While we have extensive experience helping bp employees and alumni optimise their benefits, Emery Little operates independently and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the bp group, including BP Pension Trustees Limited, on behalf of the BP Pension Fund. This allows us to provide objective, independent guidance focused solely on your best interests.
As a Senior or Group Leader at bp, you’re good at managing risk and planning ahead. Yet we keep finding that bp Leaders overlook a key part of personal safety planning – the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).
The uncomfortable truth
Most people know they need a Will, but far fewer have an LPA – even though you’re more likely to become unable to make decisions during your working years than you are to die. This gap in protection creates big risks for you, your family, and your finances.
What exactly is an LPA?
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal paper that lets you choose trusted people (your ‘attorneys’) to make choices for you if you can’t make decisions or don’t want to. In England and Wales, there are two types:
Property and Financial Affairs LPA – Gives your attorney the power to handle your finances, including bank accounts, investments, bills, and property.
Health and Welfare LPA – Lets your attorney make choices about your daily care, medical treatment, and life-support decisions.
Why is this more urgent than a Will?
While there are basic rules for what happens to your assets after death (though maybe not what you’d want), no such system exists if you lose the ability to make decisions. Without an LPA:
Your family would need to go to the Court of Protection to make decisions for you – a process that is:
- Very expensive (costing thousands of pounds)
- Very slow (often taking 6-12 months)
- Very stressful for your family during a hard time
- Done in public rather than private
Your finances could be completely frozen, leaving your family unable to:
- Use your bank accounts or investments
- Pay your bills or mortgage
- Make choices about your investments
- Sell any of your property if needed
Medical and care choices may be made without knowing what you would want.
The bp Leadership view
As a bp Leader, your financial affairs are often complex. Your job may include:
- Special pay packages with share options and delayed bonuses
- Assets or investments in different countries
- Complex pension plans including an old final salary pension and the bp Aegon scheme
- Substantial wealth that needs careful handling
Without an LPA, all these financial matters could be stuck in limbo if you couldn’t make decisions, possibly causing missed chances, tax problems, or financial losses.
Financial planning: the heart of your financial world
At Emery Little, we believe good financial planning connects all parts of your financial life. Just as you wouldn’t run operations without backup plans, your personal financial strategy shouldn’t exist without proper protection.
An LPA isn’t just a standalone document – it’s a key part of a complete approach that links:
- Investment plans
- Tax planning
- Estate planning
- Passing wealth to your family
Each part supports the others, creating a strong framework that can handle life’s surprises.
Our professional help network
Knowing the complexities and high costs involved, we have relationships with specialists who offer free Will reviews and can create LPAs for busy Group Leaders and executives. We’re not talking about expensive lawyers who charge huge fees for overly complicated plans. We’re talking about high-quality, technology-based services at reasonable prices.
All meetings happen virtually to fit your busy schedule and all papers are stored safely. All of this can be done working with Emery Little.
Next steps
We encourage all bp Senior and Group Leaders to:
- Check your current situation – Do you have a Will and LPA that match your current wishes?
- Think about who you would trust to make decisions about your finances and health
- Get in touch with our team – [contact us] for a chat or to meet our recommended legal experts
The time to act is now
Creating an LPA is a straightforward process with the right help, but it must be done while you can still make decisions. Once that ability is lost, this important protection becomes impossible to get.
By taking care of this now, you’re using the same smart thinking for your personal matters that you bring to your Leadership role every day – protecting what’s important and creating clarity for those who depend on you.
If you know other bp Leaders who might benefit from this information, please share this article with them. LPAs are often overlooked but are a vital part of financial planning. Find out more about how we help bp Leaders here.
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