Can spouses be each other's attorneys?
Yes, and most people do exactly that. The caveat is age and shared risk: appoint at least one replacement attorney so the LPA still works if your spouse cannot act.
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Why it works well
Appointing your spouse as your attorney is the arrangement most couples choose, and there is nothing unusual about it. They already know your accounts, your GP, your wishes for care, and the two of you have presumably discussed money and health together for years. Banks and hospitals are used to seeing a spouse named as attorney, which tends to make day-to-day use of the LPA smoother than with an attorney who is a stranger to your affairs.
- Your spouse already knows your affairs, your bank and your wishes.
- Banks are used to seeing a spouse named as attorney.
- An attorney can be a beneficiary of your will — that is not a conflict.
- It avoids bringing a third person into private financial or medical detail unless you want to.
The caveat: shared risk and similar age
The drawback is structural rather than personal. Spouses are often close in age, exposed to similar risks — the same car, the same house, sometimes the same illness — and if you appoint only your spouse and nobody else, the whole arrangement depends on one person staying well enough to act for as long as you might need them. If your spouse cannot act, whether through their own illness, injury, or simply being unavailable when a decision is needed, an LPA with no replacement named on it is of no more use than having none at all.
One attorney, no replacement, is a single point of failure
If your only attorney is your spouse and something happens to both of you around the same time, nobody holds authority to act. A replacement attorney costs nothing extra to add and removes this risk entirely.
The two things to get right
- Name a replacement attorney — an adult child, sibling or trusted friend — who steps in only if your spouse cannot act.
- Consider appointing a second attorney alongside your spouse from the outset, acting jointly and severally, so someone can always act even before a replacement is needed.
One rule about witnesses
An attorney cannot witness the donor's signature, and the donor cannot witness an attorney's. If your spouse is your attorney, someone else must witness your signature, and vice versa.
Attorney choices at a glance
| Arrangement | How it works | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse only, no replacement | Spouse acts alone | No one can act if spouse cannot |
| Spouse plus replacement | Spouse acts; replacement steps in if spouse cannot | Small delay while replacement takes over |
| Spouse and adult child, jointly and severally | Either can act at any time | Requires comfort sharing decisions with a third person |
| Spouse and adult child, jointly | Both must agree on every decision | Can be slow if they disagree or live apart |
What this costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| One LPA, adding a replacement attorney | £49 — no extra charge for naming a replacement |
| Both LPAs for one person | £79 |
| OPG registration, per document | £92 |
Adding a replacement attorney does not change our fee or the OPG fee — it is a decision you make on the same form, at no extra cost. See pricing and LPA cost for the full breakdown.
Edge cases worth knowing about
- Divorce automatically ends a spouse's appointment as attorney unless the LPA states otherwise — separation without divorce does not.
- If your spouse is also your certificate provider's neighbour or friend, that does not disqualify the certificate provider, but the certificate provider still cannot be a relative of either of you.
- You can appoint your spouse on the financial LPA and someone else, such as an adult child, on the health LPA, if that suits your family better.
- A spouse who is themselves elderly or in poor health can still be named as attorney — capacity to act as attorney is not tested when the LPA is made, only whether they are willing and over 18.
A worked example
Karen appointed her husband Mike as her sole attorney on both LPAs, with no replacement. When Mike had his own health crisis two years later, Karen's LPAs had no one able to act — the document existed but was useless at the exact moment it might have been needed. She corrected it by making new LPAs naming her sister as replacement attorney, a lesson many couples only learn after it has already caused a gap. Her son later helped her father, Karen's own parent, do the same thing from the outset, naming Karen's brother as replacement rather than waiting for a crisis to reveal the flaw.
Common questions
Can my spouse be my attorney and inherit under my will?
Yes. Being named as an attorney and being a beneficiary of a will are entirely separate things, and there is no conflict in being both.
What if we later separate?
The LPA remains valid unless you formally revoke it, though most people update their attorneys after a separation. Divorce automatically ends a spouse's appointment as attorney unless the LPA says otherwise; separation without divorce does not.
Why not just appoint a replacement instead of a second attorney from day one?
Either works. A replacement only steps in if the spouse cannot act, which suits couples who want their spouse in sole control while both are well. Appointing a second attorney jointly and severally suits couples who want continuous cover from the start, for example if the spouse travels or has their own health concerns already.
Does the replacement attorney need to be told in advance?
There is no legal requirement, but it is sensible to tell them, since they may be called on with little warning. They only need to act if the original attorney can no longer do so.
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.