Factsheet: Managing someone’s affairs

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Summary

April 2026

This factsheet explains how someone can choose you to make decisions on their behalf. This could be about their health and welfare, their finances, or both.

The person must have mental capacity when they appoint you. If they do not, you can apply to the court to make decisions for them.

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When does someone lack mental capacity?

Someone may not have capacity to make decisions because of:

dementia, brain injury or stroke
alcohol or drug misuse
side effects of medical treatment
other illness or disability

Always assume that someone can make their own decisions, unless proven otherwise. Mental capacity can come and go.

How to check if someone has capacity

They need to:

understand the information
remember it for long enough to make the decision
weigh up their options and decide
communicate their decision (in whatever way they can)

Someone may:

lack capacity to make all decisions, or
they can make some decisions, but not others

You can find more information on Checking mental capacity | GOV.UK

What is a power of attorney?

A power of attorney is a legal document. It allows you to act on another person’s behalf with organisations like banks or the Council.

Different types of power of attorney

There are three different types of power of attorney:

Lasting power of attorney (LPA)
Enduring power of attorney (LPA)
Ordinary power of attorney

Lasting power of attorney (LPA)

Lasting power of attorney (LPA) is the most common type. There are two kinds:

property and financial affairs
health and welfare

You can create your LPA online at Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney | GOV.UK or fill in an LPA002 form which the Office of the Public Guardian can send you.

A solicitor or local advice agency can help you set up and register the LPA.

Enduring power of attorney (EPA)

EPAs are no longer issued and are only valid if signed before 1 October 2007.

An enduring power of attorney (EPA) covers decisions on finance and property.

If the person you’re acting for loses capacity, you must register the EPA with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

Read the guidance on registering an EPA: Register an enduring power of attorney | GOV.UK

Ordinary power of attorney

An ordinary power of attorney covers decisions on property and finances. It ends if the person loses mental capacity.

It does not need to be registered with the authorities.

Duties of an attorney under an LPA

Property and financial affairs

You will manage:

money, bills, pensions and benefits
property and investments

You must:

follow the person’s instructions
manage their finances in their best interest
keep their finances separate from yours, unless you’ve got a joint bank account or own a home together
keep records of their money coming in and going out

It is a crime to misuse their money.

Health and welfare

You can make decisions about:

their daily routine (like bathing, getting dressed and eating)
medical care
where they live

You cannot decide on treatment to keep someone alive, unless they gave you formal permission to do this.

Advance decisions / living wills

Someone may have made an advance decision (sometimes called a living will) about what happens to them. It’s a legal statement which explains any medical treatments they do not want. You’ll need to consider this alongside their LPA.

Gifts

You can only make gifts:

to people who normally get gifts from the person
on special occasions like birthdays
to charities they normally support

Gifts must be reasonable and must not affect the person’s ability to pay for their care.

The Office of the Public Guardian has guidance on this.

How much it costs

The costs of registering an LPA are on the government website: Register a lasting power of attorney | GOV.UK

You can apply for a reduction or exemption if you are on a low income or receive certain benefits.

You will need to pay twice to register a property and financial affairs LPA and a health and welfare LPA.

When there is no power of attorney

If someone has already lost their ability to make decisions, you cannot get a power of attorney. Your options are to become either a:

Department for Work and Pensions appointee: to manage their benefits only
Court of Protection deputy: to make decisions about their property, finances, health or welfare

An organisation, like a solicitor or council, can also be an appointee or deputy.