Your LPA. Your choices.

An LPA is built entirely from decisions only you can make — here's what they are and what each one means in practice.

£49

Per LPA, or £79 for both types

Clear fixed price, no hourly charges
Save and return whenever you like
Review every answer before anything is final

The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA. That fee is paid to them, not to us, and is not included above.

The short answer

You choose your attorneys, whether they act jointly or jointly and severally, and any replacement attorneys.

You can add non-binding preferences or legally binding instructions.

We set out the choices and consequences neutrally — the decisions themselves are entirely yours.

Preparing your paperwork is £49 for one LPA or £79 for both, plus the OPG's £92 per LPA registration fee.

It's your LPA, so the choices are yours

A Lasting Power of Attorney isn't a one-size-fits-all document. The forms are standard, but almost everything written into them is a personal decision — who you trust, how much authority you give them, and under what conditions. We set out the choices and their practical consequences here; you're the only person who can decide what's right for your own circumstances.

Choosing who your attorneys should be

An attorney can be a spouse, partner, adult child, other relative, friend, or a professional such as a solicitor. There's no legal requirement to appoint a family member, and no requirement to appoint more than one person.

A single attorney keeps decision-making simple, but leaves you without cover if that person becomes unable or unwilling to act, unless you name a replacement.
Multiple attorneys can share the responsibility and act as a check on each other, but they need to be able to work together practically.
You can appoint different attorneys for your Property and Financial Affairs LPA than for your Health and Welfare LPA — see property and financial LPA and health and welfare LPA.

Jointly, or jointly and severally?

If you appoint more than one attorney, you must decide how they act together. This single choice has real practical consequences later.

Basis	How it works	Practical consequence
Jointly	All attorneys must agree and act together on every decision	Strong safeguard against one attorney acting alone, but the LPA stops working entirely if one attorney dies or can't act, unless you named a replacement
Jointly and severally	Each attorney can act alone, or together, as they choose	Flexible and keeps working if one attorney is unavailable, but there's less built-in check on a single attorney's decisions
Jointly for some decisions, severally for others	You specify which decisions need joint agreement	Gives more precise control, but adds complexity that needs to be worded clearly

There's no universally correct answer — a close, trusted set of attorneys who communicate well often works fine either way, while attorneys who might disagree benefit from the joint safeguard.

Ready when you are — the free suitability check takes about a minute.

Start my LPA

Replacement attorneys

A replacement attorney only takes over if an original attorney can no longer act — for example if they die, lose mental capacity themselves, or choose to step down. Naming one is optional, but without it, an LPA appointing a single attorney becomes entirely unusable if that attorney can't continue, and a jointly-acting LPA can also fail if one of a joint pair drops out.

Preferences and instructions — not the same thing

Preferences are things you'd like your attorneys to take into account, but they aren't legally binding — for example, a preference about which care home you'd like to consider.
Instructions are legally binding conditions or restrictions your attorneys must follow, such as an instruction not to sell a particular property.

Instructions that are unclear, contradictory, or that attorneys can't practically follow can cause the OPG to query or reject an application, so precise wording matters more here than in most of the form.

How much control you keep

Making an LPA doesn't hand over control immediately. A Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used as soon as it's registered, with your permission, while a Health and Welfare LPA can only be used once you've lost the mental capacity to make the decision yourself. You can also cancel a registered LPA at any time while you still have capacity to do so.

We don't recommend — we lay out the options

We can't tell you who to appoint or how they should act together; those are personal decisions based on your own family and circumstances. What we can do is make sure whichever choices you make are recorded clearly and correctly.

Ready when you are — the free suitability check takes about a minute.

Create my LPA

When to review your LPA

After a significant change in relationships — a marriage, divorce, separation, or falling out with an attorney.
If an attorney or replacement attorney dies, or is no longer someone you'd want to appoint.
If your financial or family circumstances change substantially.

An LPA doesn't expire, so there's no automatic renewal point — reviewing it is entirely up to you. When you're ready to make your choices formal, create my LPA online.

Common questions

Can I choose different attorneys for each type of LPA?

Yes. Your Property and Financial Affairs LPA and your Health and Welfare LPA can have entirely different attorneys, or the same ones — it's your choice.

What's the difference between jointly and jointly and severally?

Jointly means every attorney must agree and act together on each decision. Jointly and severally means each attorney can act alone. You can also mix the two for specific decisions.

Do I have to appoint a replacement attorney?

No, it's optional, but without one your LPA can stop working entirely if your only attorney (or one of a jointly-acting pair) can no longer act.

What's the difference between a preference and an instruction?

A preference is something you'd like your attorney to consider but isn't legally binding. An instruction is a binding condition or restriction they must follow.

Can I change my mind about my attorneys later?

Yes, you can cancel a registered LPA and make a new one at any time while you still have mental capacity to do so.

When can my attorney start acting for me?

A Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used once registered, with your permission. A Health and Welfare LPA can only be used once you've lost the capacity to make the decision yourself.

Will you tell me who I should appoint?

No. We set out the choices and their consequences neutrally; who you appoint and how they act is a personal decision only you can make.