LPA Attorneys: The Complete Guide

Written by Anthony Dalton · Reviewed by James Tyrrell · Last reviewed 11 April 2026

Your attorney is the person who will step into your shoes and make decisions on your behalf if you ever lose the ability to make them yourself. It is the single most important choice you will make when creating a Lasting Power of Attorney. This guide covers everything you need to know — from who is eligible and how to choose well, to the legal duties your attorney must follow and what happens if something goes wrong.

What Is an LPA Attorney?

An LPA attorney is the person you formally appoint to make decisions on your behalf through a Lasting Power of Attorney. The word "attorney" in this context has nothing to do with being a lawyer. It is simply the legal term for someone who has been given the authority to act for another person. You — the person making the LPA — are called the "donor," and the people you choose are your "attorneys."

There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney in England and Wales, and the role of the attorney is different for each. A Property and Financial Affairs LPA gives your attorney the power to manage your money, pay bills, handle investments, and deal with property transactions. A Health and Welfare LPA gives your attorney the authority to make decisions about your medical treatment, where you live, and your day-to-day care. You can make one or both types, and you can choose different attorneys for each if you wish.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 governs how LPAs work, and it sets out clear rules about who can be an attorney, what they can do, and how they must behave. An LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used, and the OPG has an ongoing role in supervising attorneys and investigating complaints.

A Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used as soon as it is registered, even while you still have mental capacity — for example, if you are physically unwell or simply want help managing your finances. A Health and Welfare LPA, on the other hand, can only be used when you lack the mental capacity to make the specific decision in question. Understanding this difference is important when deciding who to appoint and how much authority to give them. For a full explanation of the two types, see our guide to the difference between Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare LPAs.

Who Can Be an Attorney?

The eligibility requirements for being an LPA attorney are deliberately broad. Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, any individual aged 18 or over who has mental capacity can be appointed as an attorney. There is no requirement for professional qualifications, legal training, or financial expertise. Your attorney can be a spouse, a son or daughter, a sibling, a friend, a colleague, or even a professional such as a solicitor if you prefer.

This flexibility means you have a wide pool of people to choose from. Many people choose their husband or wife, their adult children, or a close friend they have known for years. What matters is not their profession but their character — are they trustworthy, reliable, and willing to take on the responsibility? Do they understand what the role involves?

You can also appoint a trust corporation as an attorney for a Property and Financial Affairs LPA. This is a professional body that manages financial affairs, and it can be useful for people who have complex estates or who prefer not to place the burden on an individual. For more on this option, see our guide to appointing a trust corporation as attorney.

The key thing to remember is that being an attorney is a position of significant trust. The law keeps eligibility simple so that you can focus on finding the right person rather than worrying about formal qualifications. For a detailed breakdown of all the eligibility rules, read our full guide on who can be an attorney for an LPA.

Who Cannot Be an Attorney?

While the eligibility rules are intentionally open, there are a few important restrictions. Anyone under the age of 18 cannot be appointed as an attorney. A person who lacks the mental capacity to understand the responsibilities of the role is also ineligible. These rules exist to ensure that your attorney is capable of handling serious decisions on your behalf.

The most significant restriction relates to bankruptcy. An undischarged bankrupt — or a person who is subject to a debt relief order — cannot be an attorney for a Property and Financial Affairs LPA. The reasoning is straightforward: someone who has not been able to manage their own financial affairs should not be managing yours. However, a bankrupt person can still act as an attorney under a Health and Welfare LPA, because that type of LPA does not involve financial management.

If an existing Property and Financial Affairs attorney becomes bankrupt after the LPA has been registered, their appointment is automatically revoked. This is one of the reasons why appointing replacement attorneys is so important — without one, you could be left without a valid attorney at a time when you need one most.

It is also worth noting that your attorney cannot be the same person as your certificate provider. The certificate provider is the independent person who confirms that you understand the LPA and are not being pressured into making it. Keeping these roles separate is an important safeguard. Beyond these rules, there are very few formal barriers — the law trusts you to choose someone suitable.

How to Choose the Right Attorney

Choosing the right attorney is the most important decision in the entire LPA process. Your attorney will potentially have control over your finances, your property, or your medical treatment, so this is not a decision to take lightly. The best attorneys share a few common qualities: they are trustworthy, reliable, organised, and genuinely willing to take on the role.

For a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, it helps to choose someone who is comfortable dealing with money and paperwork. They do not need to be an accountant, but they should be someone who pays their own bills on time, keeps track of their finances, and is unlikely to be overwhelmed by the administrative side of the role. They will need to manage bank accounts, deal with utility companies, and potentially make decisions about investments or property sales.

For a Health and Welfare LPA, empathy and understanding matter most. Your attorney may need to make deeply personal decisions about your medical treatment, your living arrangements, and your daily care. Choose someone who knows you well, understands your values and preferences, and will advocate for what you would want rather than imposing their own views. It is a good idea to have an honest conversation with your chosen attorney about your wishes, including sensitive topics like life-sustaining treatment.

Willingness is crucial. Being asked to be an attorney is a serious responsibility, and not everyone feels comfortable accepting. Always ask the person directly and give them the space to say no without any pressure. An unwilling attorney is unlikely to be an effective one. You should also consider practical matters like age and proximity — appointing someone much older than you, or someone who lives on the other side of the world, may create difficulties later on.

For a step-by-step approach to making this decision, read our dedicated guide on how to choose the right attorney. You might also want to explore whether your spouse, family members, or a professional might be the best fit for your situation.

Joint and Joint-and-Several Attorneys

If you appoint more than one attorney, you need to decide how they will work together. The law gives you three options: jointly, jointly and severally, or a combination of both. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood parts of the LPA process, and getting it wrong can have serious consequences.

Joint attorneys must always agree and act together on every decision. No single attorney can act alone. While this sounds like a good safeguard, it creates a significant risk: if one joint attorney dies, loses capacity, or decides they no longer want to act, the entire appointment fails. Unless you have named replacement attorneys, none of your remaining attorneys will be able to act, and you may need a costly Court of Protection application to appoint a deputy instead.

Joint-and-several attorneys can act independently or together. Any one of them can make a decision without needing the agreement of the others. This is far more flexible and practical, especially for day-to-day matters like paying bills or dealing with banks. If one attorney can no longer act, the others simply carry on. Most legal professionals recommend this arrangement for the majority of people.

You can also use a combination — for example, requiring your attorneys to act jointly for major decisions like selling your home, but allowing them to act severally for routine financial management. This gives you the best of both worlds. For a full comparison of these options and help deciding which is right for you, see our guide on joint vs joint-and-several attorneys. If you are unsure how many people to appoint, our guide on how many attorneys you can have covers that question in detail.

Replacement Attorneys

Replacement attorneys are your safety net. They are people you name in your LPA who will step in if one or more of your original attorneys can no longer act — whether because of death, loss of capacity, bankruptcy (for a financial LPA), or simply because they decide to step down from the role.

Without a replacement attorney, losing your only attorney — or all of your joint attorneys — means your LPA effectively becomes useless. At that point, if you no longer have mental capacity yourself, someone would need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your deputy. This process is slow, expensive, and stressful for everyone involved. A replacement attorney avoids all of that by stepping into the role automatically when needed.

The eligibility rules for replacement attorneys are exactly the same as for original attorneys. You can name as many as you like, and you can specify the order in which they should step in. It is one of the simplest but most valuable things you can do when setting up your LPA. We strongly recommend that everyone names at least one replacement, regardless of how many original attorneys they appoint.

For a full explanation of how replacement attorneys work, when they step in, and how to choose them wisely, read our guide on replacement attorneys explained.

Duties and Responsibilities of an Attorney

Being an attorney is not just about having authority — it comes with serious legal duties. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the associated Code of Practice set out clear obligations that every attorney must follow. Failing to meet these duties can result in investigation by the OPG, removal by the Court of Protection, and in the worst cases, criminal prosecution.

The overriding duty is to act in the donor's best interests at all times. This means making the decision that the donor would have made for themselves, taking into account their past and present wishes, their beliefs and values, and the views of anyone involved in their care. It does not mean doing what the attorney personally thinks is best — it means standing in the donor's shoes. For a deeper look at what this means in practice, see our guide on how attorneys must act in best interests.

Attorneys must also keep the donor's money and assets separate from their own. This is a fundamental rule for Property and Financial Affairs attorneys. Mixing funds — even unintentionally — is a serious breach of duty. Attorneys should maintain clear records of all transactions, keep receipts, and be prepared to account for every penny if questioned by the OPG or family members.

Attorneys must follow any instructions set out in the LPA by the donor. These might include restrictions on certain types of decisions, requirements to consult specific people, or preferences about care arrangements. They must also avoid conflicts of interest — situations where the attorney's own interests might clash with the donor's. Gift-giving is strictly limited to customary occasions like birthdays, and only in amounts that are reasonable relative to the donor's estate.

For the full picture of what the law expects from an attorney, including practical guidance on how to meet these obligations, read our comprehensive guide on the duties of an attorney.

What Attorneys Can and Cannot Do

The scope of an attorney's powers depends on the type of LPA and any restrictions the donor has included. Under a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, attorneys can manage bank accounts, pay bills, collect income, deal with tax affairs, manage investments, and even sell property on the donor's behalf. Under a Health and Welfare LPA, they can make decisions about medical treatment, care arrangements, diet, daily routine, and where the donor lives.

However, there are important limits. An attorney cannot make a will on the donor's behalf, vote for them in an election, or consent to a demand for a search of the donor's person. A Health and Welfare attorney can only make decisions about life-sustaining treatment if the LPA specifically grants that authority — this is a separate option on the form that the donor must actively choose. Attorneys also cannot make decisions the donor can still make for themselves; the Mental Capacity Act starts from the assumption that everyone has capacity unless proven otherwise.

Financial attorneys have specific limitations too. They cannot make large gifts from the donor's estate (beyond what is allowed on customary occasions), cannot change the donor's will, and must not benefit personally from their position unless the LPA explicitly permits it. For a full breakdown of the boundaries, read our guides on financial decisions attorneys can make, medical decisions attorneys can make, whether an attorney can override doctors, whether an attorney can manage a mortgage, and what attorneys are not allowed to do.

You can also add your own restrictions and preferences to the LPA. For example, you might instruct your financial attorney not to sell your home unless it is needed to pay for care, or ask your health attorney to always consult a particular family member before making treatment decisions. These instructions are legally binding on the attorney. Our guides on gift-giving rules, accessing bank accounts, and managing finances cover these topics in more detail.

Can Attorneys Be Paid?

This is a common question, especially when family members take on the role and invest significant time and effort. The short answer is that lay attorneys — meaning family or friends — are not usually paid a fee for acting. However, they are entitled to claim reasonable out-of-pocket expenses from the donor's funds, such as travel costs, postage, telephone calls, and any other expenses directly related to carrying out their duties.

Professional attorneys, such as solicitors or trust corporations, are entitled to charge reasonable fees for their services. These fees should be agreed in advance where possible and should reflect the work actually carried out. The OPG and the Court of Protection can review professional fees if they appear excessive.

If you want your lay attorney to be paid a fee for their time, this should be explicitly authorised in the LPA itself. Without this authorisation, paying yourself from the donor's funds would be a breach of duty. For a complete explanation of the rules around attorney payment, read our guide on whether attorneys can be paid.

What If Something Goes Wrong?

One of the biggest concerns people have about LPAs is the fear that an attorney might misuse their powers. While the vast majority of attorneys act responsibly, the law provides several safeguards for when things go wrong. Understanding these safeguards can give you peace of mind when making your LPA.

If you still have mental capacity, the solution is straightforward: you can revoke the LPA at any time or simply instruct your attorney to stop acting. You remain in control for as long as you have the capacity to make your own decisions. The more difficult situations arise when the donor has lost capacity and can no longer oversee the attorney's actions.

In those cases, anyone — a family member, a friend, a doctor, a social worker — can raise concerns with the OPG. The OPG has the power to investigate, and if it finds evidence of misconduct or unsuitability, it can refer the case to the Court of Protection. The Court can remove the attorney, appoint a replacement, or revoke the LPA entirely. In cases involving theft or fraud, the attorney may also face criminal charges.

Common warning signs of attorney abuse include unexplained withdrawals from the donor's accounts, the attorney living beyond their means, the donor's bills going unpaid, isolation of the donor from family and friends, and decisions that clearly benefit the attorney rather than the donor. If you suspect something is wrong, it is important to act quickly. Our guides on what to do if an attorney makes a bad decision and how to report an attorney misusing an LPA explain the steps you can take.

Prevention is always better than cure. Choosing your attorneys carefully, appointing more than one so they can keep each other in check, including clear instructions in the LPA, and talking openly with your family about your arrangements are all practical steps that significantly reduce the risk of problems down the line.

All Attorney Guides

Explore our complete collection of guides on choosing and managing LPA attorneys.

Choosing Your Attorneys

• Who can be an attorney for an LPA?
• How to choose the right attorney
• Can your spouse be your attorney?
• Appointing family members as attorneys
• How many attorneys can you have?
• Joint vs joint-and-several attorneys explained
• Can a professional be your attorney?
• Using the same attorney for both LPAs
• Replacement attorneys explained
• Appointing a trust corporation as attorney
• What if there is no one to appoint as attorney?
• What if you don't trust anyone for your LPA?
• Can siblings be joint attorneys?
• What if family disagree with your choice of attorney?

Attorney Powers & Duties

• Duties of an attorney
• Can an attorney access bank accounts?
• Can attorneys make financial decisions?
• Can attorneys sell property?
• Can attorneys make medical decisions?
• What attorneys are not allowed to do
• Attorneys must act in the donor's best interests
• Can attorneys be paid?
• What does a certificate provider do?
• Can attorneys give gifts?
• Can attorneys disagree?
• Can an attorney delegate powers?
• Can an attorney witness an LPA?
• Can attorneys be removed?
• How attorneys manage finances
• Can an attorney override doctors?
• Can attorneys access medical records?
• Can an attorney choose private healthcare?
• Can an attorney manage your mortgage?

Common Questions About LPA Attorneys

This guide was last reviewed and updated on 11 April 2026. Information is based on current legislation and OPG guidance for England and Wales.

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