The Office of the Public Guardian's (OPG) plans to raise awareness of lasting powers of attorneys (LPAs) have the potential to increase elderly financial abuse rates, lawyers are warning.

The OPG’s plan, published on 13 June includes finding out more about the public attitude around LPAs, developing a proposal for paperless LPAs and launching an online service for third parties to use an LPA.

There are currently 3.75 million LPAs on the OPG’s register, with the government body hoping it will raise awareness of the benefits of an LPA with a targeted campaign to encourage people to sign up.

While an LPA can ...