Jointly and severally (attorneys act either together or individually)

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Jointly and severally (attorneys act either together or individually) Your attorneys can make decisions on your behalf on their own or together. Any action taken by any attorney alone is as valid as if they were the only attorney. It’s up to your attorneys to choose how they make decisions, but they must always act in your best interests.

 

Most people choose this option because:

 

• attorneys can make simple or urgent decisions quickly and easily, without asking your other attorneys • if an attorney can no longer act, the LPA won’t be cancelled.

 

If you choose this option, you must not say anywhere else in the LPA that certain decisions must be made by:

• one attorney

• some or all your attorneys

• a minimum number of attorneys

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Jointly (attorneys agree every decision unanimously)

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Your attorneys must always make all decisions together. They must agree unanimously, and they must all sign any relevant documents. Choose this option if you want your attorneys to agree on every decision, whether it’s big or small.

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If your attorneys can’t all agree on a decision, it can’t be made

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With this option:

• if your attorneys can’t work together, your LPA won’t work

• if one attorney can no longer act or dies, your LPA will stop working – unless you’ve appointed replacements

• If your attorneys live far apart, they may find acting jointly difficult – for example, going to the bank together.

• If one of your original joint attorneys can no longer act, all your original attorneys stop acting for you. This is because the law treats attorneys who act jointly as a single unit. If you’ve appointed replacement attorneys, they will all take over.

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Jointly for some decisions, and jointly and severally for other decisions

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Your attorneys must make certain decisions together and agree them unanimously – but they can make other decisions individually.

 

If you choose this option you must clearly state which decisions your attorneys should make together and agree unanimously: that is, when they should act jointly.

 

If your attorneys can’t all agree on a decision, it can’t be made Some people pick this option because they don’t mind their attorneys taking everyday decisions alone but want them to make important decisions together, such as selling a house.

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If your attorneys live far apart, they may find acting jointly difficult.

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With this option: you must write on Continuation sheet 2 which decisions must be made jointly and which must be made jointly and severally – if you don’t, your LPA won’t work.

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•if your attorneys can’t agree on a joint decision, it can’t be made.

•if one attorney can no longer act or dies, your remaining attorneys won’t be able to make any of the joint decisions, unless you’ve appointed replacements.

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With this option, if one attorney stops acting for you but you do have replacement attorneys:

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•the replacement attorneys will take over, making all joint decisions instead of your original attorneys

•both the replacement and remaining original attorneys can make any decisions they’re allowed to make individually.

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2 x Examples

 

‘’My attorneys must act jointly for decisions about selling or letting my house and may act jointly and severally for everything else.’’

 

‘‘My attorneys must act jointly for decisions about where I live and may act jointly and severally for everything else.’’