A conversation about a power of attorney can fail for a reason nobody says out loud. To the person being asked, it sounds like the family arranging its own convenience while they are still perfectly capable of writing a cheque.
Can you make a power of attorney for a parent who refuses?
No. A power of attorney is made by the person it concerns, who names the people they choose. A certificate provider confirms they understand it and that nobody is forcing them (OPG, form LP1F (PDF), checked 1 November 2026). That is why no route exists around a refusal while somebody has capacity to decide.
The Act’s starting point supports them, not you. A person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established that they lack capacity, and a decision others think unwise is not evidence of incapacity (Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 1, checked 1 November 2026).
What is your parent actually refusing?
A parent may be refusing what they think a power of attorney means, not the document itself. They may fear being managed, being judged as failing, or the family circling the house. Ask which of those it is before producing a form, because each fear has a different answer, and none of the answers is the form.
Three features of a power of attorney may reassure a parent, because each returns control rather than removing it. They choose the attorneys, and can name two who must act together. They can add instructions and preferences that bind the attorney. And on a property and financial affairs power they can choose that it is only used when they do not have mental capacity (OPG, form LP1F (PDF), section 5, checked 1 November 2026). The form itself warns that this choice can make the power “a lot less useful”, because attorneys may have to prove a lack of capacity each time; our LP1F guide sets out both options.
A health and welfare power is already limited that way by law, and can only be used when the donor is unable to make their own decisions (GOV.UK, checked 1 November 2026). Your parent can also name replacement attorneys, and can cancel a registered power while they still have capacity by sending the Office of the Public Guardian the original and a deed of revocation.
Be honest about the alternative
If no power of attorney exists and your parent loses capacity, nobody can act for them. A relative may then apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed deputy. The court can appoint a deputy for someone who cannot make a decision for themselves at the time it needs to be made (GOV.UK, Deputies: make decisions for someone who lacks capacity: Overview, checked 1 November 2026).
A power of attorney and a deputyship differ in who chooses the person acting and in what each costs. A power of attorney is made by your parent, naming whom they trust, for a £92 registration fee (GOV.UK, checked 1 November 2026). A deputyship needs an application to the Court of Protection with a £432 fee, then supervision fees and an annual report. The applicant must also visit your parent and tell them that their ability to make decisions is being questioned (GOV.UK, Deputies: make decisions for someone who lacks capacity: Overview, checked 1 November 2026).
| Lasting power of attorney | Court of Protection deputyship | |
|---|---|---|
| Who chooses who acts | Your parent names their attorneys | The Court of Protection appoints the deputy, on an application by someone else |
| When it can be made | While your parent has mental capacity | When your parent cannot make a decision for themselves at the time it needs to be made |
| Cost to start | £92 to register one, or £184 for both types, unless a reduction or exemption applies | £432 application fee, plus a £100 assessment fee for a new deputy, and £266 if the court holds a hearing |
| After it starts | Your parent can cancel it while they have capacity | An annual deputy report, and a supervision fee of £320 a year, or £35 under minimal supervision |
Sources: GOV.UK, Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney and GOV.UK, Deputies: make decisions for someone who lacks capacity, both checked 1 November 2026.
If your parent already has a lasting power of attorney, or an enduring power of attorney, a deputy is not usually needed, so check before anyone applies. For a single important decision, the court can make a one-off order instead (GOV.UK, Deputies: make decisions for someone who lacks capacity: Overview, checked 1 November 2026). Our page on deputyship sets out what that involves in practice.
Can a parent still make one if their capacity is slipping?
It may still be possible. Capacity is judged decision by decision, and someone may be able to make decisions for themselves at certain times and not others (GOV.UK, Deputies: make decisions for someone who lacks capacity: Overview, checked 1 November 2026). Somebody who could not manage an investment portfolio may still understand what a power of attorney is, who they trust, and what they want to happen.
A parent may still be able to make a power of attorney while they understand what it is, even if other decisions have become harder. The person who confirms that is the certificate provider: someone who has known your parent personally for at least two years, or someone with relevant professional skills, such as their GP or a solicitor (OPG, form LP1F (PDF), section 10, checked 1 November 2026). Capacity can change, so it may help to raise the subject while your parent can still decide for themselves.
Can the DWP appoint someone for benefits instead?
Where the immediate problem is only the State Pension or a benefit, there is a narrower answer. The Department for Work and Pensions can appoint somebody to act for a person who cannot manage their own affairs, and that appointee deals with the claim, the payments and the reporting duties.
DWP appoints someone for a claimant who cannot manage their own affairs because they are mentally incapable or severely disabled, and it visits the claimant to assess whether an appointee is needed. Only one appointee can act for a claimant (GOV.UK, Become an appointee for someone claiming benefits, checked 1 November 2026). So an appointee is not a way round a refusal from a parent who can still manage their own affairs.
A DWP appointee’s role covers making and maintaining the benefit claim and spending the payments in the claimant’s best interests, and that limit matters. It gives no authority over a bank account, a house, an investment or a utility bill. Our guide to becoming an appointee explains who can do it and how, and it is worth reading alongside this rather than instead of it.
What not to do
Do not sign anything in their name, do not ask a bank to add you to an account as a workaround, and do not present the form as a fait accompli at a hospital bedside. Each of those creates a bigger problem than it solves.
Signing a document in someone else’s name so that others accept it as genuine could be forgery (Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 1, checked 1 November 2026).
Equally, do not treat one refusal as the end of the conversation. The answer can change after a hospital stay, a friend’s difficult experience, or a conversation with their own solicitor rather than their own children. Leave the door open, and revisit it when something in their life makes the question feel like theirs rather than yours. If your parent wants to talk it through with someone neutral, the Office of the Public Guardian helps people deciding whether to make one, on 0300 456 0300 (GOV.UK, checked 1 November 2026).
Scotland has its own system, with continuing and welfare powers of attorney registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) and guardianship in place of deputyship (mygov.scot, Setting up power of attorney, checked 14 September 2026).