Does power of attorney end at death? What attorneys can and cannot do once the donor dies
A power of attorney ends when the donor dies. What the attorney must stop doing, how to report the death to the OPG and who deals with the estate next.
Does power of attorney end at death?
Yes. Every common type of power of attorney in England and Wales ends when the person who made it (the donor) dies. GOV.UK's page on when a lasting power of attorney ends says the usual reason an LPA ends is that the donor has died, and that the death must be reported to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). This applies to both kinds of LPA, property and financial affairs as well as health and welfare, because a lasting power under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is designed to carry on if the donor loses capacity, not to carry on after they have died.
Older powers follow the same rule. GOV.UK's guidance on acting under an enduring power of attorney says an EPA, which can still be used if it was made and signed before 1 October 2007, ends automatically when the donor dies, and an ordinary (sometimes called general) power of attorney is treated the same way, since section 5 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1971 describes the death of the donor as an event that revokes a power. The only narrow exception in that Act is a power expressed to be irrevocable and given as security for an obligation or property interest owed to the attorney, which rarely arises in families.
What does the attorney have to stop doing straight away?
The attorney has to stop making any decision or transaction for the donor from the moment they know about the death, which in practice means no further payments, transfers, withdrawals or signatures using the donor's accounts. That includes card payments and online banking, even where the attorney has the card and the passwords and nothing has yet been frozen, because the authority has gone whether or not the bank has caught up.
Some situations feel less clear-cut, although the answer is usually the same. Direct debits and standing orders that were already set up are not the attorney's to manage any more, and under UK Finance's Estate Administration Banking Protocol (February 2026) banks confirm that standing orders and direct debits on a sole account have been stopped once they have proof of death. Bills that arrive after the death, including a care home invoice for the final weeks, are debts of the estate, so the attorney should pass them to the executor rather than pay them from the donor's account. Withdrawing cash to cover the funeral is not allowed either, however sensible it seems, because there is no authority left to withdraw it under, and the proper route for funeral costs is set out below.
Can an attorney be personally liable for acting after the death?
They can be, once they know the donor has died. The Powers of Attorney Act 1971 shields an attorney from liability for acting after a power has ended only if they did not know it had ended, and section 5(5) says that knowing about the donor's death counts as knowing. A payment made in genuine ignorance of the death is therefore treated differently from one made the following week by an attorney who knew, which the executor can ask to have repaid.
The same applies to anything that benefits the attorney. GOV.UK's guidance on an attorney's records and duties warns that an attorney can be ordered to repay the donor's money if they misuse it or make decisions to benefit themselves, and after the death the executor has a duty to recover anything that belongs to the estate. Our guide to what an executor does explains why an executor who lets estate money go unrecovered can end up answering for it themselves, which is why they will usually ask the attorney for a full account.
If you paid for something yourself after the death, such as a deposit to the funeral director, keep the invoice and the receipt and give them to the executor. Funeral costs and other proper expenses are paid from the estate, so money you spent on its behalf can usually be reclaimed, and claiming it back in the open is better than taking it from the donor's account.
How do you tell the Office of the Public Guardian?
You report the death by email, phone or letter and send the OPG the original LPA together with every certified copy. GOV.UK's page on changes you need to report gives the contact details as [email protected], 0300 456 0300 (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9am to 5pm, Wednesday 10am to 5pm), and Office of the Public Guardian, PO Box 16185, Birmingham, B2 2WH. When you write, include your name, address and date of birth, the donor's name, address and date of birth, the fact that you are the attorney, and the reference number on the LPA.
You do not normally need to send a death certificate. The OPG's practice note on notification of death explains that it checks deaths through Life Event Verification, which draws on General Register Office records, and asks for further proof only if it needs it. A copy of the death certificate is required if the donor died outside the UK. Once the death is confirmed, the OPG cancels the LPA, writes to the attorneys and destroys the original, so if the family wants it back, include a note asking for its return with a return address.
An enduring power of attorney is handled in the same way, with the original EPA and any certified copies sent to the OPG. GOV.UK's reporting instructions cover LPAs and EPAs, so if the donor only ever had an ordinary power of attorney, the people to tell are the organisations that had a copy of it, such as the bank.
Who has power of attorney after death?
Nobody holds power of attorney after the death, because the role that replaces it is a different one. GOV.UK says that once the donor has died, their executors or personal representatives look after their affairs rather than their attorney. Where there is a will, that means the executors named in it. Where there is no will, the closest living relative can apply to become the administrator, and our guides to who inherits when there is no will and letters of administration explain who has priority and how to apply.
A power of attorney therefore does not override probate, and it cannot be used instead of it. Banks and other firms that follow the UK Finance protocol take instructions on a deceased person's accounts only from the personal representatives or from a probate practitioner formally acting for them. Whether a grant of probate is then needed depends on what the person owned, because GOV.UK says every organisation has its own rules.
What if the attorney is also the executor?
This is common, because people often choose the same trusted person for both roles, but the two jobs rest on separate authority. As attorney you acted under the LPA while the donor was alive, whereas as executor you act under the will from the date of death, and where the estate includes assets that need a grant, you will have to obtain one before you can deal with them. Holding the LPA gives you no shortcut through that.
It helps to draw a clear line at the date of death in your paperwork, so that the record of what you did as attorney is finished and separate from the estate accounts you start as executor. If you are also a beneficiary, our guide to whether an executor can be a beneficiary covers how to keep things fair and transparent for the others who inherit.
There is one way a power of attorney can still matter here, although it is the executor's own power rather than the donor's. GOV.UK's guidance on applying for probate when there is a will says a sole executor, or one whose co-executors have stepped aside, can appoint an attorney to apply for them using a signed EPA or a registered LPA.
Can you sell the house with power of attorney after the donor dies?
No. Once the donor has died, an attorney has no authority to sell their home or any other property, even if the sale was agreed whilst they were alive. Property in the person's sole name forms part of the estate, so it is sold, if at all, by the executor or administrator, and GOV.UK advises not putting property on the market until the grant has been issued. If a sale was under way at the date of death but had not completed, the executor will need to pick it up once they have authority to do so.
Property owned as joint tenants is different, because GOV.UK explains that it passes automatically to the surviving owner and does not wait for the estate to be dealt with.
How can the funeral be paid for if the attorney cannot use the account?
Banks can often release money from the deceased's account to pay for the funeral before probate, once they have the invoice. The UK Finance protocol, which applies in England and Wales, lists funeral expenses with an invoice among the essential costs for which firms can release funds before probate, alongside inheritance tax and probate court fees, although firms may ask for further documents, such as an indemnity, under their own procedures. GOV.UK also confirms that the funeral can be paid for with money from the person's estate.
In practice the family or executor takes the funeral director's invoice and proof of death to the bank and asks for it to be paid from the account, which is cleaner than the attorney drawing cash and accounting for it later. Our guide to what happens to a bank account when someone dies covers what the bank freezes, what it refunds and what it will release.
Does power of attorney end at death in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
Yes, in both. In Scotland, the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) lists the death of the granter among the circumstances that bring a power of attorney to an end, which covers continuing (financial) and welfare powers alike. It asks to be told of the death in writing and wants a copy of the death certificate, which can be sent to [email protected] or to Hadrian House, Callendar Business Park, Callendar Road, Falkirk, FK1 1XR. The estate is then dealt with by the executor through confirmation, which our guide to confirmation in Scotland explains.
Northern Ireland still uses enduring powers of attorney for financial matters, because the lasting powers created by the Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 are shown on legislation.gov.uk as not yet in force. An EPA has to be registered with the High Court's Office of Care and Protection once the donor is losing capacity, and the Powers of Attorney Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 treats the death of the donor as an event that revokes a power, in the same way as the England and Wales Act. The Department of Justice's page on enduring powers of attorney gives the Office of Care and Protection's contact details ([email protected] or 0300 200 7812), although it does not cover the donor's death, so ask the office what it needs.
What should the attorney do next?
Stop using the donor's accounts, cards and online banking from the moment you know about the death.
Tell the bank and any other organisation you dealt with as attorney that the donor has died and that your authority has ended.
Report the death to the OPG and send the original LPA or EPA with any certified copies, adding a note if you want the original returned.
Gather your records, statements and receipts from your time as attorney and hand them to the executor or administrator.
Pass on any bills or invoices that have arrived since the death, including anything you paid for yourself, so the executor can settle them from the estate.
If you are also the executor, start a fresh set of estate records from the date of death.
Once authority passes to the executor, every provider the attorney was dealing with, from the bank and the energy supplier to insurers and subscriptions, still needs to be told about the death before those accounts can be closed or transferred. Legacy Trail's free notification service contacts those companies on the executor's behalf, and if you suspect the person had accounts that neither you nor the attorney knew about, the Account Discovery Service searches for them and notifies them as well.
Frequently asked questions
No. A power of attorney stops working when the donor dies, so it gives no authority over the estate at all. The executor, or an administrator if there is no will, deals with the estate instead, and they may need a grant of probate or letters of administration depending on what the person owned.
No. Your authority as attorney ended when your mum died, so the house can only be sold by her executor or administrator, usually once they have the grant. If you are also her executor, you can sell it in that role, but not under the power of attorney.
Nobody does, because power of attorney ends on death whether or not there is a will. Where there is no will, the closest living relative can apply for letters of administration, and the intestacy rules then decide who inherits. Being the attorney gives no priority in that process.
Send the original LPA and any certified copies to the Office of the Public Guardian when you report the death. The OPG cancels it and destroys the original unless you ask in a covering note for it to be returned. A copy of the death certificate is only needed if the donor died outside the UK or the OPG asks for one.
Yes. Continuing and welfare powers of attorney both end when the granter dies, and the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) asks to be told in writing with a copy of the death certificate. The estate is then handled by the executor, who may need confirmation from the sheriff court.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. If you are dealing with an estate, consider taking advice from a solicitor who specialises in probate. For other guidance specific to your circumstances, speak to a funeral director, Citizens Advice, or a regulated financial adviser.