LPA for civil partners
Civil partners are in exactly the same position as married couples: the partnership gives you no automatic authority over your partner's money, property or medical treatment. Each of you needs your own LPAs.
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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
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- Checked for common completion errors as you go
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The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.
The legal position
For LPAs, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 draws no distinction between marriage and civil partnership. Neither creates authority to act for the other. Both leave the same gap if capacity is lost and no LPA is in place.
Civil partners can appoint each other as attorneys, and normally do, on both the financial and the health LPA.
What to put in place
- Each partner makes a Property & Financial Affairs LPA appointing the other
- Each partner makes a Health & Welfare LPA appointing the other
- Each names at least one replacement attorney, in case the other cannot act
- Both are registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before they are needed
Why a replacement matters here
If you appoint only each other and something affects you both, or one of you dies, the LPA has no one left to act under it. A named replacement prevents that.
The myth of automatic authority
Because civil partnership carries the same legal weight as marriage in most areas of life, people often assume it must also carry the same authority over a partner's affairs if capacity is lost. It does not — and neither does marriage. A bank will not release a sole account to a civil partner without a registered LPA or a Court of Protection order, however long the partnership and however jointly finances were actually run. A hospital will consult a civil partner about a patient's likely wishes, but the decision belongs to the clinical team unless a Health & Welfare LPA says otherwise.
This catches people out precisely because civil partnership feels so complete legally in other respects — inheritance, tax, next-of-kin status on forms. An LPA sits outside all of that and has to be arranged separately, in advance, by each partner.
Appointing each other, and a replacement
The usual structure is for each partner to appoint the other as attorney on both the financial and the health LPA, then name a replacement attorney — a sibling, close friend, or adult child if there is one — in case the partner cannot act. Without a replacement, the LPA has no one left to step in if both partners are affected at once, or if the appointed partner has since died.
| Document | Donor | Usual first attorney | Usual replacement |
|---|---|---|---|
| LP1F | Partner 1 | Partner 2 | Sibling or friend |
| LP1H | Partner 1 | Partner 2 | Sibling or friend |
| LP1F | Partner 2 | Partner 1 | Sibling or friend |
| LP1H | Partner 2 | Partner 1 | Sibling or friend |
Worked example
Steve and Michael have been civil partners for eleven years. Their current account is joint, but Steve's workplace pension and Michael's small buy-to-let flat are held separately. If Michael lost capacity after a stroke, Steve could keep using the joint account for a while, subject to the bank's discretion, but he would have no authority over Michael's pension, and no formal say in a decision to sell the flat to help fund care.
Each of them made a Property & Financial Affairs LPA and a Health & Welfare LPA appointing the other, with Steve's sister named as replacement attorney on both of his, and Michael's brother named on both of his. The total cost was £79 per person for both LPA types, £158 in total, plus £368 in OPG registration fees across the four documents — £526 altogether.
Cost
| Item | One partner | Both partners (four LPAs) |
|---|---|---|
| Our fee, both LPA types | £79 | £158 |
| OPG registration at £92 per document | £184 | £368 |
| Total | £263 | £526 |
£49 for one LPA or £79 for both, per person, plus the Office of the Public Guardian's £92 registration fee for each document. Registration takes weeks, so it is worth doing well before it is needed. See pricing and how it compares to a solicitor.
Edge cases worth knowing about
- Dissolution of a civil partnership ends the former partner's appointment as attorney on a financial LPA unless the document states otherwise — review both LPAs if the partnership ends
- If one partner has already lost capacity, they can no longer make an LPA; the only remaining route for that partner is a Court of Protection deputyship application
- A joint account may continue to function for everyday spending, but the bank can restrict it once it is aware one holder lacks capacity
- Naming only your partner as attorney, with no replacement, is the most common structural mistake — it leaves nobody able to act if something also happens to them
Common questions
Does dissolution affect an existing LPA?
Dissolution of a civil partnership ends the appointment of the former partner as attorney unless the LPA says otherwise. Reviewing the LPA afterwards is sensible.
Can we make our LPAs at the same time?
Yes, and it is usually quicker, because the decisions and the attorney details are largely the same.
Is a civil partner treated any differently from a spouse in law here?
No. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 treats civil partners and spouses identically — both have exactly the same lack of automatic authority, and both need their own LPAs.
Can we appoint each other and still name a professional attorney as backup?
Yes. A solicitor or other professional can be named as a replacement attorney, which is sometimes used where there is no suitable friend or family member.
What happens if neither of us makes an LPA and one of us loses capacity?
The other would have no legal authority to manage money or make care decisions. Someone would have to apply to the Court of Protection for deputyship, which is slower, more expensive, and may result in a local authority or panel deputy being appointed if no suitable person applies.
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.