The Two Types of LPA, Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare
There are two different Lasting Powers of Attorney in England and Wales, and they answer two very different questions.
There are two different Lasting Powers of Attorney in England and Wales, and they answer two very different questions.
Who could deal with my money and property if I needed help?
And who could make health and care decisions for me if I could no longer make a particular decision myself?
Making one type of LPA does not automatically give the person appointed powers covered by the other.
Health and welfare is about the person
A health and welfare LPA can cover decisions about matters such as daily routine, washing, dressing, eating, medical care and where the person lives.
It can only be used for a particular decision when the person who made the LPA lacks the mental capacity to make that decision themselves.
Life-sustaining treatment needs particular attention when the LPA is made because the document determines whether the people appointed have authority in that area.
Property and financial affairs is about money and assets
A property and financial affairs LPA can cover matters such as bank accounts, bills, benefits, pensions, investments and buying or selling property.
Unlike a health and welfare LPA, it may be used while the person still has capacity once it is registered, if the document allows this and the person gives permission.
Some people find that useful because they want practical help with finances before they have lost capacity.
The same person does not have to do both jobs
Somebody may trust one relative with financial administration and another with care decisions.
Others may want the same people involved in both.
Neither approach is automatically right. The useful questions include who understands the person’s wishes, who is reliable, whether people can work together and whether there are conflicts or practical difficulties.
Those choices should be considered carefully rather than made simply because somebody is the eldest child or lives nearest.
A real-life example
Imagine someone with Parkinson’s who still understands all their decisions but finds paperwork and banking physically difficult.
A registered property and financial affairs LPA might potentially allow an appointed person to help with agreed financial tasks while the individual continues making their own decisions.
That would not allow the appointed person to decide where they live or consent to medical treatment under a health and welfare LPA while the individual still has capacity for those decisions.
Neither LPA removes the person’s voice
An LPA is not a transfer of ownership of somebody’s life.
The Mental Capacity Act principles require people to be supported to make their own decisions where possible. A person is not to be treated as lacking capacity merely because others consider their decision unwise.
Where the appointed person is permitted to make a decision, they must act within their authority and in the person’s best interests.
Last reviewed
5 September 2026
Important legal informationThis guide provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. It is not intended to recommend any particular legal arrangement, course of action or solution. Wills, inheritance, trusts, powers of attorney, mental capacity and related matters can have significant legal and financial consequences, and the appropriate approach will depend on individual circumstances. Professionally qualified legal advice should be sought before making, changing or acting upon important legal arrangements or decisions.