Different attorneys for money and health?
Guidance from Estate Advisory Group
Written and legally reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner·Last reviewed 13 August 2026
Yes. LP1F and LP1H are separate forms, so you can appoint whoever suits each job.
Why people split them
There is no rule requiring the same people on the property and financial affairs LPA and the health and welfare LPA. Each is a standalone document with its own attorneys, its own instructions and its own registration. People split them for practical reasons, not legal ones.
- One child is good with money; another lives nearby and knows the care situation.
- A professional handles the finances while family handle welfare.
- A spouse takes health decisions while an adult child, who is younger, handles the paperwork.
- A sibling with a finance background is asked to manage investments, while a sibling who is a nurse takes the health and welfare role.
A worked example
Priya's mother, Meena, has two adult children. Priya works in accountancy and lives two hours away; her brother Ravi lives ten minutes from Meena and has always gone to her GP appointments with her. Meena appoints Priya as sole attorney on the financial LPA, and Ravi as sole attorney on the health and welfare LPA, with each named as the other's replacement attorney in case one of them is unavailable. Priya manages Meena's pension, savings and the sale of her flat should she move into care; Ravi consents to treatment, chooses the care home and speaks to social services. They agree in advance to tell each other about any decision that touches both money and care, such as choosing a care home place, so neither is blindsided.
Make it workable
The two must be able to talk to each other
Care decisions need funding, and funding decisions depend on care. If your financial and welfare attorneys do not get on, you have designed a dispute. Consider naming one person on both, plus a different second attorney on each, or building in an explicit duty to consult in the preferences section.
- Tell both attorneys who the other is, even if they never act jointly.
- Give the financial attorney a copy of the health and welfare LPA and vice versa, so each understands the boundaries of the other's authority.
- Where a care home fee decision needs both a welfare judgement and a spending decision, name a lead attorney for that conversation to avoid stalemate.
Cost of doing both
| Route | Two LPAs, OPG fee only | Two LPAs, with our service |
|---|---|---|
| Registration fee (per LPA) | £92 | £92 |
| Preparation fee | £0 (self-completed) | £79 for both, rather than £98 separately |
| Total for two LPAs | £184 | £263 |
The OPG registration fee of £92 is charged per LPA regardless of who prepares it, so two LPAs always mean £184 in registration fees. If income is low, fee remission or exemption can reduce or remove that cost. See two LPAs cost for the full breakdown, and how many attorneys should I appoint if you are still deciding on numbers rather than roles.
What people get wrong
The most common mistake is assuming the two LPAs must line up exactly, then forcing an unsuitable person into a role because they were already named on the other form. It is better to think of the two documents as two separate appointments and ask, for each one on its own terms, who is genuinely best placed to make that kind of decision. A donor who defaults to "my eldest child on everything" sometimes overlooks a younger sibling who is better organised with paperwork, or a spouse who is best placed for health decisions but has never managed the household accounts.
Common questions
Do both LPAs have to be signed at the same time?
No, but doing them together saves repeating the whole signing process, since the donor, certificate provider and attorneys are often gathered for one appointment anyway.
Can the certificate provider be the same person for both?
Yes, provided they are eligible for both — the eligibility rules for a certificate provider do not change between the financial and welfare forms.
Can one attorney be named on both LPAs and another only on one?
Yes. It is common to overlap one attorney across both documents so somebody has the full picture, while a second attorney is added only where their skills are relevant.
What if the two attorneys disagree about a care home place?
There is no formal mechanism forcing agreement. In practice the welfare attorney decides where is best, and the financial attorney decides whether the funds allow it; serious deadlock can end up before the Court of Protection, which is why choosing attorneys who communicate well matters more than choosing the most senior one.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of LPA basics. The pages below take it further.
- Make an LPA online
The whole journey end to end: questions, documents, signing and registration.
- Solicitor, GOV.UK or online?
An honest comparison, including when you genuinely should pay a solicitor.
Review and sources
Reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner. Last reviewed 13 August 2026. We recheck fees, forms and Office of the Public Guardian guidance whenever they change — see our editorial policy.
Official sources
Ready to make your LPA?
Choose one LPA or both, then start online for £49 per LPA.
The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.
This is general information about how Lasting Powers of Attorney work in England and Wales. It is not legal advice about your situation. What we do and do not do.
Published by Estate Advisory Group