If you are setting up an LPA and a will at the same time, or a relative has recently taken on one of these roles for someone in your family, it is easy to assume the two jobs overlap. They do not.
A power of attorney and an executor are two entirely separate legal roles, created by two entirely separate documents, and they never operate at the same time. One works while a person is alive. The other only starts once that person has died.
Understanding where that line sits also answers a key question: can an attorney change a will? The short answer is no, and the reasoning behind it matters if you are trying to protect a relative’s wishes or reassure yourself about a family member’s authority.
What is a Power of Attorney?
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets a donor appoint one or more attorneys to make decisions on their behalf, either for property and financial affairs or for health and welfare. An attorney’s authority exists only while the donor is alive, and it ends automatically the moment the donor dies.
You can read more detail on the two types of LPA, who can act as an attorney, and how to register one in our guide to setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney. You can also confirm the current registration process directly through the GOV.UK lasting power of attorney service.
What is an Executor?
An executor is the person named in a will to administer someone’s estate after they die. Their authority comes entirely from the will itself, and it does not exist at all until the person who made it has passed away.
An executor’s responsibilities typically include applying for probate, valuing the estate for inheritance tax purposes, collecting in assets, paying off debts, and distributing what remains to the beneficiaries named in the will. It is a role defined by winding up someone’s affairs, not managing them day to day.
Power of Attorney vs Executor: The Key Differences
The confusion between these roles usually comes down to timing and terminology rather than substance. Once the timing is clear, the rest of the distinction follows naturally.
| Attorney | Executor | |
| Appointed by | Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) | Will |
| When they act | During the donor’s lifetime only | After the donor has died |
| Authority ends | Automatically, the moment the donor dies | N/A, the role only exists after death |
| Typical duties | Managing finances, property, or welfare decisions on the donor’s behalf | Applying for probate, paying debts, distributing the estate |
| Can they be the same person? | Yes, no legal restriction prevents this | Yes, no legal restriction prevents this |
There is no handover moment where an attorney’s authority overlaps with an executor’s. The attorney’s powers stop the instant the donor dies, and the executor’s powers only begin from that same point.
Nothing bridges the gap, which is precisely why an attorney has no legal standing to act on a will at any stage.
Can the Same Person Be Both Attorney and Executor?
There is nothing preventing a donor from appointing the same person as their attorney and naming them as executor in their will. Many people choose to do exactly this, particularly where one trusted relative or friend is expected to handle both the practical management of their affairs during life and the administration of their estate afterwards.
Some people prefer to separate the roles instead, particularly where an estate involves business interests, property held abroad, or other complexity that benefits from a different skill set at the probate stage.
Neither approach is legally required. It comes down to who the donor trusts and what suits their circumstances.
Can an Attorney Change a Will?
No, an attorney acting under a power of attorney has no legal authority to create, alter, or revoke someone else’s will. This applies regardless of how broad the LPA’s powers are, or how much day-to-day control the attorney has over the donor’s finances.
The reason is straightforward once you separate the two documents by function. A will only takes legal effect after the person who made it has died. An LPA only operates while the donor is alive.
There is no point at which an attorney’s authority and a will’s legal effect exist at the same time, so there is no mechanism by which an attorney could reach into a will and change it, even if they wanted to. Any attempt to do so would have no legal standing and would not be recognised as a valid change to the will.
What if the Donor Needs Their Will Changed and Has Lost Capacity?
This is where the real legal nuance sits. A will can normally only be changed by the person who made it, known as the testator, provided they still have the mental capacity to understand what they are doing.
If someone loses that capacity before they have updated their will to reflect a change in circumstances, such as a marriage, a bereavement, or a significant change in their assets, neither their attorney nor anyone else can simply step in and amend it on their behalf.
The only route available in that situation is an application to the Court of Protection for a statutory will, made under Section 18 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This provision gives the Court of Protection, and only the Court of Protection, the power to authorise a will on behalf of someone who lacks the capacity to make one for themselves.
No attorney, deputy, or family member can authorise this independently. The court considers the person’s best interests and, so far as they can be established, their known wishes and feelings, before deciding whether to approve a statutory will and what it should contain.
This matters because it closes the exact loophole people sometimes worry about. An attorney cannot bypass the court and change a will directly, and even where a genuine need exists to update someone’s will after they have lost capacity, the law routes that decision through an independent judicial process rather than through the attorney.
How an Attorney’s Decisions Can Still Affect an Estate
An attorney cannot touch the wording of a will, but that does not mean their decisions have no bearing on what a beneficiary eventually receives. This is the more common version of the concern that brings people to this topic, and it deserves a straight answer.
While acting under a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, an attorney may need to sell a property to fund care costs, make permitted gifts on the donor’s behalf, or draw on savings to cover day-to-day expenses. None of these actions change the will. They change the pool of assets the will eventually divides up.
If a house named specifically in someone’s will has to be sold to pay for their care, the will itself has not been altered. However, the gift it describes may no longer exist by the time the estate is administered.
This is why the role carries real responsibility rather than unchecked discretion. An attorney has a legal duty to act in the donor’s best interests at all times, must keep clear records of significant decisions, and can be required to account for their actions to the Office of the Public Guardian or the Court of Protection if concerns are raised.
Choosing a trustworthy attorney and keeping thorough records are the practical safeguards that matter here, not any restriction on what a will can say.
Setting Up Both Correctly, Together
Most people are better served by having a will and an LPA in place at the same time, since each one covers a different period of life. A will has no effect until death and cannot help you if you lose capacity beforehand.
An LPA has no effect after death and cannot direct how your estate should be distributed. Neither document can substitute for the other, which is exactly why confusion between the two roles is so common.
Getting professional guidance when setting up either document reduces the risk of gaps or disputes appearing later, particularly where a family situation is more complex. Blended families, business interests, or property held both in the UK and abroad are common examples where a properly drafted LPA and will, prepared with the right advice from the outset, prevent problems.
Get Help With Your Power of Attorney or Will
Whether you are setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney for the first time, reviewing one alongside your will, or simply want reassurance that both documents are structured correctly, getting professional advice at the outset is the most reliable way to avoid confusion further down the line.
At MSC Notaries, our solicitors can help you set up a Lasting Power of Attorney that is correctly drafted and registered. Our notaries can certify and notarise supporting documents where they need to be relied on by banks, care providers, or other organisations.
If travelling to see us is difficult, our mobile notary service can attend you at home instead. You can find out more about our team on our About page, or contact us directly to discuss your circumstances.
Call us on 0208 907 2699 or email info@mscnotaries.com to arrange an appointment at our Central London or Harrow offices.
