Jointly or Jointly and Severally? Choosing LPA Attorneys
Updated: Sep 15
If you appoint more than one attorney under a lasting power of attorney, you must decide how they will make decisions. The choice affects everyday administration, safeguards and what happens if an attorney dies or can no longer act.
The main options are “jointly”, “jointly and severally”, or jointly for specified decisions and jointly and severally for the rest. The wording sounds technical, but the practical question is straightforward: must all attorneys agree, or may one act alone?
This guide applies to lasting powers of attorney made under the law of England and Wales. H.A. Law Advisory’s service is for clients in England.
Start with the right people
An attorney must be at least 18 and have capacity to make their own decisions. GOV.UK’s attorney guidance advises donors to consider trust, how the person manages their own affairs and whether they are willing to act.
For a property and financial affairs LPA, a person who is bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order cannot be appointed. The rules for a health and welfare LPA are different.
Practical availability matters too. Consider distance, communication, reliability, conflicts and whether the attorneys can deal appropriately with banks, care providers or public bodies. Do not appoint someone merely to avoid offending them.
The donor must make the choices. A relative may assist with administration, but an intended attorney should not dictate the arrangement.
What does jointly and severally mean?
With a jointly-and-severally appointment, the attorneys can make decisions together or separately. One attorney can handle a matter without every other attorney signing or attending.
The current OPG LP12 guide describes this as the most flexible and practical option for many donors. It can allow routine or urgent matters to be handled efficiently.
Flexibility does not remove legal duties. Each attorney must act within the LPA, apply the Mental Capacity Act principles and act in the donor’s best interests where the donor lacks capacity for the decision.
The donor should be comfortable with each attorney potentially acting alone. Appointing two people is not an automatic two-signature safeguard when they act jointly and severally.
What does jointly mean?
With a joint appointment, all attorneys must agree on every decision and sign relevant documents together. This can provide collective decision-making where the donor deliberately wants unanimity.
It can also make the LPA difficult to use. A routine transaction may be delayed if an attorney is unavailable. If the attorneys cannot agree, the decision cannot be made.
There is also an important failure risk. OPG guidance explains that if one jointly appointed attorney dies or can no longer act, the joint appointment generally stops working unless replacement arrangements or valid instructions address the position. Because joint attorneys are treated as a single unit, the remaining original attorneys do not simply continue as before.
Do not choose “jointly” without considering disagreement, illness, distance and replacement planning.
The mixed option
A donor may require attorneys to act jointly for certain decisions and allow them to act jointly and severally for everything else.
For example, a donor might want all attorneys to agree on a decision to sell a home while allowing one attorney to deal with ordinary bills. This can combine control with flexibility.
The joint decisions must be stated clearly in the required continuation sheet. Vague wording such as “important decisions” invites uncertainty: different people may disagree about what counts as important.
The same failure issue affects the jointly made decisions. If an attorney can no longer act, the remaining attorneys may be unable to make those decisions unless replacement arrangements or carefully drafted instructions apply.
Complex or unusual restrictions should be reviewed before signing. Contradictory instructions can make an LPA unworkable or lead to rejection.
Think through real situations
Test the proposed arrangement against ordinary events.
1. A utility bill needs to be paid while one attorney is abroad. Can another act alone?
2. A property must be sold to fund appropriate care. Must everyone agree and sign?
3. One attorney loses capacity or dies. Who continues, and for which decisions?
4. The attorneys disagree. Is there any decision-making route, or does the LPA become stuck?
5. A replacement attorney steps in. Do the appointment method and instructions produce the result the donor expected?
These questions do not dictate one universal answer. They expose the trade-offs before the form is executed.
Replacement attorneys need a design, not just a name
A replacement attorney does not usually act alongside the originals from the beginning. They step in when the circumstances specified by the LPA and law arise.
The effect differs according to whether the original attorneys were appointed jointly, jointly and severally or under a mixed arrangement. The LP12 guide contains detailed examples because an apparently simple replacement plan can produce unexpected results.
For jointly appointed originals, one person ceasing to act can affect the whole original group. For jointly-and-severally appointed attorneys, a replacement will usually step in for the attorney who can no longer act and can operate with the remaining originals.
Record the intended sequence clearly and check that the form supports it. Do not copy bespoke instructions from another person’s LPA.
Illustrative example: flexibility without real consent
A donor appoints two adult children jointly and severally because they expect both to discuss every major financial decision. The form, however, contains no valid requirement for joint decision-making.
Either attorney may be able to act alone. The family’s informal expectation is not the same as the legal appointment method.
If the donor genuinely wants specified decisions made jointly, the form must express that arrangement accurately. The donor should also understand how a disagreement or the loss of one attorney could affect those decisions.
This example is illustrative; the right design depends on the donor’s wishes and circumstances.
Avoid contradictory instructions
If attorneys are appointed jointly and severally, do not add an instruction elsewhere requiring a particular attorney or minimum number of attorneys to make decisions without checking compatibility. OPG warns that contradictory wording may cause rejection.
Preferences and instructions also perform different functions. A preference is guidance; an instruction is binding. Overly rigid instructions can create practical obstacles that the donor did not intend.
Use the current official LPA forms page and LP12 guide. Do not rely on an old saved form.
Frequently asked questions
Is jointly always safer? No. It requires unanimity but can cause delay or failure if an attorney cannot act or the attorneys disagree.
Is jointly and severally the best choice? It is flexible and commonly chosen, but it means each attorney may act alone. The donor must decide whether that fits their wishes and safeguards.
Can different attorneys be used for each LPA? Yes. A donor can make separate choices for a health and welfare LPA and a property and financial affairs LPA.
Can the appointment method be changed after registration? Do not alter the registered instrument informally. Obtain advice on whether a new LPA or another formal step is required.
Need help designing your LPA?
Explore H.A. Law Advisory’s wills and LPA services. We provide non-reserved LPA preparation and guidance within an agreed scope, with the donor making every substantive choice. We are not a firm of solicitors, do not conduct Court of Protection litigation and cannot guarantee registration or third-party acceptance.
OPG guidance, official forms and service scope checked on 12 September 2026.
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