LPAs: why a Will alone is not enough

A Will is essential, and it has one hard limit: it only speaks at death. If illness or accident takes your capacity while you are alive, your Will does nothing - and without Lasting Powers of Attorney, neither can your family.

The two LPAs

A Property and Financial Affairs LPA lets your chosen attorneys manage money and property - pay bills, run accounts, deal with the house. A Health and Welfare LPA lets them make decisions about care, treatment and where you live, and only operates once capacity is lost. They do different jobs; a complete plan has both.

What happens without them

Without a financial LPA, nobody - not even a spouse - has automatic authority over your accounts. The only route is a Court of Protection deputyship: typically six months to a year, court fees and professional costs commonly running into the thousands, a security bond, £320-a-year supervision, annual reporting - and the court, not your family, chooses the deputy. Without a welfare LPA the position is starker still: welfare deputyships are rarely granted, so decisions about your care and treatment default to professionals acting on "best interests", with your family consulted but not in control.

The one-way door

An LPA can only be made while you have capacity. Lose it first and the option is gone permanently - which is why LPAs belong in the plan at the same time as the Will, not on a someday list. Capacity can be lost at any age, without warning.

Key takeaways

• A Will speaks at death; LPAs cover everything before it
• No LPA means deputyship: slow, expensive, strictly supervised, and court-chosen
• LPAs can only be made while capacity exists - the door closes exactly when you need it

Every Kinherit plan considers both LPAs alongside the Will. Book a complimentary consultation with a STEP-qualified estate planner.