LPAs and Care Homes: Attorney Rights, Fees and Funding

Written by James Tyrrell · Reviewed by Anthony Dalton · Last reviewed 11 April 2026

A registered Lasting Power of Attorney gives you clear legal authority to make care home decisions on behalf of someone who has lost mental capacity — including choosing the care home, directing their medical treatment, and managing care fees. Without one, even close family members have no automatic right to make these decisions. Spouses, children, and siblings all have the same legal standing as a stranger without a registered LPA. If the person has already lost capacity, the only alternative is applying to the Court of Protection for deputyship, which costs £1,000–£3,000 or more and can take many months. This guide explains how each type of LPA applies in a care home setting, what attorneys can and cannot do, and how to resolve common disputes.

What Happens if There Is No LPA When Someone Enters a Care Home?

If someone loses mental capacity after entering a care home and has no registered LPA in place, their family has no automatic legal authority to make care or financial decisions on their behalf — not even a spouse or adult child. The only route is to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a deputy. This process typically costs between £1,000 and £3,000 or more in legal fees, involves extensive paperwork, and can take six months or longer. During that time, important decisions about care, accommodation, and finances may be left unresolved.

How to Present Your LPA to a Care Home

When your loved one moves into a care home, presenting your registered LPA to care home management is one of the first and most important steps. Care homes have a legal obligation under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to recognise a valid, registered LPA and work with the appointed attorney.

Practical steps when registering your LPA with a care home:

• Bring a certified copy — never hand over the original registered LPA. The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) provides certified copies at registration, and you can request additional copies at any time for £17 each
• Ask for it to be recorded on the care file — the care home should log attorney names, the type of LPA, and how attorneys must act (jointly, jointly and severally, or a combination)
• Use the OPG verification service — the registered LPA has an access code that lets care homes verify it online via the OPG portal. Ask staff to use this code to confirm the LPA is still valid
• Keep multiple certified copies — you will likely need copies for the care home, GP surgery, hospital, bank, and local authority simultaneously
• Ensure all staff are aware — front-line care workers, not just management, should know that an attorney has legal authority to be consulted on decisions

Can an Attorney Choose Which Care Home Someone Lives In?

Yes — this is one of the most significant powers under a Health and Welfare LPA. An attorney can decide where the donor lives, including choosing a specific care home, when the donor no longer has the mental capacity to make that choice themselves.

When selecting a home, the attorney must act in the donor’s best interests and take account of:

• The donor’s previously expressed wishes about going into care or where they would want to live
• The level and type of care the donor requires (residential, nursing, dementia specialist)
• Cultural, religious, dietary, and personal preferences
• Proximity to family and friends
• What the donor can afford, and whether the home is financially sustainable long-term

If family members disagree about which care home to choose, the attorney with the Health and Welfare LPA holds the legal decision-making authority. However, the attorney should document their reasons carefully — particularly if the decision is later questioned. Involving the donor’s GP, a social worker, or an independent mental capacity advocate (IMCA) can help evidence that the decision was properly made in the donor’s best interests.

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and the Attorney's Role

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are legal protections under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 that apply when a person who lacks capacity is kept in a care home or hospital in a way that restricts their freedom. This can include situations where a resident is not allowed to leave unsupervised for their own safety. The care home must apply to the local authority for a DoLS authorisation — not the attorney.

An LPA attorney cannot authorise a deprivation of liberty. Only the local authority can approve this following a formal assessment. However, the attorney must be consulted as part of the process and can challenge a decision if it is not in the donor’s best interests, including applying to the Court of Protection if necessary.

What Care Home Decisions Can an LPA Attorney Make?

The decisions an attorney can make depend on which type of LPA has been created. There are two types, and each covers different areas:

• Health and Welfare LPA — covers decisions about daily care routines, medical treatment, where the person lives, diet, social activities, and end-of-life care. This LPA can only be used when the donor lacks the mental capacity to make the relevant decision themselves.
• Property and Financial Affairs LPA — covers paying care home fees, managing bank accounts and pensions, selling property to fund care, and handling all other financial matters. This LPA can be used while the donor still has capacity, if the donor consents.

In a care home context, the Health and Welfare LPA is particularly important. It allows the attorney to be involved in decisions about the standard of care, whether the person should move to a different facility, and what medical treatments they receive. The attorney can also make decisions about day-to-day matters such as what the person wears, their personal care routine, and their social activities.

With a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, the attorney can manage the financial side of care home life. This includes paying the care home fees from the donor's funds, dealing with local authority financial assessments, claiming any benefits or allowances the person is entitled to, and managing their income and savings.

Care Home Fees and Funding

One of the most important roles for an attorney with a Property and Financial Affairs LPA is managing care home fees. Care home costs in England can range from £800 to £1,400 per week or more, depending on the level of care required and the location of the home. Understanding the funding landscape is essential.

If the donor has savings and assets above the upper capital limit (currently £23,250 in England), they will be expected to fund their own care in full. This is known as self-funding. The attorney will be responsible for ensuring fees are paid on time and managing the donor's assets to cover the costs.

When the donor's capital falls between £14,250 and £23,250, the local authority may contribute to the costs, but the donor will still pay a means-tested contribution. Below £14,250, the local authority will cover the care costs, although the donor may still contribute from their income.

As an attorney, you have a duty to act in the donor's best interests when managing their finances. This means you must ensure their money is being spent appropriately on their care and not being used for any other purpose. You should keep detailed records of all financial transactions, which the OPG may ask to see at any time.

Once you are managing payments, you will also need to register the LPA with the donor’s bank or building society. Our guide on registering an LPA with a bank explains what each major UK bank requires and how long the process takes.

NHS Continuing Healthcare: When the NHS Funds Care in Full

NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is a package of care arranged and funded entirely by the NHS for people who have a “primary health need” arising from disability, accident, or illness. Unlike local authority care funding, CHC is not means-tested — the donor’s savings and property are irrelevant. If CHC is granted, the NHS covers the full cost of care, whether that is in a nursing home, care home, or their own home.

As an attorney with a Health and Welfare LPA, you can:

• Request a CHC assessment on the donor’s behalf if you believe their health needs may qualify
• Attend the multidisciplinary assessment and contribute information about the donor’s condition and needs
• Challenge a decision if CHC funding is refused, through the NHS continuing healthcare review process
• Agree to a personal health budget if CHC is granted, allowing more flexibility in how care is provided

CHC is often overlooked because it requires a formal assessment by a multidisciplinary team, and care homes do not always initiate this process automatically. If the donor has complex health needs — particularly dementia, neurological conditions, or multiple long-term conditions — it is worth requesting an assessment. The NHS provides guidance on CHC eligibility and how to request a checklist assessment.

Disagreements With Care Providers

Sometimes disagreements arise between attorneys and care home staff about the best course of action for the resident. These disputes can cover anything from the quality of food and personal care to more serious matters such as medical treatment or whether the person should be moved to a different facility.

If a disagreement occurs, the first step should always be to try to resolve it through discussion with the care home manager. Most care homes have a formal complaints procedure that you should follow. It is helpful to put your concerns in writing and keep copies of all correspondence.

If the dispute relates to a medical treatment decision, the attorney with a Health and Welfare LPA has the legal authority to make decisions on the donor's behalf, provided the donor lacks capacity for that specific decision. Healthcare professionals should work with the attorney, although they are not obliged to carry out a treatment they consider clinically inappropriate.

If you cannot resolve a dispute informally, there are several avenues available:

• Contact the local authority adult social care team for support and mediation
• Make a formal complaint to the care home using their written complaints procedure
• Report concerns to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) — the regulator of all care homes in England
• Contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for funding or social care complaints
• In serious cases, apply to the Court of Protection for a ruling on what is in the donor’s best interests

The Best Interests Duty in a Care Home Context

Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, all decisions made by an attorney on behalf of someone who lacks capacity must be made in that person's best interests. This goes beyond what the attorney personally thinks is best — the Act sets out a specific process for determining best interests.

When making decisions in a care home context, the attorney should consider the donor's past and present wishes, feelings, beliefs, and values. They should consult with care home staff, doctors, family members, and anyone else involved in the donor's care. The goal is always to make the decision the donor would have made for themselves if they had the capacity to do so.

Care homes also have obligations under the Mental Capacity Act. Staff must assume that a person has capacity unless it is established otherwise, and they must take all practicable steps to help the person make their own decisions before concluding that they lack capacity.

Planning Ahead: Why an LPA Matters for Care Homes

Many families only discover the importance of an LPA when a loved one needs to move into a care home. By that point, it may be too late if the person has already lost the mental capacity to create one. Without an LPA, family members have no automatic legal right to make decisions about care or finances, even for a spouse or parent.

If no LPA is in place and the person lacks capacity, someone will need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a deputy. This process is significantly more expensive, time-consuming, and stressful than creating an LPA in advance. Court of Protection applications can take months, during which time nobody may have the authority to make important decisions.

This is why we strongly recommend creating both types of LPA as early as possible. See our guide on how LPAs work in real life for practical examples of how they make a difference in care home situations and beyond.

If you need to use an LPA to manage bank accounts or finances alongside care home fees, our guide on how LPAs work with banks explains the registration process for major UK institutions.

Helpful Answers on LPAs and Care Homes

This guide was last reviewed and updated on 11 April 2026. Information is based on current legislation and OPG guidance for England and Wales.

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