Lasting power of attorney is not a form, it is a decision

The form is twenty pages and the fee is eighty two pounds, and neither of those is the reason people put it off. They put it off because it means deciding who they would trust if they could no longer decide for themselves.

A lasting power of attorney is not a form, it is a decision written down. There are two of them, one for property and finances and one for health and care, and they do different jobs. Most people need both.

It has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used, and registration takes around twenty weeks. That is the part that catches people out. An unregistered power is a piece of paper.

If capacity goes before a power exists, the family has to apply to the Court of Protection instead. That takes months, costs several times as much, and the court decides who acts, not the family.