Do I need an LPA if I am married?
Guidance from Estate Advisory Group
Yes. Being a spouse gives you no legal authority over your partner's finances or medical treatment.
What marriage does not give you
- Access to your spouse's sole accounts, pension or investments.
- The right to sell or remortgage a jointly owned home on your own.
- The power to consent to or refuse their medical treatment.
- Authority over their share of a business.
Joint accounts are not the answer
Banks freeze joint accounts too
Many banks restrict a joint account once one holder loses capacity, precisely because that holder can no longer authorise anything. See LPA and joint bank accounts.
What couples usually do
Two mirror sets of LPAs: each appoints the other as first attorney, with an adult child or sibling as a second or replacement attorney in case both are affected at once. See LPA for husband and wife.
Common questions
Does divorce affect an LPA?
Yes. A spouse attorney is removed on divorce or dissolution unless the LPA says otherwise, which can invalidate a joint appointment.
What about unmarried partners?
The position is the same, and often worse, because hospitals may not even treat you as next of kin.
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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