Powers of Attorney

Irrespective of age or your circumstances, you should consider granting a Power of Attorney to appoint someone to make decisions on your behalf. A Power of Attorney can be extremely useful for someone who is anticipating being permanently incapacitated, or to deal with periods of temporary incapacity. It could be particularly relevant for someone with a fluctuating condition. A Power of Attorney can also be beneficial for someone who is unable to deal with their financial affairs for any reason. This can cover both your financial affairs and your health and welfare. It is important to be aware that, in the absence of a Power of Attorney, your spouse or next of kin may be unable to deal with such matters for you. Accordingly, it is important to make sure that you appoint someone as your Attorney in advance of anything happening to you and to take steps to instruct a Solicitor to arrange for a Power of Attorney to be put in place for you.

We will meet with you to discuss and make sure that you are entirely comfortable with the granting of a Power of Attorney. We will also consider your own particular circumstances, including your family circumstances and any assets which you hold, to ensure that the grant of a Power of Attorney is appropriate for you.

It is important that you grant a Power of Attorney whilst you are fit and able to do so. It will not be possible for you to grant financial or welfare powers to anyone if you are incapacitated or suffering from significant mental health issues. By that time, it is likely to be too late to grant a Power of Attorney in which case it may become necessary for a member of your family, friend or even the local authority to have to make an application to the Sheriff Court for a Guardianship Order which is a much more expensive and involved exercise.

In most cases, we will be able to provide you with a fixed fee quote for the preparation of a Power of Attorney although we will need to discuss matters with you before we can do that to obtain information regarding your particular circumstances. Should you be unable to meet with us in our office, we will endeavour to make arrangements to meet with you at your home or elsewhere such as in a hospital or in a care home.