Megan is a senior researcher and writer at Which?, with a background in data analysis and stats in the public and charity sectors.
Taking responsibility for a loved one’s finances and health can feel daunting. There are bills to pay, accounts to manage and sometimes unexpected hurdles.
Power of attorney gives someone the right to make decisions on another person's behalf. You can obtain it for property and financial affairs, and health. It’s primarily used when someone no longer has the capacity to make decisions on their own.
You can agree to be an attorney if you're a spouse, a child or even a friend.
We spoke with people who are currently managing their loved ones' finances to understand where difficulties can lie and what you can do to make the process easier when the time comes.
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When we surveyed 2,406 Which? members who used power of attorney in May 2026, the largest proportion of those who experienced problems pointed to banks.
Indeed, 24% of those acting as attorneys said they had some difficulty with banks.
Banks don’t have a cohesive set of rules to follow, so they decide how to apply additional checks and balances.
Elaine said: ‘Most of them want you to visit in person with your ID, and that’s something that’s not that easy with lots of high street branches closed.’ More than two thirds of branches that opened in 2015 have since closed.
Some respondents also told us that while clear policies are in place, staff at local branches weren't always familiar with the protocol.
Alex, a business owner who acts as attorney for his mother, told us: ‘Once you’ve got power of attorney set up, the hard work then begins. There’s a real lack of consistency and clarity on how to use them between or even within organisations. On the phone, [banks] say you need to go to the branch; in the branch, they say you need to phone.
'Each requirement made sense in and of itself, but when combined with other conflicting processes, it was a bit of a farce.'
In England and Wales, you can direct banks to use an access code through the Gov.uk One login. This should mean organisations can log in and view a copy of the agreement themselves, without you needing to send out many printed copies. When we asked 13 banks if they accepted the code, all said they did.
Unfortunately, Scotland and Northern Ireland have no equivalent system.
Alex added: ‘If I provide the lasting power of attorney (LPA) code to a bank, the expectation is that it will be accepted and I will be accepted as the attorney. If not, there should be an agreed, consistent approach. Until then, we need to be prepared to find out their processes and policies. If you don’t like their policy, you could move banks in advance.’
If you can’t access the code, you’ll need a few copies of the agreement, although this will cost money.
Even if you can access the code, it may help to have extra copies in case some organisations are behind the times.
And it’s not just banks that take an inconsistent approach to power of attorney. You may need to contact a wide range of organisations, from energy companies to government agencies such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Land Registry, none of which coordinate their requirements.
For telecoms providers, for example, a power of attorney should let you receive and pay bills and speak to the provider about the account, including closing it.
However, Ofcom warned it will vary from one provider to another on whether telecoms providers would accept a photocopy or a certified copy only. You can send the original, but you risk losing it if something goes wrong.
We've seen similar uncertainty in other sectors. One member responding to our survey said: ‘The DWP accepted an original copy certified by the Job Centre (done free of charge), but the local council, Land Registry and NS&I needed it certified by a solicitor (I was quoted £120, plus VAT, which was an expense I didn't wish to incur, especially when trying to establish if £300 of Premium Bonds bought 30 years ago had been cashed in).
‘I delivered the original to our local council and 10 days later received an email reminding me to send the power of attorney to them without further delay. My sister-in-law no longer has capacity, so I was very concerned about how to get another original. Fortunately, the council eventually found it.’
If you lose your power of attorney document, you can contact the Office for the Public Guardian or the Office of Care and Protection for a replacement. This costs £35 for an LPA in England and Wales, £25 for an enduring power of attorney (EPA) in England and Wales, £32 in Scotland (plus 50p a page above the 10-page cap) and £17 in Northern Ireland.
Waiting for the copy to be sent without access to the original could put you under unnecessary extra stress, so it's worth getting copies before you need them where you can.
While you're working hard to manage your loved one's affairs, the last thing you'd want or expect is to be accused of wrongdoing, but unfortunately, we've heard from several members who have been through just that.
In some rare instances, the pressures of power of attorney can bring with them complicated family politics – 4% of Which? members who had used power of attorney said they’d had conflict with family as a result.
One Which? member from Hampshire was the sole attorney for her father and faced challenges when siblings asked for large sums that he had generously given in the past. She checked with the OPG and found that, while you can give ‘reasonable, affordable’ gifts on ‘customary occasions’ such as birthdays and Christmas, you can’t give the kind of gifts her father would have given in the past, which were large and ad hoc.
But this put her in direct conflict with the rest of the family. She said: ‘I was frightened, anxious, depressed and exhausted. You don’t realise how difficult it’s going to be. We were careful to do everything by the book and keep them informed, but there was a lot of animosity that we had the power, and they didn’t.’
Though it hopefully wouldn’t come to it, and most likely it won’t, keeping a record of the money you spend is the best way to protect yourself if you come into conflict with your family over the power of attorney.
Another respondent, Josanne, acts as attorney for her husband, whose condition quickly deteriorated after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
They decided to convert the garage so he could stay at home for longer, and together arranged a loan to cover the cost. Unfortunately, while Josanne was away visiting their daughter, her husband told a visiting social worker at his respite care home that he hadn’t authorised the loan.
She said: ‘He totally forgot that he’d sat down with me at the computer to do this online loan. The safeguarding team understood after investigating, but it took a lot for me to prove. The stress this causes when your own family can accuse you isn't good.
‘It’s all new; I haven't been through anything like this before. I’m having to keep on top of it all the time, keeping receipts if I spend any money. I would always say: have a witness if you’re going to do anything major, which is what the safeguarding team said to me afterwards.’
Being someone’s attorney is difficult, and sometimes it’s just not possible to continue. You can always resign from holding power of attorney.
If the donor still has capacity, they could change the power of attorney to include someone else.
If they've lost capacity, options are more limited. Depending on the original agreement, this will mean either other attorneys who have been appointed jointly and severally will continue without you, or replacements specified in the agreement will be appointed.
Or, if you’re the sole attorney or working jointly (but not jointly and severally), the power of attorney document will become invalid, and the Court of Protection will become responsible.
Although professionals such as solicitors can be given power of attorney, this must be done when it was first set up, or if the donor still has capacity to amend it.
This article uses insights from the Which? Connect panel, collected from research activities with our members. Find out how to get involved
