Lasting Powers of Attorney are, in many ways, an extraordinarily important and sensible legal tool.

In England and Wales, LPAs are governed by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and overseen by the Office of the Public Guardian. The system includes important statutory protections, including:

• formal registration requirements;
• certificate providers;
• duties imposed on attorneys;
• and the ability for concerns to be investigated by the OPG or, in serious cases, considered by the Court of Protection.

Without LPAs, many families would face enormous difficulty managing the affairs of someone who has lost capacity, often at an already distressing time.

The vast majority of attorneys act properly, carefully and with the very best intentions.

But LPAs also create something that is quite unusual:

They place significant financial authority into the hands of another person at precisely the point when the individual who granted that authority may no longer be able to supervise, challenge or question what is happening.

That is not a criticism of LPAs or the legal framework around them.

It is simply a recognition of the level of trust involved.

Most financial systems operate on the assumption that:

• there will be oversight;
• decisions can be queried;
• transactions can be challenged.

An LPA can, in practice, weaken some of those protections because the donor may no longer be in a position to identify concerns themselves, particularly where problems develop gradually or within trusted relationships.

At the same time, attorneys are often operating under emotional pressure, family dynamics, financial stress and increasing responsibility.

Most navigate that responsibly.

Some do not.

And sometimes problems arise incrementally rather than dramatically:

• blurred boundaries;
• rationalised spending;
• “temporary” borrowing;
• decisions made without transparency.

The issue is therefore not whether LPAs are good or bad.

They are essential.

The more important question is whether we should become more thoughtful about the safeguards, oversight and support structures that sit around them, particularly where significant assets or vulnerability are involved.

Trust matters enormously.

But trust and structure are rarely opposing ideas.

As our population ages and more families rely on LPAs, this is likely to become an increasingly important conversation, not about distrust, but about how we best protect vulnerable people while still preserving dignity, autonomy and choice.