A Simple Form, A Broken Family: The LPA Blind Spot

Their father had dementia. Their sister, appointed as attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney, had emptied his accounts. Over £150,000 was gone in 18 months. Mortgages paid, holidays bought. The brothers saw what was happening but were told it was an arrangement their father wanted. By the time the Court of Protection could intervene, the inheritance was gone and the family was destroyed. Their father died with his care home fees paid by the local authority.

A former senior judge, Denzil Lush, warned about this. He presided over thousands of such cases for the Court of Protection. He saw how Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) can be used as instruments for financial abuse. The process has been simplified. An online form and an £82 fee. But this simplicity is deceptive. It papers over the fact you are handing someone total control of your financial life. An LPA has fewer safeguards than a court-appointed Deputyship. The oversight is minimal until it is too late. In the case of the brothers, the LPA was a standard template. No restrictions, no guidance. It was a blank cheque.

The alternative, a Deputyship, is expensive and bureaucratic. It can mean an application fee of £371, ongoing supervision fees, and someone appointed by the court who may not know you at all. This is why a well-drafted LPA remains the correct path for most. It preserves your autonomy. You decide who acts for you. The planning implication here is clear. The document must be built for your specific family situation. We can specify that attorneys must act jointly on major decisions, like selling a property. We can require them to produce annual accounts for a third party, like a solicitor or accountant. These are not standard options on the online form. They require professional advice. They are the difference between security and disaster.

An LPA is not a form-filling exercise. It is a plan to protect your family. If you are considering one, we should talk about how to build it correctly.