many families find this useful in the early stages of dementia, when everyday admin starts to feel overwhelming.
Health And Welfare LPA
This lets your attorneys help make decisions about:
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medical treatment
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where you live, including a move into a care home
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your daily care, routine, diet and personal care
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who you have contact with
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life-sustaining treatment (only if you specifically give this power)
A Health and Welfare LPA can only be used once you've lost capacity to make that particular decision.
Most families affected by dementia need both. It's common for families to have sorted the finances but then find they have no say at all when it came to a hospital discharge or a care home move, because there was no Health and Welfare LPA.
What Is A Lasting Power of Attorney?
Welcome
Welcome to our free family guide to Lasting Power of Attorney.
"We meant to do it." It's one of the saddest things families tell us, because by the time it's said, the chance to make a Lasting Power of Attorney has often already gone.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is one of the most important documents anyone can have, and for families affected by dementia it really matters. It decides who can speak for you, manage your money and help make decisions about your care if a day comes when you can't do that yourself.
This guide explains what a Lasting Power of Attorney is, the two different types, what it costs, why timing is so important with dementia, and what happens if there isn't one. It's written for families across Surrey and South London, but the law it describes applies across England and Wales.
Please note: The Care Lens doesn't write, draft or register Lasting Powers of Attorney, and we don't give legal advice. What we do bring is a deep understanding of how LPAs work in real life: in hospitals, care homes, GP surgeries and council assessments. Where you need one drawn up, we'll do our best to point you towards a solicitor who specialises in later-life planning.
The Care Lens Tip: LPA, Will Or Deputyship: What's The Difference?
These often get muddled up, so here's a quick comparison:
Lasting Power of Attorney Made while the person still has capacity. Works during their lifetime. The person chooses who they trust to help.
Will Made while the person still has capacity. Only takes effect after death. The person decides who inherits.
Court of Protection deputyship Applied for after capacity has been lost. Works during the person's lifetime. A court decides who's in charge.
Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) Could only be made before October 2007. Covers finances only, and must be registered once capacity is lost. The person chose their attorney.
An LPA and a will do completely different jobs, and having one doesn't replace the other.
Already have an old Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA)? EPAs made before October 2007 are still valid, but they only cover finances, and they must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian once the person starts to lose capacity. There's no equivalent for health and welfare decisions.
The Care Lens Tip:
If someone has a dementia diagnosis, their solicitor may want extra reassurance that they had capacity when they signed, sometimes a note from their GP or memory clinic. Mention the diagnosis to the solicitor at the start. It protects the LPA from being challenged later.
Planning Ahead While You Still Have a Choice
Reading time: Approximately 10 minutes
Lasting Power of Attorney: A Guide For Surrey Families Living With Dementia
Frequently Asked Questions
This guide was written by The Care Lens using practical NHS and dementia care experience, and guidance from GOV.UK and the Office of the Public Guardian. The Care Lens does not write or register Lasting Powers of Attorney and does not give legal advice. This guide supports, but doesn't replace, advice from a qualified solicitor. Fees and timescales were correct at the time of writing; please check GOV.UK for the latest figures.
Remember
Choose someone because you trust their judgement, not just because they're the eldest child or the closest relative. And talk to them first. Being an attorney is a real responsibility.
The Care Lens Tip: How Much Does A Lasting Power Of Attorney Cost?
At the time of writing, the Office of the Public Guardian charges £92 to register each LPA, so £184 for both types. Reduced fees or exemptions may be available for people on lower incomes or certain benefits.
If you use a solicitor, there will be legal fees on top. These vary depending on how complex your situation is.
Fees do change, so always check the current amount on GOV.UK.
Compared with the cost of a deputyship, an LPA is one of the best-value pieces of planning a family can do.
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney? It's a legal document that lets you choose people you trust to make decisions about your money, property, health and care if you lose the mental capacity to make them yourself. There are two types: Property and Financial Affairs, and Health and Welfare.
Can someone with dementia make a Lasting Power of Attorney? Yes, as long as they still have the mental capacity to understand what the LPA is and what it means. A dementia diagnosis doesn't automatically mean someone lacks capacity, but it does mean it's important to act quickly.
Is it too late for power of attorney if someone has dementia? Not necessarily. If they can still understand the decision, they may be able to make one. If they've lost capacity, it's too late for an LPA, and the family will usually need to apply to the Court of Protection for deputyship instead.
What happens if there is no power of attorney? Family members don't automatically get the right to manage someone's finances or make decisions about their care. They usually need to apply to the Court of Protection, which is slower, more expensive and comes with ongoing supervision.
How much does a Lasting Power of Attorney cost? At the time of writing, it costs £92 to register each LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian (£184 for both). Solicitor fees are extra if you use one. Reduced fees may be available on lower incomes.
Do I need a solicitor for a Lasting Power of Attorney? It's not a legal requirement, but when dementia is involved, a solicitor can help protect the LPA from being challenged and make sure it's done correctly first time. The Care Lens can help connect Surrey families with a specialist solicitor.
Can my husband or wife make decisions without an LPA? No. Being married doesn't give you legal authority over your partner's finances in their sole name, or the final say over their health and care decisions.
How long does it take to register an LPA? It usually takes several months, including a legal waiting period. An LPA can't be used until it's registered, so it's best not to wait for a crisis.
Does The Care Lens write Lasting Powers of Attorney? No. We don't write, draft or register LPAs or give legal advice. We help families understand LPAs, plan the conversations and timing, and we'll do our best to connect you with a trusted solicitor.
Official Information
Choosing The Right Attorneys
Choosing an attorney is one of the most personal decisions you'll make. Think about someone who:
knows you well and understands your wishes
is honest, dependable and organised
can stay calm and make difficult decisions
lives close enough to be involved, or can manage from a distance
will always act in your best interests, not their own
You can appoint more than one attorney, and decide whether they must make every decision together ("jointly") or can act on their own ("jointly and severally"). You can also name replacement attorneys in case someone can't act in the future.
Remember
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Being next of kin doesn't give you legal authority
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There are two types of LPA, and most families need both
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A dementia diagnosis doesn't mean it's too late, but don't wait
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Without an LPA, families usually face the Court of Protection
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An LPA can't be used until it's registered
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Planning ahead isn't pessimistic. It's an act of care.