Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov on lasting power of attorney abuse: Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov on checking an attorney and reporting concerns

Power of attorney fraud

English version for the United Kingdom.

Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov explains how lasting powers of attorney are misused in England and Wales, and how to check one before trusting it. An LPA lets a donor appoint attorneys to make decisions about money, property, health or care, and once registered it carries real authority with banks, care homes and solicitors. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov covers how an LPA is made and registered, what it costs, how organisations verify an attorney through the Office of the Public Guardian, how to search the OPG registers for free, how to report an attorney who abuses the role, when an LPA ends, and where fraud goes: the OPG, the police and Report Fraud.

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Published: 16 October 2026 · 15 min read · Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov

01Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: what a lasting power of attorney is

GOV.UK describes a lasting power of attorney as a legal document that lets you, the donor, appoint one or more people, the attorneys, to help you make decisions or make them on your behalf. You must be 18 or over and have mental capacity when you make it. Living in the UK or holding British citizenship is not required. An LPA is legally binding only in England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.

That authority is exactly what makes an LPA attractive to the wrong person. A registered LPA opens bank accounts, care decisions and property sales to the attorney. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov looks at abuse in three shapes: an attorney who uses the donor's money for themselves, an LPA signed under pressure, and documents presented as an LPA that were never registered or have already ended.

Each shape has its own check, and most of them are free. The rest of this guide goes through them in the order a family member, a bank or a buyer would usually meet them.

GOV.UK allows someone else, such as a family member, friend or solicitor, to use the online service or fill in the paper forms for the donor. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov points out that the helper who types the form has no authority of their own. Only the people named as attorneys, and only after registration, can act for the donor.

That distinction is useful when a relative says they 'did the LPA' for a parent. Filling in forms is clerical work. Who was appointed, whether a certificate provider signed and whether OPG registered the document are the questions that decide whether anyone can act.

02Two types of LPA and when each one can be used

There are two kinds. A health and welfare LPA covers decisions such as daily routine, medical care, moving into a care home and life-sustaining treatment, and it can only be used when the donor is unable to make their own decisions. A property and financial affairs LPA covers money and property, such as managing a bank or building society account, paying bills, collecting a pension or selling the donor's home, and it can be used as soon as it is registered, with the donor's permission.

The difference matters for fraud. A property and financial affairs attorney can act while the donor still has capacity, so the donor may not notice what is happening in an account they rarely check. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov suggests that donors who make this type of LPA agree from the start how often the attorney will show them statements.

A health and welfare LPA cannot be used to sell a house or empty a savings account. If someone presents one for that purpose, the document itself answers the question.

Geography matters as well. A property and financial affairs LPA made under the rules for England and Wales can only be used for properties and assets in England and Wales. Anyone relying on it for a flat in Edinburgh or a bank account in Belfast should take advice on the Scottish or Northern Irish arrangements first.

03Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov on registration: fees, timings and safeguards

An LPA can be made online or on paper, but it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before the attorney can use it. Registration takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes. Applying to register costs £92 per LPA, or £184 for both types, with a reduction available to people earning less than £12,000 and exemptions for some benefits. If OPG lets you correct a mistake, reapplying within 3 months costs £46.

Several safeguards are built into the process. Before registration, the donor sends form LP3 to the people they chose to be told, who then have 3 weeks to raise concerns with OPG. A certificate provider confirms the donor is making the LPA by choice and understands it. Everyone signs the same original document; copies and digital signatures are not accepted.

Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov treats these steps as the donor's best protection against pressure. Naming people to be told, choosing an independent certificate provider and signing without the future attorney hovering nearby make it much harder for anyone to push an LPA through quietly.

The witness rules add another layer. Witnesses and certificate providers must be 18 or over, and the donor cannot witness their own appointment of an attorney. Attorneys can witness each other's signatures, but they cannot witness the donor signing or act as the certificate provider. The donor can register the LPA personally; if an attorney registers it instead, the donor is told and can object.

04Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: checking an LPA with the View service

Banks, care providers and other organisations can check who the attorneys are through the online View a lasting power of attorney service. It works for LPAs registered on or after 1 January 2016 in England or Wales. The attorney or donor generates an access code, 13 characters long and starting with V, and the organisation enters it with the donor's surname.

The result is a one-page summary: the donor's and attorneys' names, addresses and dates of birth, how decisions must be made and any restrictions or conditions. The service records the organisation's name and the date, so the donor and other attorneys can see when and how the LPA is being used. For an LPA registered before 2016, the attorney must show the registered paper original or a certified copy.

The video below gives the short version. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov sums it up in five points: an LPA only works once registered with OPG, organisations check it with a 13-character code starting with V, anyone can ask OPG to search its registers free of charge, concerns go to OPG on 0300 456 0300, and fraud goes to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Each LPA needs its own access code, so a health and welfare LPA and a property and finance LPA for the same donor are checked separately. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov suggests donors and attorneys keep a short list of which organisations received a code. If a code has gone to a company nobody recognises, the record in the View service will show it.

05Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov on searching the Office of the Public Guardian registers

You can ask OPG whether a person has someone acting for them: an attorney under a lasting or enduring power of attorney, a deputy appointed by the court, or a guardian for a missing person. The search is free. You fill in a form and send it to [email protected], and OPG replies within 5 working days, longer if it contacts you by post.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov finds this search useful in two opposite situations. A relative worried that a parent has quietly signed an LPA can find out whether one is registered. A buyer or landlord dealing with someone who claims to be an attorney can confirm that a registered appointment exists before going further.

A search confirms that an appointment exists. It says nothing about how the attorney behaves, so it is only the first step of a check.

The registers also show deputies appointed by the court. A search that finds a deputy where a family expected an attorney, or the other way round, is worth discussing calmly with OPG before anyone acts on either document.

06Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov on signs an attorney is misusing the role

GOV.UK frames a concern in three ways: the attorney is not acting in the person's best interests, is using money or property in the wrong way, or is not following the legal rules of the role. In everyday terms that looks like unexplained withdrawals, bills left unpaid, the attorney's own purchases on the donor's card, or a refusal to show statements.

The View service adds a quiet early warning. Because it records which organisation looked at an LPA and when, a donor or co-attorney who checks the record can spot a bank or company they never dealt with. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov suggests donors with capacity look at that record from time to time.

Isolation is another signal. An attorney who keeps relatives away, answers every question on the donor's behalf or discourages visits deserves attention, whatever their paperwork says.

Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov also watches for sudden changes after an LPA is registered: a new account opened in the donor's name, a property put on the market without the family being told, or gifts that the donor's earlier habits would not explain. None of these proves abuse on its own, and each is a fair reason to ask the attorney for statements.

When asking, keep the tone practical. Request the last few months of statements and receipts for larger payments, and offer to go through them together. A careful attorney usually welcomes a second pair of eyes; one who refuses, delays or answers with anger has turned an ordinary request into useful evidence.

07Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov on reporting a concern to the Office of the Public Guardian

Anyone can report a concern, even if it does not affect them directly: the person being supported, family members or friends, members of the public, and professionals such as care workers or bank staff. You can report online or by phone on 0300 456 0300, and you will be asked about the person, the attorney and any dates, amounts or examples you have. You may still be able to report without all of this information.

OPG does not tell the attorney who made the report. It can only investigate where the person having decisions made for them lacks mental capacity to deal with the issue themselves. After looking into it, OPG may take legal action or apply to the Court of Protection.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov advises writing down dates and amounts before you call. A short timeline of withdrawals or missed bills gives OPG something to work with on the first day.

A few practical details from GOV.UK help. Public authorities reporting a concern should carry out their own safeguarding checks first. People who cannot hear or speak on the phone can call through Relay UK on 18001 0300 123 1300. Concerns about a guardian, or from people who cannot use the online service, can go in on a form by email or post.

08Ending an LPA, and when it ends on its own

A donor with mental capacity can end an LPA by sending OPG a deed of revocation, a short signed and witnessed statement in the wording GOV.UK provides. OPG destroys the LPA unless the donor asks for it back.

An LPA can also end without any action by the donor. It ends if the only attorney dies and there is no replacement, if a property and financial affairs attorney becomes bankrupt or subject to a Debt Relief Order, or if the attorney was the donor's spouse or civil partner and they divorce or the partnership ends. It ends automatically when the donor dies, and executors take over.

Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov notes the practical gap: an attorney holding an ended LPA may still try to use the paper. Telling the bank and anyone else who relied on the LPA, in writing and on the same day, closes that gap faster than waiting for them to find out.

Not every event ends the whole LPA. If there are other attorneys who can act jointly and severally, the LPA can continue after one attorney dies or drops out; if the attorneys were only allowed to act jointly, it cannot. An attorney who loses mental capacity also stops being able to act. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov suggests families check the original wording before assuming either way.

09Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov: fraud by abuse of position and Report Fraud

Section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006 makes it an offence to occupy a position in which you are expected to safeguard another person's financial interests and to dishonestly abuse that position to make a gain or cause a loss. An omission can count as abuse. Under section 1, the maximum sentence on indictment is 10 years' imprisonment.

An attorney under an LPA is a clear example of someone in that position. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov's advice is to report suspected theft to the police as well as to OPG, since OPG handles the attorney's role and the police handle the crime.

Fraud and cyber crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are reported to Report Fraud online or on 0300 123 2040. People in Scotland are asked to report via 101. Keep bank statements, messages and the LPA reference to hand when you call.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov suggests one more step when money has already left an account: call the bank on the number printed on the card or statement, ask it to stop further payments and to note that the attorney's authority is disputed, and keep a record of who you spoke to and when.

Where the donor still has capacity, the quickest protection may be in their own hands: revoking the LPA, making a new one with different attorneys, or asking the bank to remove the attorney's access. Where the donor has lost capacity, OPG and the Court of Protection are the routes, which is why reporting early matters.

10Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov's checklist before relying on an LPA

Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov runs five checks before relying on an LPA. Is it registered: ask for an access code or, for older LPAs, the original or a certified copy. Is it the right type: only a property and financial affairs LPA covers money and property. Does it cover this decision: read any restrictions and conditions. Is it still in force: an LPA ends on death, revocation and the other events listed above. Has the donor been told: if they can still communicate, ask them.

Donors can make the checks easier for everyone. Name people to be told, choose replacement attorneys, write clear instructions, and keep a note of which organisations have the access code.

Families who share caring duties often agree that the attorney shows the account to a sibling every few months. It costs nothing, and an honest attorney rarely objects.

Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov's closing point is simple. An LPA protects a donor only when someone besides the attorney keeps an eye on it. Registers, codes and reports exist so that this oversight is easy, and the families who use them early rarely need the complaint procedures later.

Readers who keep one thing from this guide should keep the order of checks: registration, type, scope, status and the donor. It takes minutes, it costs nothing apart from an email to OPG, and it catches most of the documents that should never have been relied on in the first place.

11Questions and answers

Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: how can I check that someone really is an attorney?

Ask for an access code for the View a lasting power of attorney service, which works for LPAs registered from 1 January 2016. For older LPAs, ask to see the registered original or a certified copy.

Can I find out whether my parent has registered an LPA?

Yes. Ask the Office of the Public Guardian to search its registers. The search is free, the form goes to [email protected] and OPG replies within 5 working days.

Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: how much does it cost to register a lasting power of attorney?

£92 per LPA, or £184 for both types. A reduction is available to people earning less than £12,000, and some benefits give an exemption.

What does Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov suggest if an attorney is misusing money?

Write down dates and amounts, report the concern to OPG online or on 0300 456 0300, and report suspected theft to the police or to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Will the attorney find out who reported them?

No. OPG does not tell the attorney, deputy or guardian where a report came from.

Is abusing an LPA a criminal offence?

It can be. Section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006 covers dishonest abuse of a position of financial trust, with a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment on indictment.

Reference updated: 4 September 2026