Can my son or daughter be my attorney?
Guidance from Estate Advisory Group
Written and legally reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner·Last reviewed 13 August 2026
Adult children are the most common choice of attorney in England and Wales. The question is usually how many, not whether.
The legal position
- Any child of yours aged 18 or over can act, on either LPA.
- For a financial LPA they must not be bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order.
- They can be a beneficiary of your will and still act as attorney.
- They cannot also be your certificate provider or witness your signature.
How many to appoint
Two is the usual answer: one alone is a single point of failure, four is unwieldy. Appointing them jointly and severally lets any one of them act alone, which banks and care homes strongly prefer.
Beware "jointly" as a fairness gesture
Appointing children jointly to keep things even means every cheque and every care decision needs all of them. One person on holiday can stall the account.
Avoiding the argument
- Appoint the ones who can do the job, and say so out loud to everyone.
- Consider different attorneys for each LPA — the one near you for health, the organised one for money.
- Ask attorneys to keep records and share them with siblings.
- Name a replacement rather than adding a fifth person for the sake of inclusion.
Common questions
Can I leave one child out?
Yes, and you do not need to justify it in the form. Explaining your reasoning to the family in life prevents most of the resentment afterwards.
Can my child be an attorney if they live abroad?
Legally yes, though banks and care providers find it harder. See can an attorney live abroad.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of Attorneys and certificate providers. The pages below take it further.
- Make an LPA online
The whole journey end to end: questions, documents, signing and registration.
- The LPA forms explained
LP1F, LP1H and LP3 — what each section asks and where people go wrong.
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
Making your own LPA?
Name your attorneys, set how they must decide together, and we prepare the forms for £49.
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