When most people think about a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), they picture old age or serious illness.
That’s a mistake.
An LPA is fundamentally about control, not age.
If you were temporarily or permanently unable to make decisions through illness, accident or unexpected medical complications, who would step in? And would they actually have the legal authority to do so?
Without an LPA in place:
- Your spouse or partner cannot automatically manage your finances
- Bank accounts can be frozen
- Investments can’t be adjusted
- Property transactions can stall
- Family may need to apply to the Court of Protection, a process that is slow, costly and stressful
For families building wealth, running businesses or planning for financial independence, that’s a risk worth removing.
What about EPAs?
Some may have older Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) in place.
While still valid if correctly executed before 2007, EPAs:
- Only cover financial matters (not health and welfare)
- Must be registered once capacity is being lost, often at exactly the moment speed matters most
- Can face significant registration delays, during which time financial decisions may be restricted
By contrast, LPAs are more comprehensive and can be registered in advance, meaning they’re ready to use immediately if needed.
They offer broader protection, clearer safeguards and fewer complications at the point of crisis.
The two types of LPA
Property & Financial Affairs – Covers money, investments, pensions, property and financial decisions.
Health & Welfare – Covers medical treatment and care decisions if you cannot express your wishes.
Put simply: an LPA protects your plans.
It ensures the strategy we’ve built together can continue smoothly, even if you can’t oversee it yourself.
A simple next step
We work with Kinherit, a specialist firm who can:
- Set up your LPAs professionally
- Provide free will reviews
- Ensure everything aligns with your wider estate planning
If you don’t yet have LPAs in place, or if yours are outdated, we strongly encourage you to prioritise this.
It’s not urgent… until it is.
If you’d like an introduction to Kinherit, email us at info@emerylittle.com and we’ll arrange it.
Protecting your wealth is important. Protecting your ability to control it matters just as much.
