Powers of Attorney

 Attorneys are persons who can act on your behalf  if you become incapacitated in any way, or if you are out of the country for any length of time or if you simply want another person to attend to matters for you. You should carefully consider who you would prefer to administer your affairs, both financial and personal and decide the level of involvement you wish them to have. We suggest you seek legal advice before entering into any power of attorney arrangements.

Enduring power of attorney in relation to property

This authorises the person you have named as attorney to act on your behalf in relation to your property.  This can be for all your property affairs or some of them , depending on what you have specified.

Property means all your assets, not just land or real estate. It will include your financial affairs unless stated otherwise.

It will specify whether the document is effective when you are mentally capable, or is only effective if you become incapable.

Careful consideration should be given to the conditions imposed on the attorney. Depending on what is stated in the document, the attorney can act to his or her own benefit or to the benefit of others if it might be expected that you will provide for those persons.

So long as you retain your mental capacity you can cancel a Power of Attorney and replace it with another.

Who should be an attorney in relation to property?
Someone you can trust. Often solicitors or accountants perform this role. Having a non-family attorney can in some cases avoid family rivalry and can be more accessible than remote family members. For more information on enduring powers of attorney contact Glaister Ennor.

Power of attorney for personal care and welfare

This authorises the person you have named as attorney to act on your behalf in relation to your personal care and welfare, for either all or some of your personal and welfare affairs, depending on what you have specified.

Only one person can act as your attorney at any one time. This cannot include a trustee company.  Such a power of attorney only comes into effect when you are no longer capable of making decisions, but should of course be signed while you are still well.

An attorney cannot act for you in:

• Making decisions relating to your entering into marriage or dissolving your marriage;
• Making decisions relating to the adoption of a child of yours;
• Refusing consent to any standard medical treatment or procedure intended to save your life or prevent serious damage to your health;
• Giving consent to the administration of electro-convulsive treatment;
• Giving consent for any surgery or other treatment designed to destroy any part of your brain or any brain functions for the purposes of changing your behaviour;
• Giving consent to your taking part in any medical experiment (except for life saving purposes or preventing serious damage to your health).

Who should be an attorney in relation care and welfare?
Someone you can trust and who would know what your personal preferences would be. A close family member or friend would normally perform this role. For more information on enduring powers of attorney contact Glaister Ennor.