Power of Attorney in Scotland - Professional or organisation acting as Attorney

MyAccount

We are a couple in our seventies, with no children and no close living relatives. None of our friends have the degree of trust or familiarity that we would feel comfortable with for a Power of Attorney (PoA).

In Scotland, there are three types of PoA: continuing (financial) PoA for money and property, welfare PoA for health and personal care, and combined PoA covering both.

The Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland states that you can appoint either individuals or an organisation, such as a firm of solicitors, as your continuing (financial) attorney, but only individuals may be appointed as welfare attorneys.

I have found a solicitor who is willing to act as a continuing (financial) attorney but not as a welfare attorney. The solicitor has said, “There does not appear to be any organisation in Scotland that provides a service to become your Welfare Attorney.”

We could, of course, nominate each other as attorneys. However, we are concerned about the position after one of us dies and would like to have someone in place who could act as attorney for the survivor.

My questions are:

• Do you know of any organisation in Scotland that does provide a service to act as a welfare attorney?
• What are your experiences of using a professional (for example, a solicitor) to act as an attorney?
• If you have used a solicitor or other professional as a continuing (financial) attorney, what were the costs (set‑up and ongoing), and were they good value for money?
• Have you found any charities, advocacy services, or local organisations in Scotland that offer practical support or informal advocacy around welfare decisions, even if they cannot be appointed as attorneys?

Any comments or experiences would be very welcome.

elsien

I don’t have personal experience of a solicitor acting as a welfare attorney (which is possible in England) but I was reading about a case in the court of protection recently where the solicitor didn’t know the person well enough to be able to say what they would have wanted anyway.

Best interests is about taking what is important to you and what you might have wanted for yourself into account when you were well enough to make your own decisions. So that element of a personal relationship is quite important and without that there’s rmuch less benefit.
With regard to potential medical decisions if you are no longer able to make them for yourself, you could think about making an advance directive so people know your views and the level of treatment that you might want for yourself.

Again, referring to England, but I’d suspect it may be similar in Scotland yes there are ongoing fee fees for having a professional financial attorney. But without one if there are enough assets, someone would have to apply for guardianship and the English equivalent of deputyship has higher costs and takes longer.

sheramber

You can make a Living Will?advance Directive.

It is not a legal document in Scotland but can be used by medical staff in making decisions about your treatment.

https://www.nhsinform.scot/care-support-and-rights/palliative-care/practical-help-and-advice/health-and-care-decisions-and-legal-planning/