LPA for someone with dementia
A dementia diagnosis does not by itself prevent someone making an LPA. What matters is whether they can still understand the decision at the time they make it. If they can, an LPA can be made now — and it usually should be, without waiting.
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.
A diagnosis is not the test
Mental capacity is decision-specific and time-specific. Someone in the earlier stages of dementia may be perfectly able to understand who they trust to manage their money, what an attorney would be allowed to do, and that they can cancel the LPA while they still have capacity. That is what the law asks.
The person must be able to understand the relevant information, retain it long enough to decide, weigh it up, and communicate their decision. A good day and a bad day can differ, and an LPA can be signed on a day when they can do this.
The risk is delay, not the diagnosis
Capacity is usually lost gradually. Every month of delay narrows the window. If an LPA is not in place before it closes, the only route left is a deputyship application to the Court of Protection — far slower and far more expensive.
The different types of dementia, and why it matters here
Dementia is not one condition. Alzheimer's disease usually progresses gradually over years. Vascular dementia can progress in steps, sometimes worsening sharply after a stroke or a series of small strokes. Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia can affect judgement, insight or communication earlier than memory. None of that changes the legal test — capacity is still judged decision by decision — but it does change how soon the window might close, and how much it might vary day to day.
This is one reason we do not try to give a single answer for every kind of dementia. If the diagnosis is Alzheimer's specifically, our LPA for Alzheimer's page covers the progression pattern in more detail. If the diagnosis is recent and mild, see LPA for early-stage dementia for the case for acting now rather than later.
Who decides whether they have capacity
The certificate provider on the LPA confirms that the donor understands what they are signing and is not under pressure. That can be someone who has known the donor personally for at least two years, or a professional such as a GP or solicitor.
Where dementia has been diagnosed, many families choose a professional certificate provider — often the GP — because their confirmation is harder to challenge later. A GP may charge a fee for this; it is not part of our price.
- Borderline or fluctuating capacity: use a professional certificate provider
- Clearly early-stage and well understood: a long-standing friend or neighbour can act
- Capacity clearly absent: an LPA cannot be made by anyone — see the deputyship route
Make both LPAs if you can
Dementia eventually raises both money questions and care questions. The Property & Financial Affairs LPA covers bank accounts, bills, pensions and property. The Health & Welfare LPA covers care, treatment and where the donor lives — including a move into a care home.
Because the window may be short, most families in this position make both at the same time rather than returning later. Both together are £79 with us, and the Office of the Public Guardian charges £92 to register each one. See pricing and how it works for the full process.
Comparing the options at each stage
| Stage | What is usually possible | What we would suggest |
|---|---|---|
| No diagnosis yet, but concerns raised | Full capacity, straightforward LPA | Make both LPAs now while it is simplest |
| Mild diagnosis, day-to-day life largely unaffected | Capacity for LPA decisions is usually clear | Act promptly with a personal or professional certificate provider |
| Moderate, memory and reasoning noticeably affected | Capacity may be present but is less certain | Use a professional certificate provider such as the GP |
| Severe, unable to follow the explanation | Capacity for this decision is very unlikely | LPA is not possible — see deputyship instead |
A worked example
Margaret, 79, was diagnosed with mixed Alzheimer's and vascular dementia eighteen months ago. She still manages her own shopping and recognises everyone in the family, but her daughter Susan noticed she was starting to miss bills. Rather than waiting to see how things progressed, Susan and Margaret sat down together, worked through the online questions over two evenings, and asked Margaret's GP to act as certificate provider given the diagnosis. Both LPAs were signed within a fortnight and registered about nine weeks later — well before Margaret needed them used.
What we do and what we do not do
We ask the questions the official LP1F and LP1H forms need in plain English, check the answers for the completion errors that get LPAs rejected, and produce the documents and a signing guide. We are not a law firm and we do not assess capacity — that is for the certificate provider, and where there is real doubt, a doctor or solicitor. See what we do not do for the full list of limits, and LPA vs a solicitor if you are weighing up the options.
Common questions
Can an LPA be made after a dementia diagnosis?
Yes, provided the donor still has the capacity to understand the decision. The diagnosis itself does not disqualify them.
What if capacity has already been lost?
No LPA can be made — not by a spouse, a child, or any service. The family would need to apply to the Court of Protection to become a deputy.
Does the GP need to be involved?
Not necessarily, but where a diagnosis exists a GP or other professional acting as certificate provider gives the LPA a stronger footing.
Does it matter which type of dementia it is?
The legal test for capacity is the same whatever the diagnosis. What differs is how quickly the condition tends to progress, which affects how much time there may be to act.
Can we make just one LPA now and the other later?
Yes, but most families in this position make both together, since the window to do so with a straightforward capacity assessment may not last as long for the second one.
Read next
- Can Someone With Dementia Make an LPA? — The Capacity Test
- LPA for Early-Stage Dementia — Why Now Matters
- LPA for Alzheimer's — Progression, Both LPAs, and the GP's Role
- Lasting Power of Attorney for Elderly Parents — a family guide
- Making an LPA after a dementia diagnosis
- Making care decisions for someone with dementia
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.