Ordinary Powers of Attorney are different from Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA), and can be used for short-term delegation — for example, when the donor is going to be abroad for a time.
Some websites offer “free” Lasting Powers of Attorney — do not be deceived.
First, there is a registration fee payable to the Office of the Public Guardian which is unavoidable (though there are concessions for people on low incomes) — all those websites actually do is print out the information you type in, rather than complete the government forms for you.
Second, and more importantly, the decisions about how you want the LPA to work require careful thought. You may benefit from discussion with friends and relatives — and, of course, with the trusted people you propose to appoint as attorney. It may not be economic to take legal advice, since these are essentially personal matters.
The government LPA forms are long, but much of the length is contact details for the attorneys to be appointed. However, there are a handful of pages which do require careful thought — I have prepared guides to each.
Short-term delegation that does not need to be registered — and is free.
Life-sustaining treatment, and telling your attorneys how you want to be cared for.
When your attorneys can act, and how to instruct or pay them.
Instructions the law will not allow, and how to avoid an unworkable LPA.
I have included parts of the official Guides in each of these. The difficulty is not the length of the forms, but deciding the content of the optional parts — you may want to discuss these with family members, who should read and understand the Guides too. It is possible that legal advice may be available on Legal Aid, but regrettably Public Access Barristers are not permitted to act on Legal Aid matters.