LPAs for unmarried couples
An LPA matters more for cohabiting partners than for married ones. There is no such thing as common-law marriage in England and Wales, so without an LPA your partner has no automatic authority over your money or your care — whatever your relatives may assume, and however long you have lived together.
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 common-law marriage myth
Many long-term partners believe that living together for a certain number of years, or having children together, gives them the same legal standing as a spouse. It does not. "Common-law marriage" is not a recognised status in England and Wales, and never has been. Being described as "next of kin" on a form carries no legal decision-making power either — it is a contact preference, not an authority. If you have not married or formed a civil partnership, and you have not made an LPA, your partner has no automatic right to manage your finances or make decisions about your care if you lose capacity.
This is not a status you can fix later
Once capacity is lost, an LPA can no longer be made. The only route left is a Court of Protection deputyship — an application by someone else, on a timetable and cost you do not control. See what happens without an LPA.
Where this fails in practice
The gap is not theoretical. It shows up in ordinary situations that married couples rarely think twice about.
- Sole-name accounts. If your partner's salary and savings are in their name only, you cannot access them to pay bills, however jointly you have always run your household finances.
- A jointly owned or solely owned home. Even joint ownership does not let one owner unilaterally remortgage, sell, or deal with the other's share if they lose capacity. If the home is in your partner's sole name, you have even less standing.
- Rent and mortgage. Landlords and lenders deal with the named tenant or borrower. Without an LPA, keeping up payments while your partner is incapacitated can mean applying to the Court of Protection just to act.
- Hospital information and care decisions. Clinicians are not required to discuss treatment or share information with an unmarried partner. Some do so as good practice; none are obliged to, and a hospital may instead consult a parent, sibling or estranged relative as the recognised next of kin.
- Children from earlier relationships. If your partner has children from a previous relationship, those children — not you — are often the people a hospital, bank or court will treat as having the closer legal connection, whatever your day-to-day role in the family.
How partners usually structure it
Each partner makes their own set of LPAs — property and financial affairs and health and welfare — naming the other. There is no joint or shared document; a couple who both want full protection needs four LPAs between them (two each).
- Appoint each other as the primary attorney, and name a replacement attorney — often an adult child, sibling or close friend — in case your partner cannot act.
- Most couples appoint jointly and severally where there is more than one attorney, so either can act alone rather than needing constant agreement.
- Add people to notify at registration, so relatives learn of the LPA when it is made rather than discovering it, and objecting to it, in a crisis.
- Use a certificate provider who is independent of both of you and not a relative or attorney — this confirms you understand the LPA and are not under pressure, and makes the document harder to challenge later.
Cost for a couple
The registration fee is set by the OPG and does not change based on marital status. What differs for unmarried couples is that skipping this step, unlike for spouses, leaves no fallback position at all.
| Item | One partner, both types | Both partners, both types |
|---|---|---|
| Our fee | £79 | £158 |
| OPG registration (£92 each) | £184 | £368 |
| Total | £263 | £526 |
| Typical solicitor equivalent | £600–£1,200 | £1,200–£2,400 |
See the full breakdown at LPA cost and how doing it yourself compares to instructing a solicitor at DIY vs solicitor.
How this fits with wills and property ownership
An LPA and a will do different jobs and unmarried couples usually need both. A will decides who inherits after death; it has no effect while you are alive. An LPA covers the period while you are alive but unable to manage your own affairs — the will cannot help you here, because it has not taken effect yet. Property ownership matters too: if you own your home as tenants in common rather than joint tenants, your share does not automatically pass to your partner, either during your lifetime under an LPA or on death without a will naming them. None of this is legal advice on your specific circumstances, and where your affairs are complex — a jointly run business, children from different relationships, or unusual property arrangements — take independent advice; see what we do not do.
Edge cases worth knowing
- If your relatives are named as people to notify, they can raise an objection during the four-week statutory notice period, though an objection has to be on a valid legal ground, not simply disapproval of the relationship.
- A partner can be named as both attorney and a beneficiary of your will — the two documents do not conflict, but tell your certificate provider and any other attorneys so nothing looks concealed.
- If you separate after making an LPA, it is not automatically cancelled. You will need to revoke it and, usually, make a new one — see can I cancel an LPA after registration.
- Blended families sometimes appoint an adult child alongside a partner as joint attorneys; this needs care over whether they must act jointly or jointly and severally, since disagreement between them can otherwise stall every decision.
A worked example
Priya and Daniel have lived together for eleven years and have a 6-year-old son, but never married. Priya's flat is in her sole name; their joint account covers household bills, but Daniel's freelance income sits in an account only he can access. After a friend of Priya's collapsed at work and her partner was refused information at the hospital, Priya and Daniel completed the free eligibility check together and made LP1F and LP1H for each of them, appointing each other as primary attorney and Daniel's sister as replacement on all four documents.
They also named Priya's mother as a person to notify, so she would learn of the LPAs at registration rather than object later to being left out. The total cost was £158 to us for all four LPAs and £368 to the OPG, and registration took around nine weeks. Their wills, made separately, deal with what happens if either of them dies; the LPAs deal with what happens if either of them cannot manage their own affairs while still alive.
Common questions
We have lived together for years — doesn't that count as common-law marriage?
No. There is no such thing as common-law marriage in England and Wales, regardless of how long you have cohabited or whether you have children together. Without a will, an LPA, or a formal legal relationship, an unmarried partner has no automatic rights over the other's money, property or care decisions.
Can my partner be listed as my next of kin instead?
You can name anyone as a contact, but "next of kin" is not a legal status and gives no decision-making authority. Only an attorney under a registered LPA, or a court-appointed deputy, has the legal power to act.
What happens if my partner and I both lose capacity before making LPAs?
Neither of you can make an LPA once capacity is lost. Whoever is left needs to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship, which is slower, more expensive, and supervised annually, unlike an LPA you set up in advance.
Should each of us make one LPA covering both money and health?
No — property and financial affairs and health and welfare are two separate documents (LP1F and LP1H) with different rules on when they take effect. Most cohabiting couples who want full cover make both for each partner: four LPAs in total for a couple.
Can my children from a previous relationship object to my partner being my attorney?
They can raise a formal objection during the notice period if there is a valid legal ground, such as concerns about fraud or undue pressure. Simple disapproval of your choice of attorney is not, on its own, a ground the OPG will act on. See people to notify for how this process works.
Is this different from making an LPA as a married couple?
The forms and process are identical — see LPA for husband or wife. The difference is what happens if you do nothing: a spouse still has some limited default rights over jointly held assets, whereas an unmarried partner typically has none.
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.