Property and financial affairs LPA or health and welfare LPA: what is the difference?
What each one covers
A property and financial affairs LPA lets the attorneys deal with money and property: paying bills, managing bank accounts, and selling a home. A health and welfare LPA lets them make decisions about care, where the donor lives, and medical treatment.
GOV.UK says a person can make one type or both. They are separate forms and separate applications, and a client can choose different attorneys for each.
When each can be used
GOV.UK states that a property and financial affairs LPA can be used as soon as it is registered, with the donor's permission. A health and welfare LPA can only be used when the donor is unable to make their own decisions.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 presumes a person has capacity unless it is shown that they do not. That is why the health and welfare attorneys have no say while the donor can decide for themselves.
Life-sustaining treatment
A health and welfare LPA asks the donor to choose whether the attorneys may consent to or refuse life-sustaining treatment on their behalf. The donor has to make this choice deliberately on the form. If it is left unclear, the application is likely to be sent back, so it deserves its own conversation with the client.
Registration and why applications come back
An LPA cannot be used until it is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. GOV.UK says registration takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes in the application.
Mistakes are common. Which?, from a Freedom of Information response, reported that 50,918 LPA applications were rejected in 2023 to 2024. Names, ineligible witnesses and signing order are among the causes. Each rejection means rework for the firm and a longer wait for the client.
Explains the law in general. It is not advice on a particular will or client.
Where Azmora fits, and where it stops
Azmora drafts both LPA types on the official forms and checks the signing formalities before your client signs, so mistakes that cause rejection are flagged first. It keeps both on the same client file as the will. Azmora does not register or lodge the LPA. Your firm, or the client, applies to the Office of the Public Guardian.
Documents for this: LPAs
Sources
Questions you would ask
Does a client need both types of LPA?
Can an LPA be used before it is registered?
How long does registration take?
Can the attorneys be different for each type?
More guides: Who can witness a will in England and Wales, How capacity to make a will is tested.
Page updated 14 October 2026.
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