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Should I Include Preferences and Instructions in My Lasting Power of Attorney?

May 19, 2025

Background:

A Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”) is a legal document that appoints Attorney(s) to act on behalf of another person, referred to as the Donor. The Attorney(s) can make decisions relating to property and financial affairs and health and welfare. There is a separate LPA for each and are treated as two separate documents.

The Donor can only make an LPA if it is established that they have mental capacity and are not under any undue influence.

Overview of Preferences and Instructions:

Section 7 of both the property and financial affairs and the health and welfare LPA allow for the Donor to leave preferences or instructions to their Attorneys and can help guide your Attorneys.

This section is often left blank as leaving preferences or instructions is optional. Anything noted in this section cannot be complicated or badly worded, as this can make your LPA unworkable. If these sections are poorly worded, then the Office of the Public Guardian may take the view that these preferences or instructions would invalidate your LPA.

Preferences:

Preferences state what you would like to happen if possible and what you want your Attorneys to think about when they make decisions for you. Anything noted in the preferences section is not legally binding.

When including wording in the preferences section, firm words such as “must” and “have to” should be avoided, and instead wording such as “I would prefer” or “I would like” should be used. Any firmer wording should be included in the instructions section.

An example of a preference in a health and welfare LPA could be used in circumstances where you are slightly concerned about the views of one of your Attorneys when it comes to medical treatment. If for example, one of your Attorney did not believe in western medicine or had negative views of the NHS, then you could include a preference addressing this issue.

An example of a preference in a property and financial affairs LPA could be used in circumstances where you wish to make a donation to a Charity.

Instructions:

Compared to preferences, instructions are direct instructions telling your Attorneys what they must do when acting on your behalf. Instructions are legally binding and if your Attorneys do not carry them out, then their decisions can be challenged in the Court of Protection. It is important to use instructions carefully as they can cause more problems than preferences.

If you include instructions directing your attorney to benefit someone other than yourself this is likely to be ineffective because it may conflict with the Attorney’s duty to act in your best interests.

When including anything in the instructions section, firm words such as “must” and “have to” should be used, instead of wording such as “I would prefer” or “I would like”.

In circumstances where you already have investments that are managed on your behalf by an investment professional (known as discretionary investment management) or would like to allow your attorneys to use any scheme involving discretionary investment management, you should disclose this, and we can provide advice on whether it is necessary to make specific instruction for this in your LPA.

An example of an instruction in a health and welfare LPA may relate to your dietary requirements that you adhere too.

An example of an instruction in a property and financial affairs LPA could relate to the home you live in and any potential sale of that property.

To avoid problems with preferences and instructions, it is important to avoid:

  1. Changing the way your Attorneys can act on your behalf.
  2. Asking your Attorneys to do anything against the law.
  3. Including instructions for anyone else other than yourself.
  4. Asking your Attorneys to make changes to your Will or appointing any replacement Attorneys in your LPA.

Discussing preferences and instructions with your solicitor can help navigate this section of the LPA and ensure that your wishes and instructions are included in a way that will not invalidate your LPA, or cause issues down the line for your Attorneys.

If you have any further questions regarding making an LPA or what to include in your preferences and instructions section of your LPA, please do not hesitate to contact us to make an appointment at our Solihull Office on 0121 705 7571 or our Dorridge Office on 01564 779393.

James Sawyer
Solicitor – Dispute Resolution & Employment Departments

This article is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute technical, financial, legal advice or any other type of professional advice and is no substitute for specific advice based on your individual circumstances. We do not accept responsibility or liability for any actions taken based on the information in this article. For more information, please click here.