Where a person loses mental capacity and does not have LPAs in place, the Court of Protection may become involved and make the required decisions on a person’s behalf. The Court may not make the same decisions as the person themselves would have wanted.

Relatives can apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as deputies, however this is a lengthy and expensive process that is not guaranteed to end in the relatives’ appointment, and of course relatives could dispute each other’s applications. Where the Court does appoint a relative as a deputy, it is likely to impose onerous supervision, at the deputy’s expense, to ensure they are acting ethically.

The Court of Protection can appoint different deputies for a person’s finances and their welfare, however in practice it rarely agrees to appoint welfare deputies.

Where the Court of Protection does appoint a deputy, they may not be the deputy that the person concerned would themselves have chosen.

Creating Lasting Powers of Attorney ensures that, should you lose mental capacity, your family have the best chance of making the decisions you would have wanted for yourself, without suffering any extra unnecessary stress.

Lakes Wills Ltd’s fees for registering LPAs begin from £350 for one LPA type for one person*.

* The Office of the Public Guardian charges an extra £82 fee for each LPA type on application.