On a wet Tuesday night in October, Martin Lewis held up a simple white form on live TV and said, almost quietly: “This is the most powerful document most people don’t have.”
Viewers at home were still half-thinking about the energy price cap or Christmas spending. Then he dropped the line about an **£82 change coming on 17 November** and you could almost feel living rooms across the UK sit up a bit straighter.
This wasn’t about saving £3 on broadband.
This was about who controls your money and health if you suddenly can’t.
What Martin Lewis is warning about before 17 November
Martin Lewis is urging UK households to sort a lasting power of attorney (LPA) before the government’s £82 fee is scrapped and replaced with a new system from 17 November.
That £82 currently covers the application fee for each LPA in England and Wales – one for finances, one for health and welfare – so for many families it’s **£164 standing between order and chaos** if something goes badly wrong.
The thing is, most of us only think about this when it’s already too late.
When someone’s had a stroke, a car accident, or dementia has quietly moved in.
Take a very ordinary couple in their 50s in Birmingham.
He manages the bills, knows all the online banking passwords, drives the car. One day he ends up in hospital after a heart attack, sedated and unable to speak.
His wife assumes she can simply “step in” and talk to the bank, the mortgage provider, even his pension company.
She can’t.
Without a registered LPA, she’s blocked. Accounts can be frozen, direct debits bounce, and the only route is the Court of Protection. That means forms, fees, and months of waiting while life is already in pieces.
This is what Martin Lewis is trying to cut through with that sharp, slightly exasperated tone of his.
LPA isn’t a rich-people tax dodge or some dusty legal form only for the very elderly. It’s a practical tool that says, “If I lose my capacity, these are the people I trust to act for me.”
There are two main types: one for property and financial affairs, and one for health and welfare.
The £82 fee (per LPA) is about to be reworked as the system moves online, and while the government says it will be “modernised”, the window right now is clear: you know the cost, you know the process, and you still have time.
How to get the £82 power of attorney in place – step by step
The surprisingly good news: you don’t necessarily need a solicitor to set up an LPA.
You can apply through the government website, download the forms or fill them in online, then print and sign.
You choose your “attorneys” – the people you trust to make decisions for you – and decide if they act together on everything, or independently.
You sign first, they sign, a “certificate provider” confirms you understand what you’re doing, and then it all goes off to the Office of the Public Guardian with that £82 fee.
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It’s not a five-minute job, but it’s also not the legal marathon people fear.
*Think of it as one quiet evening’s admin that could save your family from a year of bureaucracy.*
Most people get stuck on one thing: who to name as attorney.
You don’t have to choose your eldest child or your closest sibling. You need someone organised, calm under pressure, and willing to act in your best interests even when you’re not making sense.
Talk to them first. Ask, “If something happened to me, would you be ok handling my money or talking to doctors?”
We’ve all been there, that moment when the conversation turns serious over a Sunday roast and everyone suddenly looks at their plate.
Don’t rush it, but don’t dodge it either.
Let’s be honest: nobody really does this every single day.
Martin Lewis doesn’t often describe something as “urgent but boring” and then stick with it for multiple shows. With LPA, he has.
On his programme, he summed it up bluntly:
“Sorting a power of attorney is not about being old. It’s about being prepared. If you delay until you ‘need’ it, you almost certainly won’t be able to get it.”
To make it easier, here’s what many people decide to do:
- Start with the Property & Financial Affairs LPA, as money issues hit fastest.
- Add the Health & Welfare LPA so your wishes carry legal weight with doctors.
- Use the £82-per-LPA system while it’s still clear and familiar.
- Have one calm conversation with your chosen attorneys so they know your values.
- Store the paperwork where someone can actually find it in an emergency.
Why this £82 decision will echo through your family’s future
Once you’ve seen one family torn apart because there was no LPA, you can’t unsee it.
Siblings arguing over Mum’s care home, a partner locked out of joint planning because everything was in the other person’s name, adult children crowdfunding legal fees while their parent’s money sits untouchable in a frozen account.
An LPA doesn’t magically fix grief or illness.
What it does is strip away one brutal layer of admin and second-guessing at a time when people are already exhausted.
If you sort it now, before 17 November, you’re using a system that Martin Lewis and countless consumer experts have already road-tested.
No one can promise exactly how the new regime will feel in practice once the fee structure changes and the digital reforms bed in.
In a few years, you might barely remember the evening you printed those forms or the slight awkwardness of asking your daughter if she’d be willing to take over your banking if things went wrong.
What you will remember is the calm that comes from knowing the decision has been made.
Some people will read this, nod, and still push it to “next month’s list”.
Others will quietly open a new tab, search “Gov UK lasting power of attorney”, and start typing their name into the first box.
Only one of those groups will truly benefit from Martin Lewis’s warning.
The deadline is real, the £82 is real, and so are the families who will either be spared a future nightmare – or walk right into it.
| Key point | Detail | Value for the reader |
|---|---|---|
| £82 fee change on 17 November | Current application fee per LPA in England and Wales is being replaced as the system is modernised | Gives a clear time window to act while costs and process are known |
| Two types of LPA | Property & Financial Affairs, and Health & Welfare, each needing its own application | Helps readers decide which documents they and their family actually need |
| DIY is possible | Forms available via Gov.uk, no solicitor required for many straightforward situations | Reduces fear of high legal bills and encourages people to get started |
FAQ:
- Do I really need a power of attorney if I’m under 60?
Yes. Loss of capacity can come from accidents, strokes, mental health crises or serious illness at any age. LPA is about protecting your future decisions, not your birthday.- Is £82 the total cost for everything?
No. It’s currently £82 per LPA in England and Wales, so most people pay £82 for finances and £82 for health and welfare. Some people, on low incomes or benefits, may qualify for discounts or fee exemptions.- Can my family make decisions without an LPA if something happens?
Not automatically. Without an LPA, they may need to apply to the Court of Protection, which is slower, more expensive, and more stressful at an already difficult time.- Do I need a solicitor to set up an LPA?
Not necessarily. Many people complete the official forms themselves using the guidance notes. A solicitor can help in complex family or financial situations, or if there’s a risk of disputes.- What if I change my mind about my chosen attorney?
As long as you still have mental capacity, you can cancel an LPA and create a new one. You’ll need to follow the formal process and pay the fee again, but your choices aren’t locked in forever.