Powers of Attorney

A Power of Attorney allows you to appoint someone to make financial decisions on your behalf (such as selling your house or operating your bank accounts) whereas an Enduring Guardianship allows you to appoint someone to make health and living arrangement decisions (such as consenting to medical treatment on your behalf).

You can appoint anyone over the age of 18 who has the capacity to understand the nature and consequences of these documents, although you would obviously only appoint someone who you trust implicitly and has the necessary skills and experience to make such decisions on your behalf.

These documents safeguard your interests in the event of something unforeseen – an accident or illness that robs you of your capacity to make decisions for yourself. This is your opportunity to appoint someone to look after such important decisions for you in case you are unable to do so in the future.

You can appoint more than one person if you wish, and you can specify exactly how they make their decisions – jointly or separately. Your Attorney will be legally responsible to you and must act in your best interests. While you have mental capacity they must obey your instructions. They cannot give gifts to themselves or to anyone else unless you specifically authorise them to do so and they must keep their finances and money separate from yours, keep accurate records of all of their dealings with your money.

It is essential that you discuss these documents with a lawyer who can give you professional advice about your particular circumstances.