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Help with Managing your Affairs

Some people find that, as they get older, it is more difficult to manage their own property and financial affairs. This is why many people choose to sign a Power of Attorney to appoint a trusted relative or friend to be their Attorney to be able to take decisions on their behalf.

It is a good idea for everyone to sign a Power of Attorney just in case the situation ever arose where they became unable to manage their own affairs.

If a Power of Attorney has not been signed and you become unable to manage your own affairs or make your own decisions, then you would usually need to go through the time consuming and very expensive procedure of applying to the Office of the Public Guardian for someone to be appointed as your Deputy.

Not only is applying for an appointment as a Deputy costly and time consuming, but it also means that you may have little or no choice about who is appointed as your Deputy. The advantage of completing a Power of Attorney is that you have complete control over who is appointed as your Attorney and you make this decision at a time when you feel fully in control and able to make your own decisions. Preparing a Power of Attorney is a bit like taking out an insurance policy: you may never need to rely on it, but if it does become necessary, then you and your close relatives and friends will be very grateful that you have done it.

The Lasting Powers of Attorney forms have now been simplified and are much easier to use than the old forms. We would strongly recommend anybody who has not yet completed a Lasting Power of Attorney to do so as a protection against the difficulties that can arise in the future.

October 2009