Choosing Attorneys and Replacement Attorneys for an LPA

How to choose the right attorneys and backups, avoid common appointment mistakes, and set your LPA up for real-world reliability.

Start with role clarity

Attorneys are decision-makers with legal duties, not just trusted names on a form. Pick people who can perform under stress, document decisions, and communicate clearly.

What good attorney candidates look like

Prioritise:

Judgment and reliability
Organisational discipline
Ability to work with institutions
Respect for donor values, not personal agenda

Trust alone is not enough without capability.

Why replacement attorneys matter

Replacement attorneys are continuity protection. If an original attorney dies, loses capacity, becomes bankrupt (financial LPA), or refuses to act, the replacement can step in.

Without replacements, your LPA may become impractical or fail in key scenarios.

Family politics and appointment risk

The worst appointments are often made to avoid short-term conflict. Choose for suitability, not optics.

Where family dynamics are complex, add written preferences and decision principles so attorneys can evidence why they acted.

Different people for LP1F and LP1H

You can appoint different attorneys for different LPAs. This often improves outcomes:

Financially skilled person for LP1F
Care-anchored person for LP1H

How many attorneys?

More attorneys can improve resilience, but too many can increase delay and disagreement. In most families, one to three primary attorneys plus replacements is practical.