Who can be an attorney?
Written by SmartLPA · Reviewed 1 July 2026
Your attorneys are the people who may one day run your finances or speak for your care. The law sets a floor for who qualifies; good judgement does the rest.
This guide content is currently in draft. We’re preparing it for review before launch. If you’re making an LPA now, always cross-reference with the OPG’s official guidance at gov.uk/power-of-attorney.
The legal requirements
An attorney must be aged 18 or over, have mental capacity themselves, and agree to take on the role. For a Property & Financial Affairs LPA there's one extra rule: the attorney must not be bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order (that restriction doesn't apply to Health & Welfare attorneys). Attorneys are usually individuals, though a Property & Financial Affairs LPA can appoint a trust corporation.
Choosing well
Most donors choose a partner, adult children, close family or friends; some appoint a professional such as a solicitor, who can charge for their time if the LPA provides for it. What matters is trust and practicality: attorneys must always act in your best interests, and it helps if they're organised, comfortable with paperwork, and likely to be available for years to come.
Appointing more than one
The official form has space for up to four attorneys. If you appoint several, you choose how they decide: jointly, meaning every decision needs all of them to agree, or jointly and severally, meaning each can act alone as well as together. Jointly offers maximum oversight but is fragile: if one joint attorney dies or loses capacity, the appointment can fail entirely unless replacements are named. Jointly and severally is the more flexible and more common choice.
Replacement attorneys
You can also name up to two replacement attorneys, who step in if an original attorney can no longer act. They're your safety net. Without them, losing your only attorney can leave the LPA unusable and your family back at square one.
What attorneys must do
Attorneys act under the Mental Capacity Act's principles: assume capacity unless shown otherwise, support your own decision-making, and act in your best interests. Financial attorneys must keep your money separate from theirs and keep records; gifts are tightly limited. The OPG can investigate and remove attorneys who fall short.
Ready to put it in place?
Answer guided questions, pass every OPG structural check, and download your completed LPA, from £59.