A Power of Attorney is a formal legal document that is granted by you in favour of another trusted individual to allow them to deal with certain aspects of your financial and/or personal matters. A Power of Attorney is a way of planning for the future, to allow others to make decisions on our behalf when we are unable to do so. There are also certain powers that can be conferred by a Power of Attorney to allow someone to act on your behalf if you are out of the country, or unable to deal with matters on your own behalf.
In order to grant a Power of Attorney you must have capacity to make decisions on your own behalf. If there is any concerns regarding your capacity, a medical report can be obtained to clarify this. A Power of Attorney must be certified by a solicitor and/or a medical practitioner to confirm that they are satisfied that you have capacity. If you do not have capacity, a Guardianship Order must be sought from the courts.
Power of Attorneys can be very wide dealing with solely financial powers, solely welfare powers or a combination of both. It is also possible to have a Power of Attorney do deal with one specific matter.
Key Cases
Dobbie v Paton - The Removal of an Executer
This action related to the removal of an executer to the estate of a deceased person where the appointment was incompetent. Michael Thompson successfully argued for the removal of an executer whose appointment was incompetent.
O’Neill v O’Neill
This is a case involving allegations of facility and circumvention. This is an important concept in law where an individual can retain capacity but they are weak in facile of mind and can be easily imposed upon. In this case, allegations were made that the Defenders had imposed themselves upon their mother to carry out a transaction. Michael Thompson was a principal agent for the Defender and it was successfully argued that this claim was irrelevant.
Contact our Power of Attorney Solicitors Glasgow, Coatbridge, Airdrie, Shetland
We offer a competitive fixed fee in respect of Power of Attorneys and they can be drawn up and finalised very quickly as we have the ability to register the document via the internet. Contact us now via our online contact form, or give us a call on 0141 404 6575.