Do husband and wife need separate LPAs?
Yes. There is no such thing as a joint LPA. An LPA is made by one donor about their own affairs, so a couple needs one document each per type — two for money, two for health.
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.
Why there is no joint LPA
The document records one person's decision about who may act for them. Two donors cannot share one form, and the OPG registers each document against a single donor. Even identical wording means two separate forms, two signings and two fees.
| What a couple needs | Documents |
|---|---|
| Financial cover only | 2 (one LP1F each) |
| Health cover only | 2 (one LP1H each) |
| Full cover | 4 |
Joint accounts do not solve it
Banks can and do restrict a joint account when one holder loses capacity, and a joint account gives you nothing over a sole account, a pension or a property in your spouse's name.
A worked example
Anita assumed that because she and her husband held everything jointly, one LPA would do for the pair of them. When she looked into it she found each of them needed their own LP1F and LP1H — four documents, not one — even though they intended to appoint each other on all four and use identical wording.
The four-document maths in full
It helps to see the whole picture rather than one document at a time. A married couple who each want both types of LPA are making four separate legal documents, each with its own donor, its own certificate provider signature, and its own OPG registration.
| Document | Donor | Usual attorney |
|---|---|---|
| LP1F (finance) | Spouse A | Spouse B |
| LP1H (health) | Spouse A | Spouse B |
| LP1F (finance) | Spouse B | Spouse A |
| LP1H (health) | Spouse B | Spouse A |
Each of the four rows above is registered separately with the OPG at £92, and each carries our fee of £79 once per person for both types — see pricing for the exact figures and LPA cost for how this compares with a solicitor.
Edge cases
- Civil partners are in exactly the same position as spouses — no automatic authority, and each needs their own documents.
- A couple can start with financial LPAs only and add health LPAs later, but each addition is still a fresh document with its own signing and fee.
- If one spouse already lacks capacity, that spouse cannot make an LPA at all — the unaffected spouse can still make theirs, but the other route becomes deputyship. See what happens without an LPA.
Common questions
Can we at least use the same certificate provider?
Yes, the same person can act as certificate provider for both of you, provided they meet the independence requirements for each document.
Is it more expensive because there are two documents?
It costs what two documents cost: £49 or £79 each to us, plus £92 per document to the OPG. There is no couples' discount, but doing both at once saves time rather than money.
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.