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Power of Attorney

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Plan ahead and protect your future — a Power of Attorney ensures the right people can act on your behalf if you ever need them to.

Key Facts

Why a PoA Matters

Welfare & Financial

A PoA can cover both your personal welfare decisions and your financial affairs — or each area separately.

Act Now, Not Later

You can only grant a PoA while you have capacity. Acting early is the only way to ensure your wishes are protected.

Registered with OPG

We submit your PoA to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for registration and return the certified copy to you.

Avoids Costly Alternatives

Without a PoA your family may need a court guardianship order to act on your behalf — an expensive and lengthy process.

What is a Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney (PoA) is a legal document in which you authorise one or more trusted people — your attorneys — to make decisions on your behalf. Depending on how it is drafted, a PoA can cover:

  • Continuing PoA — your financial affairs, including managing bank accounts, investments, and property.
  • Welfare PoA — decisions about your personal care, medical treatment, and living arrangements.

Your attorneys can only use these powers if you lose the capacity to make your own decisions — through illness, injury, or the onset of dementia. Anyone aged 16 or over can grant a PoA, provided they have the capacity to understand what they are doing at the time of signing.

Why Act Now?

This is the single most important point about a Power of Attorney: you can only grant one while you still have capacity. If you lose capacity without a PoA in place, your family and friends have no legal right to manage your affairs. Their only option is to apply to court for a Guardianship Order — a process that is significantly more costly, slower, and stressful.

A PoA is an act of kindness towards the people who care about you. It removes uncertainty and gives them the legal authority to help you when you need it most.

The Process

Our solicitors will talk you through your options and draft the appropriate documents. We carefully assess capacity at the point of signing, as required by law. Once signed, we submit the document to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for registration.

On completion you will receive:

  • An authenticated copy of the signed PoA document
  • An OPG Certificate of Registration

Your attorneys will be required to keep accurate records of all actions they take on your behalf once the PoA is activated.

Who Can Be an Attorney?

Any person aged 16 or over can act as an attorney, provided they are not currently bankrupt. You can appoint more than one attorney, and you can specify whether they must act together (jointly) or may act independently (severally). We will advise on the best arrangement for your particular circumstances.