Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a legal document whereby one person, the Granter, can grant another person, the Attorney, authority to manage their personal affairs. The document will set out the Granter’s wishes and the types of decisions the Attorney can make. They can make decisions about your finances (known as welfare powers) and personal welfare (known as continuing powers). Continuing powers can take effect immediately or only come into force when the Granter loses legal capacity, whereas Welfare powers cannot be exercised until the Granter loses capacity.

It is up to you to decide whether to grant only financial or welfare powers, or both. The Attorney is chosen by you and has legal authority to act on your behalf.

To grant a Power of Attorney, one must have legal capacity at the time of signing the document. Where a person does not have legal capacity, then they cannot grant a power of Attorney, and a Guardianship Order may be required.

Once a Power of Attorney is prepared, it will be registered with the Office of Public Guardian.

At Cameron Macaulay, we have over 35 years of experience in providing advice in respect of Powers of Attorney. Please contact our solicitors on 0141 204 7844, by email at mail@cameronmacaulay.law, or complete our contact form.