Can my wife make decisions for me without an LPA?
Not legally. Being married gives your wife no authority over your money or your medical care if you lose capacity. She can be consulted, but the decisions are not hers to make without an LPA.
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.
The limits without an LPA
Financial institutions need legal authority before they will take instructions about your money from anyone else. Clinicians need a Health & Welfare attorney before anyone other than the treating team can decide about your treatment. Marriage supplies neither.
| Decision | Without an LPA | With an LPA |
|---|---|---|
| Paying your bills from your sole account | Not permitted | Attorney can operate the account |
| Selling the family home | Court application needed | Attorney can act |
| Choosing a care home | Decided by professionals in your best interests | Health attorney decides |
| Refusing a specific treatment | Clinicians decide | Health attorney can, if appointed for it |
What a bank actually does
Bank staff work from documented authority, not from the marriage certificate. If your accounts, pension or ISA are in your sole name, a member of staff who is told or suspects you lack capacity will decline instructions from your wife unless she can produce a registered LPA or a Court of Protection order. This applies just as much to a long, close marriage as to any other relationship — it is a compliance requirement on the bank, not a judgement about trust.
A joint account is different in the short term, because either signatory can normally operate it under the account terms. But that only covers what is actually held jointly. It does nothing for a sole pension, a sole savings account, or a property held in your name only, and the bank can still restrict even a joint account if it becomes aware of a capacity issue.
How couples usually structure it
Most spouses appoint each other as attorney on both LPA types, then name a replacement — commonly a sibling, adult child or close friend — so the arrangement still works if the wife is unable to act, whether through her own loss of capacity, illness, or death. Attorneys appointed jointly and severally can act together or independently, which avoids the whole arrangement stalling if one attorney is temporarily unavailable.
Worked example
Mark, 61, is married to Susan. Their mortgage and current account are joint, but Mark's self-employed pension and a small share portfolio are in his sole name. If Mark had a serious stroke, Susan could keep using the joint current account, subject to the bank's discretion, but the pension provider and the share platform would both require a registered financial LPA or deputyship order before taking her instructions. Any decision about moving Mark into residential care, or consenting to treatment on his behalf, would sit with his clinical team, consulting Susan but not bound to follow her wishes without a Health & Welfare LPA.
Mark and Susan each made a Property & Financial Affairs LPA and a Health & Welfare LPA appointing the other, naming Mark's brother and Susan's sister respectively as replacement attorneys. The four documents cost £158 in our fees and £368 in OPG registration, £526 in total — a fraction of the four-figure quote they had from a local solicitor.
What she should do instead of waiting
Make the LPAs while you both have capacity. Appointing each other, with a replacement attorney named, covers the two situations that otherwise cause trouble: one of you losing capacity, and both of you being affected at the same time.
Registration takes weeks
An LPA cannot be used until the Office of the Public Guardian registers it, and there is a statutory four-week notice period before that. It is not something that can be arranged in an emergency.
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 |
Our fee is £49 for one LPA, or £79 for both types. The OPG registration fee is £92 per document and is paid to them. Fee reductions and exemptions exist for people on low incomes or certain benefits. See pricing and what an LPA costs overall.
Edge cases
- If capacity has already gone, an LPA cannot be made, whatever the marriage — the only route is Court of Protection deputyship
- Divorce automatically ends a former spouse's appointment as attorney on a financial LPA unless the document states otherwise
- A wife acting as a DWP appointee for benefits does not extend to bank accounts, pensions, investments or property
- A jointly owned home cannot be sold or remortgaged without both owners' consent, or a registered attorney acting for the one who cannot consent
Common questions
Can she deal with my pension?
Not without a registered financial LPA or a deputyship order. Providers will decline instructions from a spouse alone.
Is there anything quicker if I have already lost capacity?
No. An LPA can no longer be made, and deputyship through the Court of Protection is the only route.
Will our joint account definitely keep working?
Usually for a period, but the bank can restrict a joint account once it is aware one holder lacks capacity, particularly if there is a dispute or safeguarding concern.
Do we need to see a solicitor to appoint each other?
No. A straightforward LPA appointing a spouse does not require a solicitor. See how it compares to using a solicitor.
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.