Can my husband make decisions for me without an LPA?
Not legally. Without an LPA your husband has no authority over your accounts, your property or your medical treatment if you cannot decide for yourself. He can be consulted, but he cannot decide.
Make your LPA online for £49
Answer simple questions. We prepare your LPA documents from your answers, ready for the next steps.
- £49 per LPA, or £79 for both types
- No solicitor required for straightforward LPAs
- Plain English questions, one screen at a time
- Save your progress and come back to it
- Checked for common completion errors as you go
- Review everything before you pay
The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.
What he can do
- Be consulted by doctors about what you would have wanted
- Use a genuinely joint account, unless the bank restricts it
- Deal with anything you have given him express authority for while you still have capacity
- Act as your appointee for state benefits, if the DWP agrees to it
What he cannot do
- Operate an account in your sole name
- Move or manage your savings, pension or investments
- Sell or remortgage a property you own, alone or jointly
- Consent to or refuse medical treatment on your behalf
- Decide where you live, including a move into care
If those decisions become necessary and there is no LPA, he would have to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed your deputy — a process that takes months, costs far more, and carries ongoing supervision fees and annual reporting.
What a bank actually does
This is the myth that catches people out in practice, because it usually surfaces the moment it matters most. A bank does not ask whether you are married before restricting an account — it asks who has legal authority. On a sole account, being the husband is irrelevant: the bank needs either your continuing instructions, a registered LPA, or a Court of Protection order. Many banks run a mental capacity flag on an account once they are told, or suspect, that the holder cannot manage it, and from that point staff are trained to decline instructions from anyone without documented authority, however long the marriage.
A genuinely joint account behaves differently in the short term because either party can normally operate it under the account terms. But that is a banking convenience, not a legal power over your affairs generally, and the bank can still restrict a joint account if it becomes aware that one party lacks capacity and there is a dispute or safeguarding concern.
Giving him authority properly
A Property & Financial Affairs LPA gives him authority over money and property; a Health & Welfare LPA gives him authority over care and treatment once you cannot decide. Most people appointing a spouse make both, and name a replacement attorney in case he is unable to act.
The usual structure is to appoint your husband as attorney on both LPAs, with a sibling, adult child or close friend named as replacement attorney. That way the arrangement survives him being unavailable, unwell, or predeceasing you — situations that are easy to overlook when a couple only thinks about each other.
Worked example
Claire is 58 and married to Tom. Her workplace pension, an ISA and the deposit account she inherited from her mother are all in her sole name; the mortgage and current account are joint. If Claire lost capacity after a fall, Tom could keep using the joint current account for a while, subject to the bank's discretion, but he would have no authority to access her ISA or pension, and no say in her medical treatment beyond being consulted. Selling the house, if it ever became necessary to fund care, would also need her consent, which she could no longer give.
Claire made a Property & Financial Affairs LPA and a Health & Welfare LPA appointing Tom, with her sister as replacement attorney on both. Tom made the same two LPAs appointing Claire, with his brother as replacement. The cost was £79 per person for both LPA types plus £92 per document to register — £526 in total for the four documents, completed in a single evening.
Cost for a couple
| Item | One spouse | Both spouses (four LPAs) |
|---|---|---|
| Our fee, both LPA types | £79 | £158 |
| OPG registration at £92 per document | £184 | £368 |
| Total | £263 | £526 |
£49 for one LPA, £79 for both. The Office of the Public Guardian charges £92 per document to register it. See pricing and how the online process works.
Edge cases
- If you have already lost capacity, an LPA can no longer be made — the only remaining route is a Court of Protection deputyship application
- Separation does not automatically remove a spouse as attorney the way divorce can affect a financial LPA — review the document if the relationship ends
- A husband acting as an appointee for state benefits is a narrower, DWP-specific role and does not extend to bank accounts, pensions or property
- Registration takes several weeks including a statutory four-week notice period, so an LPA cannot be arranged as an emergency measure once capacity is already lost
Common questions
Would the hospital listen to him?
Yes, they should consult him about your wishes. But without a Health & Welfare LPA the decision remains the clinicians', made in your best interests.
Can he pay my bills from my account?
Not from an account in your sole name. Banks require either your authority while you have capacity, or a registered LPA or deputyship order.
Does the bank treat a long marriage any differently?
No. Banks look for documented legal authority, not the length or nature of the relationship.
Can he still be my attorney if he is added late, after I have lost some capacity?
Only if you still have the mental capacity to understand and make the LPA when you sign it. If that capacity has gone, an LPA cannot be made and deputyship is the only option.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of Parents, couples and capacity. The pages below take it further.
- Make an LPA online
The whole journey end to end: questions, documents, signing and registration.
- What an LPA costs in 2026
Our £49 and £79 prices, the £92 OPG registration fee, and solicitor comparisons.
Helping a parent or partner?
They make the decisions and sign, you can do all the paperwork. Start with the free capacity check.
The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.
This is general information about Lasting Powers of Attorney in England and Wales. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice about your situation. What we do and do not do.