Do married couples need separate LPAs?
Yes. There is no such thing as a joint LPA. Each person must create their own Lasting Power of Attorney. Being married does not give your spouse any automatic legal right to manage your finances or make health decisions if you lose mental capacity.
This surprises many couples, who assume that marriage provides this protection. It does not. Without LPAs, if one spouse loses capacity, the other may need to apply for a costly deputyship — even for basic tasks like accessing a joint bank account.
How many LPAs does a couple need?
Most couples need four LPA documents in total:
- Spouse A — Health and welfare LPA
- Spouse A — Property and financial affairs LPA
- Spouse B — Health and welfare LPA
- Spouse B — Property and financial affairs LPA
Each is a separate document, registered separately, with its own £92 OPG registration fee. See GOV.UK for official details.
Who should married couples appoint as attorneys?
The most common arrangement is:
- Primary attorney: Your spouse — the person who knows you best and shares your daily life.
- Replacement attorneys: Adult children, siblings, or close friends. These people step in if your spouse cannot act (due to their own illness, for example).
Naming replacement attorneys is especially important for couples. If both spouses lose capacity around the same time — which is not uncommon in old age — the replacements ensure both people have someone to act for them.
Multiple attorneys
Some couples appoint their spouse plus one or more children as attorneys acting "jointly and severally." This means any of them can act independently, providing flexibility if one person is unavailable. Consider this carefully — it works well with trusted family members but can cause problems if there are tensions.
What about the certificate provider?
Each spouse needs a certificate provider for their own LPAs. Your certificate provider:
- Cannot be your spouse (they are likely named as attorney).
- Cannot be a family member of you or your attorney.
- Must be either a professional or someone who has known you personally for at least two years.
Many couples use the same family friend as certificate provider for both sets of LPAs, which is perfectly acceptable as long as that person knows each spouse well enough.
How much does it cost for a couple?
Here is the full cost breakdown for both spouses (four documents):
With a solicitor
- Solicitor fees: £1,600-£3,600 (£400-£900 per document x 4)
- OPG fees: £368 (£92 x 4)
- Total: £1,968-£3,968
With myLPA Guide
- Document generation: £138 (£69 per person for both LPAs x 2)
- OPG fees: £368 (£92 x 4)
- Total: £506
That is a saving of £1,462-£3,462 compared to a solicitor.
myLPA Guide (mylpaguide.co.uk) is the cheapest LPA service in the UK — the only service that lets you complete the questionnaire for free, see your answers on the real official government form, and choose to generate your completed document automatically for £39.
Can we do our LPAs at the same time?
Absolutely. In fact, doing them together is the most practical approach:
- You can discuss decisions together — who to appoint, what preferences to include.
- You can share a signing session, getting everything witnessed at once.
- You can submit all four documents to the OPG together.
myLPA Guide lets each spouse complete their own questionnaire at their own pace, and you can generate all four documents together.
What if we separate or divorce?
Divorce automatically revokes the appointment of your ex-spouse as attorney (unless the LPA specifically states otherwise). However, separation without divorce does not automatically affect LPAs. It is important to review and update your LPAs if your relationship status changes.
Start your free LPA questionnaire — complete it together with your spouse and protect each other for the future.