What happens when the donor dies
Guidance from Estate Advisory Group
Written and legally reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner·Last reviewed 13 August 2026
Your authority stops immediately. Executors take over — and they may not be you.
Immediately
- Stop making decisions and stop using the donor's accounts, including for funeral costs.
- Tell the banks and providers that the donor has died; accounts are frozen.
- Send the original LPA and a copy of the death certificate to the Office of the Public Guardian so the register is updated.
- Hand your records to the executors — they are entitled to an account of what you did.
An LPA is a form of agency that exists only while the donor is alive. The Mental Capacity Act gives an attorney no residual authority after death, however sensible a payment might seem, so the safest rule is to stop using the donor's money the moment you know they have died.
Who pays for the funeral
Banks will usually release funds from the deceased's account directly to a funeral director on production of the invoice and death certificate. An attorney has no authority to pay it themselves after death, even from the donor's money they were managing.
If the funeral costs need to be paid before probate or the bank's release process is complete, whoever is arranging the funeral sometimes pays and claims the money back from the estate later. This is separate from anything the attorney did during the donor's lifetime.
Worked example
Rachel had acted as attorney for her father, Bill, for two years, managing his bank accounts and paying his care home fees. When Bill dies, Rachel immediately stops using his accounts, informs his bank and pension provider, and sends the registered LPA with a certified copy of the death certificate to the OPG. Bill's will names Rachel's brother, Mark, as sole executor. Rachel hands Mark her attorney records — bank statements, receipts and her notes of decisions — so he can account for the whole period as part of administering the estate, and she keeps a copy for her own protection.
Attorney and executor are different jobs
An LPA is not a will
Being an attorney gives you no role in the estate. If nobody has made a will, the estate passes under the intestacy rules. See LPA vs will.
It is common, but not automatic, for an attorney to also be named as executor. If you are not the executor, your job effectively ends at death: you hand over records and step back, and the executor takes on responsibility for the estate under the will, or under intestacy rules if there is no will.
Handover checklist
| Step | Who does it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Notify banks and providers | Attorney (or family, if attorney unavailable) | Accounts freeze pending probate |
| Return the LPA to the OPG | Attorney | Send original plus death certificate copy |
| Hand over financial records | Attorney to executor | Executor may need these for estate accounts and tax |
| Apply for probate or letters of administration | Executor, or next of kin if no will | Separate process from the LPA entirely |
Common questions
Do I have to return the registered LPA?
Yes — send the original and any certified copies to the OPG with the death certificate.
What if I am also the executor?
Then you continue, but under the will and the grant of probate, not under the LPA. Keep the two sets of records separate.
Can I still access the donor's accounts to check for missed direct debits?
No — once you know the donor has died, your authority ends. Cancelling direct debits and closing accounts becomes the executor's job.
Does a health and welfare LPA end the same way?
Yes. Both types of LPA end automatically on death, and any health and welfare decisions after that point are for medical staff and, if needed, the coroner.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of Attorneys and certificate providers. The pages below take it further.
- Make an LPA online
The whole journey end to end: questions, documents, signing and registration.
- The LPA forms explained
LP1F, LP1H and LP3 — what each section asks and where people go wrong.
Review and sources
Reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner. Last reviewed 13 August 2026. We recheck fees, forms and Office of the Public Guardian guidance whenever they change — see our editorial policy.
Official sources
Making your own LPA?
Name your attorneys, set how they must decide together, and we prepare the forms for £49.
The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.
This is general information about how Lasting Powers of Attorney work in England and Wales. It is not legal advice about your situation. What we do and do not do.
Published by Estate Advisory Group