Do I need an LPA if I’m married?
Yes. Being married doesn’t give your husband or wife the legal right to manage your money or make decisions about your care if you can’t. The same goes for civil partners and couples who live together. Here’s what your partner can and can’t do without an LPA, and how couples usually set theirs up.
Checked by Steve Ryan, founder
October 2026
Why being married isn’t enough
Many couples assume that if one of them becomes ill, the other can simply take over. It’s one of the most common misunderstandings we hear.
In England and Wales, being someone’s husband, wife, civil partner or next of kin doesn’t give you the legal right to act for them. “Next of kin” isn’t a legal status at all: hospitals use it to know who to contact, not who decides. Being the executor of their Will doesn’t help either, because an executor only acts after death.
An LPA is how you give someone that right. Without one, your husband or wife has no more authority over your affairs than anyone else.
What your husband or wife can and can’t do
Here’s what changes if one of you can no longer make your own decisions.
| Your husband or wife, without an LPA | Your attorney, with an LPA | |
|---|---|---|
| Use money in your name, such as bank accounts and savings | No | Yes, with a property and financial affairs LPA |
| Keep a joint account running | Often not. When a bank learns that one joint account holder has lost capacity, it will typically freeze the account, or limit it to essentials. | Yes |
| Deal with your pensions and investments | No | Yes |
| Sell a home you own together, for example to pay for care | Not without first getting authority to act for your share | Your attorneys can act for your share |
| Manage your state benefits | Only if the Department for Work and Pensions appoints them, which covers your benefits and nothing else | Yes |
| Make decisions about your health and care | No. Doctors and social workers decide what’s in your best interests. They should talk to your husband or wife, but the decision isn’t theirs. | Yes, with a health and welfare LPA, including where you live and, if you’ve allowed it, life-sustaining treatment |
Check your own situation. Our free two-minute check shows what your husband or wife could and couldn’t do for you, based on your home, your accounts and any LPA you already have. Is being married enough?
What happens if one of you loses capacity without an LPA
Your husband or wife would usually have to apply to the Court of Protection to become your “deputy”. It costs £432 to apply, plus a £100 assessment fee once appointed and a supervision fee every year, usually £320. It usually takes several months, and nobody can act for you in the meantime.
A deputy is supervised by the Office of the Public Guardian and must send a report every year. And the court only appoints someone to make health and care decisions in limited situations, so a health and welfare LPA is the main way to make sure your partner has a say. What happens without an LPA
It’s never too early, but it can be too late. An LPA can only be made while you can understand what you’re signing. If one of you has already lost that ability, they can’t make one now.
How couples usually set up their LPAs
- Each of you makes your own. There’s no such thing as a joint LPA for a couple. Many couples make both types each, so four LPAs in total.
- You can choose each other as attorneys. Many couples also choose an adult child or someone else they trust, either as a second attorney or as a replacement. Couples are often of a similar age, so it helps to have someone who can step in if you both need help at the same time.
- Think about how you bank. If either of you banks online, your property and financial affairs LPA needs specific wording before your attorneys can use online banking for you. Our form asks about it. Choosing your attorneys
- If the marriage ends. A husband, wife or civil partner automatically stops being your attorney if the marriage or civil partnership legally ends, unless your LPA says they can carry on.
- Make them at the same time, while you both can. It’s simpler, and you can use the same certificate provider and witnesses for both of you.
LPAs for couples with yourLPA. Both LPAs for each of you cost £295 in total, checked by a professional before you sign and posted to you ready to sign. The registration fee of £92 per LPA is paid to the government. Start your LPAs as a couple
If you’re not married
The same applies to couples who live together. Being someone’s partner gives you no right to manage their money or make decisions about their care, however long you’ve been together. An LPA is the way to give each other that authority.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK: Become a deputy, including fees (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK: Become an appointee for someone claiming benefits (opens in a new tab)
- Alzheimer’s Society: Why doesn’t being someone’s next of kin mean I can make decisions on their behalf? (opens in a new tab)
Checked by Steve Ryan, founder of yourLPA and a member of the Society of Will Writers, against the Office of the Public Guardian’s guidance in October 2026. This guide is general information for people in England and Wales, not personal advice.