When can my attorneys act for me?

It depends on which type of LPA you have. With a property and financial affairs LPA, you choose. Your attorneys can act as soon as the LPA is registered, or only once you have lost mental capacity. With a health and welfare LPA there is no choice to make. It can only be used once you lack capacity for the decision in question.

Neither type can be used at all until it has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

When can attorneys act under a property and financial affairs LPA?

You decide this in section 5 of the form. There are two options, and the form words them like this:

• "As soon as my LPA has been registered (and also when I don't have mental capacity)"
• "Only when I don't have mental capacity"

Many people assume it is safer to wait until capacity is lost. There are real advantages to the first option. Both are valid, and the choice is yours.

Option 1: as soon as my LPA has been registered

This is the more common and more flexible option. It suits you if you want help as you get older, whatever happens to your capacity.

People often become physically less able while keeping full mental capacity. Getting to the bank, hearing on the phone, or remembering passwords can all get harder. If you want your attorneys to help with those things while you still have capacity, this is the option to pick.

• Flexibility. Your attorneys can help if you are physically unable, whether or not you have capacity.
• Simpler to use. A bank does not need to establish that you have lost capacity before it will deal with your attorney.
• Ready in an emergency. Once registered, your attorneys can act quickly, with no extra hurdle to clear first.
• You keep control. Having the LPA in place does not stop you running your own affairs. Your attorneys work alongside you and step in when you want them to.

Option 2: only when I don't have mental capacity

This option is less common, and it may still be the right one for you. Never appoint someone you do not trust completely: see our guide on choosing attorneys. Even with people who know you well, you may prefer to limit when they can act.

The cost is friction. Because the authority only switches on when you lack capacity, a bank or other institution may want written confirmation that you have lost capacity before it accepts your attorney's authority. The Office of the Public Guardian's own guide says institutions sometimes ask for this, and that attorneys may need a medical assessment to show it. That can make the LPA slower and more awkward to use.

• Certainty. Your attorneys cannot act for you unless and until you have lost capacity.
• You keep control. Nobody can decide for you while you can still decide for yourself. If you never lose capacity, nobody else ever acts.
• Covered if the worst happens. Your attorneys have no authority now. If you do lose capacity later, they can step in and look after your finances.

Which option should I choose?

The law leaves this to you, and there is no right answer. Choose what fits your personal, financial and family circumstances, and what you are comfortable with.

As a rough guide, pick the first option if you want practical help with money as you get older. Pick the second if the idea of anyone acting while you still have capacity does not sit right with you. If you are torn, remember that the first option hands nothing over. You carry on making your own decisions for as long as you are able to.

When can attorneys act under a health and welfare LPA?

Only when you lack capacity for the decision being made. There is no option to change this. Under section 11(7) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the authority "does not extend to making such decisions in circumstances other than those where P lacks, or the donee reasonably believes that P lacks, capacity".

In law it is your attorney's reasonable belief that counts, not a doctor's certificate. In practice a hospital or care home may still want medical evidence before it acts on the LPA.

A health and welfare LPA also cannot be used to give or refuse consent to life-sustaining treatment unless you expressly said so on the form.

Can my attorneys act before the LPA is registered?

No. Section 9 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 requires the instrument to be made and registered in accordance with Schedule 1 to the Act. An instrument that does not meet those requirements "confers no authority". That is true whichever option you pick, and whether or not you still have capacity.

Registration takes several weeks, so it is worth doing early rather than waiting until there is a problem. Our guide on how to make an LPA takes you through the process.

The Powers of Attorney Act 2023 will change how LPAs are made and registered, including a digital route. Those provisions are not yet law. They come into force on a day the Lord Chancellor appoints by regulations, and as at August 2026 no such day has been appointed. The position above is the current law.

If my attorneys can act straight away, do I lose control?

No. Section 1 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 says you must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established that you lack it. It also says that making an unwise decision does not mean you lack capacity. While you can make a decision, that decision stays yours.

Your attorneys also owe you duties. They must act within the Act's principles, and once you lack capacity they must act in your best interests. Our guide on the five duties of an attorney sets out what that means day to day, and what an attorney is explains the role.

You can also change your mind. Under section 13(2), you may revoke the LPA "at any time when he has capacity to do so".

Can I set my own conditions on when attorneys can act?

You can, within limits. In Re XZ (2015) a donor wanted a detailed mechanism before his attorneys could act, including a psychiatrist's opinion and a waiting period. The Office of the Public Guardian refused to register it. Senior Judge Lush held that the provisions were not ineffective, and ordered the Public Guardian to register the LPA.

So conditions of your own can be valid. They can also make an LPA slower and harder to use, as that case shows: it took a court application to get the document registered at all. Take advice before writing your own.

What should you do about it?

If you have not made an LPA yet, start with what a Lasting Power of Attorney is and whether you need one, then think about who to appoint. Our guide on how much an LPA costs covers the fees, and LPA vs will explains how the two documents differ.

If you already have an LPA and cannot remember which option you chose, look at section 5 of the form. You cannot edit a registered LPA. If it says the wrong thing you would need to revoke it and make a new one, and pay the registration fee again.

We make solicitor-made LPAs, online or with a full consultation, and we will talk this choice through with you.

This article is for general information and is not legal advice. If you are not sure which option suits your circumstances, please get in touch for advice on your own situation.

Sources

• Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 1 (the principles) on legislation.gov.uk
• Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 4 (best interests) on legislation.gov.uk
• Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 9 (lasting powers of attorney) on legislation.gov.uk
• Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 11 (restrictions on lasting powers of attorney) on legislation.gov.uk
• Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 13 (revocation of lasting powers of attorney) on legislation.gov.uk
• The Lasting Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Public Guardian Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/1253), which prescribe forms LP1F and LP1H, on legislation.gov.uk
• Powers of Attorney Act 2023, section 3 (commencement), on legislation.gov.uk
• XZ, Re [2015] EWCOP 35 on Find Case Law, The National Archives
• LP12: Make and register your lasting power of attorney, a guide, on GOV.UK
• Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice (2007) on GOV.UK
• Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney on GOV.UK