Can My Children Manage My Affairs Without Power of Attorney?

12th June 2026

Many families searching for answers eventually arrive at the same question: Can My Children Manage My Affairs Without Power of Attorney? It’s a topic that often comes up when help is needed with finances, paperwork or important decisions. It is a common assumption that adult children can just automatically step in when needed, but the reality is often quite different.

Family Relationships Don’t Create Legal Authority

This is one of the more misunderstood aspects of planning for later life.

Many people assume that a spouse, son or daughter can just automatically take over if something happens. After all, they’re the closest family members. Unfortunately, that is not how the law works in England and Wales.

Even if your children regularly help you with day-to-day tasks, they can’t simply contact your bank and start managing your accounts on your behalf. They can’t sell property, access investments or make major financial decisions without legal authority in place.

The same principle applies to health and welfare decisions.

Medical professionals will always consult family members where appropriate, but that doesn’t give relatives automatic decision-making powers.

What Happens If Capacity Is Lost?

Problems usually arise when someone loses their mental capacity before putting an LPA in place.

This can happen because of dementia, a stroke, a serious accident or another medical condition that affects your decision-making.

Once capacity has been lost, it is generally too late to create an LPA.

At that point, family members really have only one option: applying to the Court of Protection to become a deputy.

Deputyship can provide authority to manage someone’s affairs, but it’s a more complicated process than an LPA. It can take many months to arrange and involves ongoing supervision, reporting requirements and additional costs along the way.

For families already dealing with a difficult situation, those delays can create unnecessary stress.

Why an LPA Gives Families More Control

An LPA allows you to choose who’ll make decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself.

For many people, that means appointing one or more children as their attorneys.

The key difference is that the choice remains your own.

You decide who acts, how decisions are made and whether attorneys should work together or independently.

This creates clarity for everyone involved and can prevent disputes or uncertainty later on, if it comes to it.

It also means your chosen attorneys can usually step in much more quickly if they’re needed.

Planning Before It’s Needed

Most people don’t arrange an LPA using a service like Power of Attorney Online because they expect something bad to happen.

They do it because life is unpredictable and they want the reassurance of knowing their children could help if circumstances changed unexpectedly at some point in the future.

Putting an LPA in place while you still have mental capacity gives your family those options. Waiting until help is urgently needed can significantly reduce what options you have.

For many families, that peace of mind is one of the biggest reasons for arranging a Lasting Power of Attorney in the first place.