Lasting Power of Attorney

Most documents you simply sign.
An LPA you sign in order.

Sign a Lasting Power of Attorney in the wrong order and it cannot be corrected — the whole document is void and must be made again, with the registration fee paid a second time. Here is exactly how our service works, who signs when, and how we help you get it right.

Single person £500
Couple £850
Signing-day support free

The five stages

Everything from us arrives by email. You will need a printer, and you arrange your own certificate provider and witnesses.

1
You

Complete the order form

Tell us who your attorneys are, how you want them to make decisions, and your preferences. Take your time — the detail here is what we build from.

2
Us

We prepare your LPAs within 48 hours

A qualified paralegal prepares your Property & Financial Affairs and Health & Welfare LPAs, checks them for the errors that commonly cause rejection, and emails them to you as drafts with a plain-English guide and detailed signing instructions.

3
You

Check the drafts and tell us about anything wrong

Check every name, title, date of birth and address against passports and driving licences rather than from memory. Mismatched names are the single most common reason applications are returned. We amend until you are happy.

4
Us & you

Signing day — with free support if you want it

You arrange your certificate provider and witnesses and sign in the order set out below. We offer two forms of support, both included in your fee. See signing-day support.

When the call is arranged: once you have approved your drafts and chosen a date for signing, tell us the date and we will book the Teams call around it. There is nothing to arrange when you order.

5
You

Post to the Office of the Public Guardian

You post the signed originals to the OPG using the checklist we provide. The OPG will telephone you to take the registration fee by card, then post your registered LPAs directly back to you. Registration takes roughly 8 to 20 weeks.

Choosing your certificate provider

Every LPA needs one. They confirm you understand the document and are not being pressured into it. You arrange this yourself — we can talk you through it if you are unsure.

They must be one of these

  • Someone who has known you personally for at least two years — a friend, neighbour or colleague
  • Or a professional with relevant skills — your GP, a solicitor, or another registered professional
  • Aged 18 or over

They cannot be any of these

  • A relative of you or of any of your attorneys — including in-laws and step-relatives
  • Anyone named as an attorney or replacement attorney
  • Your or your attorney's business partner or employee
  • Staff at a care home where you live
  • Anyone who benefits financially from your LPA

Why this one matters most

If the OPG later finds your certificate provider was not eligible, the LPA is invalid — even if everything else was done perfectly. Choose carefully, and ask us if you are not certain.

The signing order

This sequence is set by law. Signing out of order cannot be fixed by crossing out and re-signing — the LPA is void and a new one must be made and paid for.

1
The donor — with a witness watching

You sign first

  • Continuation sheets, if your pack has any
  • Section 5 — life-sustaining treatment (Health & Welfare LPA only)
  • Section 9 — your signature

Your witness signs immediately afterwards. Your witness cannot be one of your attorneys.

2
The certificate provider

Then your certificate provider signs

  • Section 10
No witness needed for this signature

They must sign after you and before any attorney. This is the step most often done out of order.

3
Attorneys & replacement attorneys — each with a witness

Then your attorneys sign

  • Section 11 — one page each

Replacement attorneys must sign too — forgetting this is a common reason packs are returned. Attorneys may sign in any order among themselves, and one attorney may witness another's signature. You cannot witness your own attorney's signature.

4
The applicant

Finally, the registration page

  • Section 15 — signed by whoever is applying to register
  • LP3 — if you have named people to notify
  • LPA120 — if you are claiming a reduced or waived fee
No witness needed for these

Small things that cause returns

Black or blue ink only, never pencil. Date every signature with the actual date of signing — nothing pre-dated or post-dated. No correction fluid, Tippex or stickers: if you make a mistake, put a single line through it, write the correction alongside and initial it. Keep the two LPAs completely separate and do not mix their pages.

Our strong recommendation: get everyone together at once

Because the order matters and every signature needs the right witness, the simplest approach by far is to gather the donor, all attorneys, replacement attorneys, the certificate provider and witnesses in one room on one afternoon. It turns a fiddly sequence into a single sitting — and it is the arrangement least likely to go wrong.

Signing-day support, included

Two ways we can help you get the signing right. Both are free, both are optional, and you choose on the order form or by email. We arrange the call after you have approved your drafts and settled on a signing date — there is nothing to book when you order.

Included · choose either or both

We join by Teams while you sign

We join a video call while everyone is together and talk you through the sequence live — who signs which section, in what order, who witnesses what, and how to date each page. Questions get answered as they come up rather than afterwards.

  • Guidance on the correct order, section by section
  • Who should be witnessing each signature
  • How and where to date each page
  • Answers to questions in the moment
Included · choose either or both

We check your pack after signing

Once everything is signed, we go through the completed pack with you on a video call before you post it — checking every signature, date and witness detail is present and in the right place, and that nothing is missing.

  • Every section signed and dated
  • Witness names and addresses complete
  • Replacement attorneys have signed
  • Additional forms included where needed

What this support is — and what it is not

We are not witnessing your signatures. A witness must be physically in the room and watch the person sign; that cannot be done over video. We are not acting as your certificate provider — you arrange your own. And this is guidance on completing the forms correctly, not legal advice on whether an LPA is right for you.

What it costs

Two fees, paid to two different places. Ours covers preparing the documents and supporting you through signing. The registration fee is set by the government and paid directly to the Office of the Public Guardian.

 Single personCouple
Our fee — both LPAs prepared, guides, signing-day support£500£850
OPG registration fee — £92 per LPA, paid direct to the OPG£184£368
Total£684£1,218

You may pay a reduced fee or none at all if you receive certain means-tested benefits or your gross annual income is under £12,000. If that may apply, we include form LPA120 in your pack — it must be posted with your LPA and cannot be claimed afterwards. Eligibility is decided by the OPG.

What it costs to do nothing

Without a registered LPA, nobody has an automatic right to manage your affairs if you lose capacity — not a spouse, not an adult child. Your family would have to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your deputy: an application fee running to several hundred pounds, an annual supervision fee for as long as the deputyship lasts, months of waiting, and ongoing reporting. An LPA made now avoids all of it.

Ready to start?

Complete the order form and we will have your draft LPAs with you within 48 hours. Not sure whether this is right for you? Email us first — we would rather talk it through than have you order something that does not suit.

Order your LPA package Ask a question

Kent Online Legal Document Service is a document preparation service. We are not a law firm and are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Nothing on this page is legal advice. All parties must have mental capacity and must sign freely and voluntarily. We recommend seeking independent legal advice from a qualified solicitor before signing any legal document. England and Wales only.