Getting ready to be an attorney under a power of attorney

13/02/2019


Getting ready to be an attorney under a power of attorney

If you’ve agreed to act as an attorney under an enduring power of attorney – perhaps made by your spouse or partner, a relative or a friend – it’s a big responsibility. You need to know what’s involved and what you can do now to prepare, so you can hit the ground running if you ever actually have to do the job.

Broadly, if you agree to be an attorney and the person who has appointed you (lawyers call them the ‘donor’) loses their capacity to manage their own affairs (for example, because of an incapacitating illness or injury), then you step in and manage their finances and property for them. Depending on what the power of attorney document says, you may also have to make decisions about their personal care.

Decisions about personal care can include who the donor lives and mixes with, what rehabilitation and/or training they should get, what benefits they should claim – even down to what food they should eat and the clothes they should wear in some cases (although it won’t include decisions about their health, such as whether they should have a particular operation or not).

You have an overriding duty to make decisions which are in the donor’s best interests – not yours or anyone else’s. Also, you’re not allowed to benefit from being an attorney unless the donor themselves would have given you the benefit in question.

If you have agreed to be an attorney, what can you do now to prepare, in case you have to act in the future?

First, learn as much about the donor’s affairs as you can while they are still able to tell you. For example, you can ask which assets they own (such as property, shares, savings, cars, jewellery, art, etc) and where any title documents such as land deeds, log books or share certificates are kept. You can also find out about any income and benefits they get, what their regular outgoings are, such as utility bills, and where they keep their paperwork relating to all of these.

Find out too about their approach to their finances – do they spend or save, or both? Do they like to keep a financial ‘cushion’ in the bank and, if so, how much? What sort of things do they usually spend their money on – holidays or hobbies, for example? Are there people they would regularly give presents to, such as on their birthdays? What about weddings, anniversaries or religious events? Which charities do they give to regularly, and how much do they give?

Do they have advisers? Who are they and what advice do they give? Are there some decisions they usually consult family, a friend or neighbour about?

Ask them what they want to happen to their assets if they have to move into a care home – for example, should you sell their home? Give it to family members? Rent it out?

Once you’ve done all this, think about creating records – a spreadsheet, maybe – containing rough indications of asset values, income, expenditure and everything else the donor has told you.

Every donor will be unique, so this isn’t an exhaustive list of questions and you need to think about anything else you need to find out. But as a general rule, the more preparation you can do now, the less stressful it will be for you, and everyone else concerned, if the worst comes to the worst and you have to take over managing the donor’s affairs.

Contact us for more information

Getting ready to be an attorney under a power of attorney

27/11/2018


Getting ready to be an attorney under a power of attorney

If you’ve agreed to act as an attorney under an enduring power of attorney – perhaps made by your spouse or partner, a relative or a friend – it’s a big responsibility. You need to know what’s involved and what you can do now to prepare, so you can hit the ground running if you ever actually have to do the job.

Broadly, if you agree to be an attorney and the person who has appointed you (lawyers call them the ‘donor’) loses their capacity to manage their own affairs (for example, because of an incapacitating illness or injury), then you step in and manage their finances and property for them. Depending on what the power of attorney document says, you may also have to make decisions about their personal care.

Decisions about personal care can include who the donor lives and mixes with, what rehabilitation and/or training they should get, what benefits they should claim – even down to what food they should eat and the clothes they should wear in some cases (although it won’t include decisions about their health, such as whether they should have a particular operation or not).

You have an overriding duty to make decisions which are in the donor’s best interests – not yours or anyone else’s. Also, you’re not allowed to benefit from being an attorney unless the donor themselves would have given you the benefit in question.

If you have agreed to be an attorney, what can you do now to prepare, in case you have to act in the future?

First, learn as much about the donor’s affairs as you can while they are still able to tell you. For example, you can ask which assets they own (such as property, shares, savings, cars, jewellery, art, etc) and where any title documents such as land deeds, log books or share certificates are kept. You can also find out about any income and benefits they get, what their regular outgoings are, such as utility bills, and where they keep their paperwork relating to all of these.

Find out too about their approach to their finances – do they spend or save, or both? Do they like to keep a financial ‘cushion’ in the bank and, if so, how much? What sort of things do they usually spend their money on – holidays or hobbies, for example? Are there people they would regularly give presents to, such as on their birthdays? What about weddings, anniversaries or religious events? Which charities do they give to regularly, and how much do they give?

Do they have advisers? Who are they and what advice do they give? Are there some decisions they usually consult family, a friend or neighbour about?

Ask them what they want to happen to their assets if they have to move into a care home – for example, should you sell their home? Give it to family members? Rent it out?

Once you’ve done all this, think about creating records – a spreadsheet, maybe – containing rough indications of asset values, income, expenditure and everything else the donor has told you.

Every donor will be unique, so this isn’t an exhaustive list of questions and you need to think about anything else you need to find out. But as a general rule, the more preparation you can do now, the less stressful it will be for you, and everyone else concerned, if the worst comes to the worst and you have to take over managing the donor’s affairs.

Contact us for more information


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