Replacement Attorneys: Do You Need One and What Happens If an Attorney Dies or Can’t Act?

By Matt Cresswell, Founder at Power of Attorney Online and author of
Everything you ever wanted to know about LPAs (but were afraid to ask)

31st July 2026

If you’ve searched for Replacement Attorneys Explained, you’re probably completing a LPA and wondering whether naming replacement attorneys is really necessary. It’s an easy section to overlook because you’re planning for something that may never happen. After all, you’ve already chosen people you trust. Why think about replacing them? The reality is that an LPA is often expected to last for decades. During that time, circumstances change. People move abroad, become ill, lose mental capacity themselves or simply decide they no longer want the responsibility. Naming replacement attorneys is one of the simplest ways to make sure your LPA continues working if life doesn’t go exactly as planned.

Why replacement attorneys deserve more attention

Most people spend a lot of time deciding who should become their attorneys. That makes sense. These are the people who may one day make important decisions about your money, property, healthcare or medical treatment.

When the application reaches the section about replacement attorneys, however, many people pause. Some leave it blank because they feel confident their chosen attorneys will always be available. Others simply don’t know what the section means.

The challenge is that an LPA is designed to protect you in circumstances nobody can predict. If you’re planning for the unexpected, it makes sense to consider what happens if one of your attorneys also faces unexpected life events.

The five ways an attorney can stop being able to act

Most people assume the only reason an attorney would stop acting is because they pass away. In reality, there are several possibilities.

• An attorney may die before or after the LPA is registered.
• They may lose their own mental capacity through illness or injury.
• They may formally decide they no longer wish to act, a process known as disclaiming their appointment.
• In some circumstances, they may become bankrupt, which has implications for Property and Financial Affairs LPAs.
• Occasionally, the Office of the Public Guardian or the Court of Protection may remove an attorney because they are not acting appropriately.

None of these situations are particularly common on their own. Taken together, though, they demonstrate why building resilience into an LPA is worthwhile.

What happens depends on how your attorneys are appointed

Whether your LPA continues working often depends on how your attorneys were appointed in the first place.

Attorney appointment	If one attorney can no longer act
Jointly	The appointment may fail unless replacement attorneys can step in under the terms of the LPA.
Jointly and severally	Remaining attorneys can usually continue acting without interruption.
Hybrid appointment	The outcome depends on the wording of the LPA and which decisions require joint agreement.

This is why the appointment structure and replacement attorneys should always be considered together.

Looking at one without the other only tells half the story.

How replacement attorneys step in

One of the biggest misconceptions is that replacement attorneys automatically become additional attorneys alongside the originals. Usually, they don’t.

A replacement attorney is exactly that. They replace someone who can no longer act.

The order in which this happens depends on how the LPA has been drafted. For example, you may nominate one replacement attorney who only steps in if either of your original attorneys can no longer continue.

Alternatively, you may nominate several replacement attorneys and specify the order in which they should replace people.

The wording matters. If it is unclear, confusion can arise years later when the LPA is actually needed. Taking time to understand this section while completing the application can prevent uncertainty for your family in the future.

The ordering rules that people often misunderstand

Many people believe that if they name two replacement attorneys, both will immediately join the original attorneys. That’s rarely how it works.

Instead, replacements generally step into the position vacated by an attorney who can no longer act. The original appointment structure usually continues. This distinction becomes particularly important where attorneys have been appointed jointly.

If the LPA hasn’t been drafted carefully, replacement arrangements may not operate as the donor expected. Because these decisions can affect the legal validity of the LPA years later, they deserve careful consideration rather than guesswork.

Who makes a good replacement attorney?

The qualities are much the same as when choosing your original attorneys. You should choose someone trustworthy, organised and willing to act if the need ever arises.

Good communication skills are also valuable, particularly if they may one day work alongside remaining attorneys.

Practical considerations matter too. Someone who lives overseas, travels constantly or has significant health concerns may find the role difficult if they are eventually called upon.

Many people choose an adult child, another close relative or a trusted friend. There’s no single correct answer.

The right person is someone who understands your wishes and is likely to remain capable of acting over many years.

Who can’t be a replacement attorney?

The eligibility rules are broadly the same as for ordinary attorneys. For a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, replacement attorneys must be at least 18 years old and cannot be bankrupt when acting. Someone appointed for Health and Welfare decisions must also be at least 18. Professional advisers can sometimes be appointed, although many people choose family members instead.

Perhaps the biggest consideration is willingness. Being asked to act as an attorney carries legal responsibilities. It’s always worth discussing the role with the person before naming them in your LPA.

What happens if there’s no replacement?

Sometimes nothing. If your remaining attorneys can continue acting under the terms of the LPA, everything may carry on without difficulty. In other cases, particularly where attorneys were appointed jointly, losing one attorney can create significant problems.

If you still have mental capacity, the solution is often straightforward. You can make a new LPA reflecting your updated wishes.

If you’ve already lost capacity, however, creating a new LPA is no longer possible.

Depending on the circumstances, your family may need to apply to the Court of Protection for deputyship before someone can legally manage your affairs. That process is generally slower, more expensive and involves continuing supervision.

Naming replacement attorneys is therefore less about expecting problems and more about reducing the chance of future disruption.

What we see when reviewing applications

One pattern appears regularly when we review customer applications. People often spend considerable time deciding who should be their primary attorneys but make much quicker decisions about replacements or skip the section altogether.

From our own application reviews on Power of Attorney Online, replacement attorney choices are among the most common areas where customers ask for reassurance before submitting their LPA, particularly when appointing multiple attorneys or creating different arrangements for Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare LPAs.

That tells us something important. People recognise the decision matters. They simply want confidence that they have understood how the rules work.

Should everyone appoint replacement attorneys?

Not necessarily. Every family is different. Someone appointing a single professional attorney may take a different approach from someone appointing several adult children.

Even so, replacement attorneys often provide valuable long-term protection at very little additional effort during the application process.

An LPA may remain in place for twenty or thirty years. The longer the document is expected to last, the greater the chance that somebody’s circumstances will change. Planning for those changes today is usually much easier than dealing with them later.

Decision guide:

Situation	Is a replacement attorney worth considering?
One attorney appointed	Strongly recommended
Two attorneys appointed jointly	Highly recommended
Two attorneys appointed jointly and severally	Usually beneficial
Attorneys are older relatives	Particularly valuable
Attorneys are younger adult children	Still worth considering because circumstances change

Frequently asked questions

Are replacement attorneys compulsory?

No. You do not have to appoint replacement attorneys, but doing so can make your LPA more resilient if circumstances change.

Can replacement attorneys act immediately?

No. They usually only begin acting when the conditions set out in the LPA are met, such as an original attorney no longer being able to continue.

Can I appoint more than one replacement attorney?

Yes. You can appoint multiple replacement attorneys and specify how they should replace your original attorneys.

Can I change my replacement attorneys later?

Yes, provided you still have mental capacity. You would normally create a new LPA reflecting your updated choices.

What happens if every attorney and replacement attorney can no longer act?

If you still have mental capacity, you can make a new LPA. If you no longer have capacity, your family will usually need to apply to the Court of Protection for deputyship.

A little extra planning can protect your LPA for decades

When people think about a Lasting Power of Attorney, they naturally focus on today.

Who do I trust? Who understands my wishes? Who would make sensible decisions?

Those are exactly the right questions.

The next question is just as important. What happens if life changes for them as well?

Replacement attorneys provide an answer to that question. They help ensure your carefully prepared LPA continues working despite the unexpected, reducing the risk of delays, legal complications or court applications years into the future.

For most people, spending a few extra minutes choosing suitable replacement attorneys is one of the simplest ways to make sure the protection they’re putting in place today is still there when it’s needed most.