A Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) lets you choose someone you trust to make certain decisions about your care and medical treatment if you are unable to make those decisions yourself.
It can cover things such as your daily care, medical treatment, where you live and, if you give the relevant authority, life-sustaining treatment.
Do I need one?
You don't have to have a Health and Welfare LPA, but many families choose to arrange one so that someone they trust can make decisions if needed.
An LPA must be made while the person still has the mental capacity to make their own decisions. If someone has already lost capacity, they cannot make a new LPA and a different legal process may be needed.
How to make one
You can make an LPA online through GOV.UK or use paper forms.
Step 1: Choose your attorney
An attorney is the person you choose to make decisions on your behalf.
Think carefully about who you trust and whether they understand your wishes.
Step 2: Complete the Health and Welfare LPA
The Health and Welfare form is called LP1H.
You can complete it online or using the paper form.
Step 3: Get the necessary signatures
The LPA needs to be signed by the relevant people, including the person making the LPA, the attorney or attorneys and witnesses.
You will also need a certificate provider to confirm that the person making the LPA understands what they are doing and is not being pressured.
Step 4: Register the LPA
The LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before the attorney can use it.
Registration currently costs £92 per LPA, although reductions or exemptions may be available. Registration usually takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes in the application.
Step 5: Keep the registered LPA safely
Once registered, keep the document somewhere safe and make sure the people who may need to see it know where it is.
If care is being arranged, please send edyn.care a copy of the registered LPA if it is relevant to the person's care.
Already have an LPA?
You don't need to make a new one if a valid Health and Welfare LPA is already in place.
Simply send us the most recent registered copy or let us know if you need help working out what document you have.
Start the process
You can find the official forms and guidance here:
You can also find the official LPA forms here:
Important: This guide covers LPAs used in England and Wales. The process is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland.