A Power of Attorney is a legal document that appoints one or more trusted persons to take over the management of your affairs at a time when you are unable to make decisions yourself. This could involve decisions about your financial affairs or about your personal welfare.
It can happen to any of us that we lose our mental faculties, whether by injury or disease. Everyone should consider granting a power of attorney to a trusted family member while they can still make the decision to do so. Once a person is no longer able to understand and sign a power of attorney, then it is necessary to make an application to the court to manage their affairs, which is a more expensive and time-consuming process. If you have an elderly relative whose faculties are beginning to fade, it is a good idea to consider a power of attorney before it's too late.
A Power of Attorney should be seen as a safeguard for the future. It will not be used until it is required, lying dormant until the time it is needed. It is possible to state that the document should not be activated until a doctor certifies that your ability to make decisions for yourself has been lost.
There is a fee for drawing up a Power of Attorney. We can tell you what our charges would be on request. Powers of Attorney require to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.
