Choosing Attorneys for Your LPA — Joint, Several, and Replacement

Joint vs Joint and Several: The Core Decision

When you appoint more than one attorney, you must decide how they will work together. This is one of the most consequential choices in the entire LPA, yet many donors gloss over it without understanding what each option means in practice.

Joint attorneys must agree unanimously on every decision. If they disagree about whether to sell a property, pay for a particular care home, or make a financial investment, nothing happens until they reach consensus. If one joint attorney dies, loses capacity, or becomes bankrupt (for financial LPAs), the entire LPA fails — the remaining attorneys lose all authority unless a replacement attorney has been appointed.

Joint and several attorneys can each act independently. Any one of them can sign documents, access bank accounts, and make decisions without consulting the others. This is far more practical for day-to-day management, especially when attorneys live in different cities or have conflicting schedules. If one attorney dies or becomes unable to act, the remaining attorneys continue with full authority.

Hybrid arrangements combine both: joint for major decisions (selling property, changing care homes) and several for routine matters (paying bills, managing day-to-day expenses). The donor specifies this arrangement in Section 3 of the LPA.

How Many Attorneys to Appoint

You can appoint as many attorneys as you like, but practical considerations matter more than numbers. Two attorneys is the most common arrangement — it provides a safety net if one becomes unavailable while keeping decision-making manageable. Three or more attorneys work well for joint and several appointments but can create deadlocks under a joint arrangement if disagreements arise.

One attorney is perfectly valid and often the simplest option when the donor has a single trusted person — typically an adult child or a spouse. The risk is that if that sole attorney dies, loses capacity, or decides to step down, the LPA ceases to function entirely (unless a replacement attorney is named).

Replacement Attorneys: Your Safety Net

A replacement attorney steps in only when an original attorney can no longer act — through death, loss of capacity, bankruptcy or a debt relief order (for financial LPAs), or formal disclaimer. Replacement attorneys have no powers until triggered. They do not participate in decisions alongside original attorneys.

Naming at least one replacement attorney is strongly recommended regardless of your main attorney structure. Without a replacement, the loss of your sole attorney (or all joint attorneys) means the LPA is dead. The alternative at that point is a Court of Protection deputyship — a 6 to 9-month process costing thousands of pounds.

You can specify how replacement attorneys should act. If you have two joint attorneys and one dies, should the remaining original attorney and the replacement work jointly or jointly and severally? This is set out in Section 7.

What to Look For in an Attorney

The legal requirements are minimal: the attorney must be at least 18 years old, must have mental capacity, and — for a Property and Financial Affairs LPA — must not be bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order. But legal eligibility is the bare minimum.

Practical considerations are far more important. The attorney should be trustworthy and willing to act in the donor's interests even when those interests conflict with their own. They should be organised enough to keep detailed financial records (the OPG can request them). They should be available — an attorney living abroad may struggle to attend bank appointments or sign documents at short notice.

Family dynamics matter. If appointing multiple children as joint attorneys, consider whether they can realistically reach unanimous agreement on difficult decisions about a parent's care and finances. Estranged siblings or blended family members with conflicting interests can turn a joint appointment into an administrative paralysis.

When an Attorney Steps Down

An attorney can disclaim (formally step down) at any time by sending written notice to the donor and the OPG. If the donor still has capacity, they can appoint a new attorney by creating a new LPA. If the donor has lost capacity, the remaining attorneys continue (under joint and several) or the LPA may fail (under joint), and the replacement attorney — if one was named — takes over.

Our LPA guide includes an attorney powers comparison worksheet that maps out the practical implications of each appointment structure.

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