Do my parents need an LPA?
If either parent lost capacity tomorrow, nobody in the family would automatically be able to manage their money or make care decisions — being their child gives you no legal authority at all. That is the reason an LPA exists, and why most people should have both types.
Make your LPA online for £49
Answer simple questions. We prepare your LPA documents from your answers, ready for the next steps.
- £49 per LPA, or £79 for both types
- No solicitor required for straightforward LPAs
- Plain English questions, one screen at a time
- Save your progress and come back to it
- Checked for common completion errors as you go
- Review everything before you pay
The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.
Is an LPA still possible for your relative?
Only the person themselves can make an LPA, and only while they have mental capacity. Start here.
They have capacity and want to make one
You can help with every part of the paperwork. They make the decisions and sign.
You are not sure whether they have capacity
Capacity is decision-specific and a diagnosis alone does not settle it. Read how it is judged before you spend anything.
They have already lost capacity
An LPA can no longer be made — not by us and not by anyone else. The route is a deputyship application to the Court of Protection.
What happens without one
- Banks freeze or restrict sole accounts once they know the holder lacks capacity
- Pensions, investments and insurers will not take instructions from a relative
- A property cannot be sold or let to fund care
- Care and treatment decisions are made in the person's best interests by professionals, with family consulted but not deciding
- The only route to authority is a Court of Protection deputyship application
Deputyship is the expensive alternative: an application fee, often a solicitor's help, a wait usually measured in months, an annual supervision fee and yearly reporting. It is the same job an LPA would have done for a fraction of the cost.
Both types, for each parent
An LPA belongs to one person, so each parent needs their own. There is no joint LPA for a couple. And the two types cover different ground:
| LPA | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Property & Financial Affairs (LP1F) | Bank accounts, bills, pensions, benefits, investments, selling or letting property |
| Health & Welfare (LP1H) | Daily care, medical treatment, where they live, contact with others, life-sustaining treatment if chosen |
For a couple wanting full cover that is four documents in total. Our fee is £79 per person for both types, so £158 for the pair, plus the Office of the Public Guardian's £92 registration fee for each document.
How to raise it without a difficult conversation
The framing that works is usually that an LPA is about your parents keeping control, not losing it: they choose who acts, and it does nothing at all unless and until it is needed. Many people find it easier to make their own LPA at the same time so it is a family arrangement rather than something being done to them.
You can help with the paperwork
You can sit with them, fill in the answers and organise the signing. What you cannot do is make the decisions or sign for them — the LPA must be theirs.
Common questions
Is a will enough?
No. A will only takes effect on death. An LPA covers decisions during life when capacity is lost. Most people need both.
What if one parent already has an LPA?
The other still needs their own. An LPA can only be made by the person whose affairs it covers.
Do they need to be ill for it to be worth doing?
No. Capacity can be lost suddenly through a stroke or accident at any age, which is why LPAs are usually made while nothing is wrong.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of Parents, couples and capacity. The pages below take it further.
- Make an LPA online
The whole journey end to end: questions, documents, signing and registration.
- What an LPA costs in 2026
Our £49 and £79 prices, the £92 OPG registration fee, and solicitor comparisons.
Helping a parent or partner?
They make the decisions and sign, you can do all the paperwork. Start with the free capacity check.
The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.
This is general information about Lasting Powers of Attorney in England and Wales. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice about your situation. What we do and do not do.