Who should you appoint as your (Power of) Attorney?

The most important consideration is whether you trust the person you have in mind.

Although there are statutory protections provided for people who have granted Powers of Attorney, for your own peace of mind you will want to appoint somebody you know and trust.

This can be a family member, a friend or a professional adviser.

You should discuss the proposed appointment with them first as it is a responsibility for the Attorney if they need to give the assistance set out in the Power of Attorney.

Restrictions on who can be appointed

There are a few restrictions on who can be appointed.

The Attorney must be an adult, they must not have been bankrupt, and if you are appointing a welfare Attorney it must be a person rather than a company or organisation.

Better to appoint more than one person?

We suggest that, rather than having a single Attorney, you either have a substitute who will step in if something has happened to your Attorney or you appoint more than one Attorney.

Different financial and welfare attorneys?

You do not need to have the same Attorney for the financial side as you have for the welfare side.

You may feel that, for the welfare assistance, it would be better to have somebody who lives nearby. For the financial side, this may not be as important to you.

Does my attorney need to live in Scotland?

The person you are appointing does not need to reside in Scotland but this may be more convenient.

Depending on where your proposed Attorney lives there could, for example, be difficulty with some investment or financial institutions.

Get in touch with us for further information

If you have any queries in connection with Powers of Attorney, get in touch with us for a free initial chat, which is without obligation.

Contact one of our “Private Client” team on 01343 544077 (Elgin office) or 01309 672126 (Forres office)

Alternatively, why not send us a Free Online Enquiry?  You can also use the Online Enquiry to request a call-back by telephone.

These enquiries are free and no-obligation.