Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court Orders
Amendment
In August 2024, the links to Lasting Power of Attorney and Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment and The Court of Protection, Deputy’s and the Public Guardian were updated in Section 3, Further guidance and information.
When a person is lacking capacity, any existing Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) or Court Order should be scrutinised to establish if it is valid and its terms applicable to the decision being considered, before the authority to make the decision is delegated.
Where the decision making is delegated to a Donee of a LPA or a Court Appointed Deputy, practitioners must record that they have demonstrated that they are acting in the person’s best interests. Any concern that an LPA or Deputy is not acting in the best interests of the person should be considered as a potential safeguarding issue and managed accordingly.
The record should evidence that the LPA or Court Order applies to the decisions being made (i.e. financial and property, or health and wellbeing), that it does not exclude certain decisions, and that it is registered. A copy of the LPA or Court Order should be on file.
Even with a LPA or Court Order in place, there should be evidence on file that everything possible has been done to help the person make the decision.
A range of further guidance about LPA’s and court orders can be found in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Resource and Practice Toolkit:
Lasting Power of Attorney and Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment
Last Updated: August 12, 2024
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