I sat with two brothers last year. Their father had passed, and their mother was alone in the family home. She was 83, physically well, but becoming forgetful. A cousin they hadn't seen in 20 years suddenly appeared to 'help'.
Within six months, large cash withdrawals started. £5,000 here, £10,000 there. The mother seemed confused and distressed. When the sons tried to step in, the cousin produced a Property & Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney, signed three months prior. He claimed their mother wanted him to manage her money. The sons were locked out. The house, worth £650,000, was being valued for a quick sale. The family's inheritance was vanishing.
A Structural Failure
The issue was not just one person's greed. It was a structural failure in the family's planning. The parents had drafted LPAs with their solicitor ten years ago but never registered them with the Office of the Public Guardian. They were worthless pieces of paper. This opened the door for a new LPA to be created at a time when the mother's mental capacity was questionable. The family was forced into a conflict that cost them £70,000 in legal and court fees to challenge the cousin's control. They had to prove undue influence to the Court of Protection. It was an expensive, draining process that tore what was left of the family apart.
The LPA is Your First Defence
This is a direct planning implication for every family in the UK. A Lasting Power of Attorney is not a document you sign and put in a drawer. It must be formally registered to have legal force. This takes around 20 weeks and costs £82 per document. Once registered, it gives your chosen attorneys the immediate authority to protect your assets if you lose capacity. It establishes a clear line of command, preventing opportunistic relatives or 'friends' from stepping into a vacuum. Without it, your family is exposed and may face a long, costly application to the Court of Protection to gain control. The planning protects the person; the money is secondary.
This is not an abstract problem. I have seen it happen. The documents exist to prevent this exact scenario. If you're wondering about your own arrangements, we should have a conversation.
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Written by Sean Kiani, Estate Planner at Inheritance Made Simple. Sean writes and reviews the firm's guidance on estate planning, wills, trusts and inheritance tax, and works with families across Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset and Central London. Verify Sean's Society of Will Writers membership listing.