Powers of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is an essential safeguard to have in place as it protects you and your estate in the event that you become physically or mentally incapacitated in the future. By granting a Power of Attorney, you put in place a trusted individual or individuals to manage your financial affairs (including any property you may own) and make decisions relating your personal welfare if the time comes when you are unable to deal with these matters yourself.

If you lose capacity and do not have a formal Attorney in place, then the only way that your family can take over dealing with your affairs is by applying to the Court for authority in the form of an Intervention Order or a Guardianship Order. The process is complicated, lengthy and expensive. On your death, further legal work, incurring further expense and delay to the winding up of your estate, requires to be undertaken to close the case. All this can be avoided by having a Power of Attorney drawn up well in advance of your capacity being lost.