LPA if you have no children

Having no children changes who you appoint, not whether you should. Attorneys can be siblings, nieces and nephews, friends, or a professional — and appointing someone you have chosen is always better than leaving it to a court.

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£49 per LPA, or £79 for both types
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The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.

Realistic options

Option	Works well when	Watch out for
Sibling	Similar age, close by, organised	They may lose capacity around the same time as you
Niece or nephew	Younger, trusted, willing	Ask them first; it is a real responsibility
Close friend	Long friendship, sensible with money	Name a replacement in case of illness
Professional (solicitor or accountant)	No obvious individual	They charge fees from your funds

A younger attorney is generally more useful than an older one, because an LPA may not be needed for decades.

Structuring it sensibly

Two attorneys appointed jointly and severally can act together or alone, which is the most practical arrangement in almost every case. Adding a replacement attorney means the LPA survives one of them dying or becoming unable to act.

Do not appoint jointly only, without thinking

If attorneys are appointed jointly for everything and one can no longer act, the LPA fails entirely unless a replacement is named. It is the most common structural mistake we see.

Vetting a friend or a more distant relative

Without children as the default option, people often turn to a friend, a cousin, or a niece or nephew they are not especially close to. Before appointing anyone, it is worth being honest about whether they would actually do the job well: are they organised enough to deal with a bank, willing to make time for it, and someone whose judgement you trust when you are not there to check it. A willing but disorganised relative can cause more delay than a competent friend who is not related to you at all.

It also helps to talk to the person before naming them. Being an attorney is a real, sometimes lengthy commitment, and someone who agrees without understanding what is involved may struggle when it actually matters.

Professional attorneys and their fees

Where there is genuinely nobody suitable, a solicitor, accountant or other professional can be appointed as attorney on the financial LPA. Unlike a friend or relative, who is not normally paid, a professional attorney charges ongoing fees for the time they spend managing your affairs, usually billed from your own funds at their standard hourly or fixed rates.

Attorney type	Typical cost	Best suited to
Friend or relative	Usually unpaid, reasonable expenses only	Most people with someone they trust
Professional (solicitor or accountant)	Ongoing fees from your funds, set by them	No suitable individual is available

The deputyship fallback

If you make no LPA and later lose capacity, nobody has automatic authority to act for you, whoever they are. Someone would need to apply to the Court of Protection to become your deputy — a process that takes considerably longer than registering an LPA, usually involves solicitors' fees on top of the court's own charges, and comes with an annual supervision fee and yearly reporting once granted.

The court decides who, not you

If no family member or friend comes forward to apply, the Court of Protection can appoint a local authority or panel deputy instead. An LPA is the only way to guarantee the decision is yours.

Worked example

Graham, 68, has no children and lost touch with most of his wider family. His main relationships are with his neighbour of twenty years, Pat, and his late wife's nephew, Callum, who visits occasionally. Graham appointed Pat and Callum jointly and severally as attorneys on his Property & Financial Affairs LPA, and Pat alone on his Health & Welfare LPA, with a local solicitor named as replacement attorney on both in case Pat and Callum are ever both unable to act.

The two LPAs cost £79 in our fees plus £184 in OPG registration fees, £263 in total. Without them, if Graham lost capacity, Pat and Callum would have had no authority at all, and a deputyship application — likely costing several times that and taking months rather than weeks — would have been the only route.

Cost

£49 for one LPA and £79 for both, plus £92 per document to the Office of the Public Guardian to register it. Nothing is payable until you choose your LPA and confirm the price. See pricing and choose your LPA.

Common questions

Can I appoint a professional for money and a friend for health?

Yes. The two LPAs are separate documents and can name different attorneys.

What if my attorney is younger and lives abroad?

That is allowed, though it can be impractical for day-to-day banking and care decisions.

How much does a professional attorney actually charge?

It varies by firm and is usually billed at an hourly or fixed rate from your funds. Ask for their fee structure before naming them, since it is an ongoing cost, not a one-off fee.

Is deputyship really that much worse than an LPA?

Yes, in most respects. It is slower to arrange, usually needs legal help, involves a court fee, and carries annual supervision fees — for a role an LPA would have covered for a fraction of the cost.

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.

Check if an LPA is still possible