There may come a time in your life, for example due to an illness or accident, when you are no longer capable of making important decisions for yourself. A Power of Attorney allows you (the Granter) to maintain control in this event by granting authority to a person you trust (your Attorney) to handle your affairs. If you are considering creating a Power of Attorney, contact BuchananBurton today for advice.
General Power of Attorney
The General Power of Attorney is usually created for a set period of time when, for example, you are going away for a long time and have important business, or you are going into hospital. If you have important business that needs to be taken care of during this time, and you will not be able to do it yourself, you can grant a Power of Attorney to someone else to carry out this work on your behalf.
If you want to grant a General Power of Attorney, contact the specialist solicitors at BuchananBurton today and we can help ensure that the wording sufficiently protects your interests. Where you wish to limit the actions capable of being carried out by your Attorney, we can help with the wording so that the scope is sufficiently narrow and precise.
Continuing Power of Attorney
A Continuing Power of Attorney allows you to appoint someone to look after your money and property. It can include powers to sell your property or manage your bank accounts. At BuchananBurton, our Power of Attorney Solicitors can help you set this up, perhaps to become effective immediately and continue if you were to lose mental capacity, or only to take effect if you lose capacity. This document is especially useful if you have been diagnosed with or think you might develop an illness like dementia, where you may be unable to make decisions for yourself.
Welfare Power of Attorney
A Welfare Power of Attorney enables your Attorney to make decisions regarding your health and welfare. This document only has effect if you lose capacity. Under a Welfare Power of Attorney, you may grant your Attorney the power to make decisions about your welfare and health, such as where you live, medical treatment and personal care.
Setting up a Power of Attorney
Most people appoint a family member as their Attorney, however other people are sometimes chosen, such as close friends or a solicitor. You can appoint more than one Attorney, and you can appoint a second Attorney in case your first choice is unable to act.
Once you have picked your Attorney, we will draw up the document, ensuring that the interests of both the Granter and Attorney are catered for. We can also confirm that you, as the Granter, have mental capacity, and send the document to the Office of the Public Guardian to be registered.
If you are an Attorney
If you are an Attorney, we can help you ensure that you are fulfilling your responsibilities properly, that is, that you are:
- making all decisions for the benefit of the granter;
- taking the least restrictive option;
- taking the wishes of the granter into account;
- consulting other relevant people before making decisions; and
- encouraging the granter to use their own skills and develop new skills where possible.
Contact our Power of Attorney Lawyers – Providing Legal Services within East Kilbride, Hamilton, Strathaven & Glasgow South Side
At BuchananBurton, we speak your language. If you wish to discuss Power of Attorney or Guardianship, get in touch with us. Our advice is down-to-earth and practical – giving you real solutions to your everyday problems. Our solicitors offer cost-effective solutions to your legal needs, ensuring you have a good understanding of your options throughout. We serve clients in East Kilbride, Strathaven, Thorntonhall, Carmunnock, Hamilton, Clarkston, Busby and the surrounding areas.
Pop into our office, give us a call on 01355 249 228 or contact us via our online contact form and someone will be in touch shortly.
