The crucial £92 form millions are ignoring that’s ‘just as vital as a will’

Everyone knows the importance of having a will. That trusty little document that assures your dying wishes are fulfilled and inheritance tax savings, if applicable, can be made. However, there’s another document that is significantly underused yet arguably just as important.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) plays a vital role in protecting your estate and wellbeing. This legal document allows you to appoint friends or family as attorneys to make decisions on your behalf if you’re no longer able to do so, perhaps after an accident or if you lose capacity in later years.

There are two types of LPA. Health and welfare, and property and financial affairs, and you can choose one type for £92 or both for £184. Health and welfare attorneys make decisions about your medical care. This LPA can only be used if you’ve lost full mental capacity.

The property and financial attorney makes decisions about your money and assets. You can decide when this attorney steps in, whether you’ve lost capacity or while you still have capacity, but with your consent. You can appoint the same people for both types of LPA.

Joe Farmer, co-founder at The Retirement Studio, said a huge percentage of families only realise how important LPAs are “when it’s already too late”. He said: “Most people assume their spouse or next of kin can automatically step in if they lose mental capacity, but that isn’t the case. Without an LPA, families can find themselves unable to access bank accounts, bills, or deal with mortgages.”

Without an LPA in place, your next of kin would have to go through the Court of Protection if you lose capacity, which can be time-consuming and emotionally draining.

To create an LPA, fill in the forms on GOV.UK and then register them with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). This can take between eight and 10 weeks. You can instruct a solicitor to do this for you to avoid the risk of mistakes. I say this as a new Freedom of Information request revealed that 48,945 applications were rejected in the 2024/25 tax year.

To nail it first time, wealth management firm AJ Bell shared a few tips. Firstly, several parties need to sign the LPA. These include the “donor” – the person who wants an LPA – and the attorneys. You’ll also need a certificate provider, an independent person who signs to confirm that the donor isn’t being coerced. This person must have known the donor for at least two years and must not be an attorney or related to the donor or the attorney. An example could be a family friend.

Secondly, each signature page of the document must be signed, witnessed and dated in the correct order. Sign where specified and use full names rather than initials. Finally, don’t mix up the pages. Double-check the page numbering and ensure it’s in order before submitting to the OPG. Don’t leave an LPA too late – your future self will probably thank you for it.

If you’re looking to do something a bit different to enjoy the gorgeous summery weather we’re having, Wild Life Trusts has a list of 50 wild flower meadows to visit around the country for free. From Ledsham Bank in Yorkshire to Blakehill Farm in Wiltshire, visit wildlifetrusts.org for the full list.

More than one in four holidaymakers is overpaying when spending abroad, alarming research from Chase shows. According to the digital bank, this very avoidable slip-up happens when Brits choose to make card payments in pounds rather than the local currency of wherever they’ve travelled.

By paying in the local currency, you avoid additional conversion fees charged by merchants under Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), keeping transaction costs lower. To cut costs further, choose a debit or credit card with no charges or transaction fees for overseas spending. Most standard debit and credit cards charge 2.75% to 2.99% on every foreign transaction. However, by setting up an additional online current account with a bank that doesn’t charge, such as Monzo or Chase, you can avoid this altogether.

And if you need to withdraw cash abroad with your card, make sure to check beforehand whether the card charges ATM withdrawal fees to avoid another costly surprise. With Chase’s research showing that UK adults spend an average of £110.19 per day while holidaying, every little helps, as they say.