Jointly or jointly and severally?
Jointly and severally means any attorney can act alone. Jointly means every attorney must agree to every decision. For most families, jointly and severally is the safer choice — a joint appointment can fail entirely if one attorney drops out.
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The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.
The three options on the form
| Option | How decisions are made | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Jointly and severally | Any attorney alone, or together | One attorney can act without consulting the others |
| Jointly | All attorneys, every time | If one cannot act, the appointment can fail completely |
| Jointly for some decisions, severally for others | Specified decisions need everyone | Wording errors — the most common reason for OPG queries |
The failure nobody expects
A joint appointment is fragile
With a purely joint appointment, if one attorney dies, loses capacity or is made bankrupt, the LPA can stop working altogether unless replacement attorneys are named. Replacements are free to add and fix this.
Worked example: paralysis in practice
Consider Robert, who appoints his wife Jean and his daughter Claire jointly, with no replacement named, on both his LPAs. This looks balanced: nothing happens unless both agree. Two years after registration, Jean develops dementia and loses the capacity to make financial decisions herself. Because the LPA required both attorneys to act together on every decision, Claire cannot act alone even for something as routine as paying Robert's care home fees — the joint requirement applies regardless of why the other attorney has dropped out. The LPA is now unusable, and Claire has to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a deputy, a process that commonly takes several months and involves ongoing supervision fees that an LPA does not carry.
Had Robert appointed Jean and Claire jointly and severally, Claire could simply have continued alone once Jean was unable to act. Had he kept the joint appointment but named a replacement attorney, the replacement would have stepped in for Jean and the LPA would have continued working. Either fix is free to build into the document from the outset; neither can be added once the LPA is registered.
How to choose
- Attorneys who get on and live near each other: jointly and severally.
- Attorneys you want to check each other on big decisions: mixed, worded carefully.
- Attorneys who do not fully trust one another: think again about the appointment rather than reaching for a joint one.
Common questions
Can I mix jointly and jointly and severally for different decisions?
Yes — for example requiring all attorneys to agree before selling the donor's home, while allowing any one of them to deal with everyday bills and bank accounts. The wording needs to be precise, and imprecise wording is one of the most common reasons the OPG queries an application.
If I choose jointly and severally, can one attorney still act against my interests unchecked?
Attorneys must always act in the donor's best interests and can be investigated by the Office of the Public Guardian if they do not. Jointly and severally gives more flexibility, not less accountability.
Which option do most people choose?
Jointly and severally is the most common choice for family LPAs, because it keeps the document working even if one attorney is temporarily unavailable, moves abroad, or later cannot act.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of Attorneys and certificate providers. The pages below take it further.
- Make an LPA online
The whole journey end to end: questions, documents, signing and registration.
- The LPA forms explained
LP1F, LP1H and LP3 — what each section asks and where people go wrong.
Making your own LPA?
Name your attorneys, set how they must decide together, and we prepare the forms for £49.
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.