Protect yourself and your ensuring you have this Loved ones now by vital legal document
A Power of Attorney by ILAWS Scotland can help safeguard
We are more vulnerable than we think, that’s the message from Willwriting specialists at ILAWS Scotland.
Working every day with clients who are arranging Wills and Power of Attorney, Tony Marchi knows how difficult it can be when neither of these essential legal documents are in place.
This is why he is wanting to help educate readers of The Sunday Post about the importance of getting these documents written so that you (or your spouse or elderly parent) have someone to make decisions for you when you are not able to, in the short or long term.There are many misconceptions when it comes to Power of Attorney, which prompts many people to either believe that it is not required or put writing one off until such time when it is required.
However, as Tony points out, there are many reasons when and why a Power of Attorney is needed – and it is not only when someone is diagnosed with dementia or goes into a care home.
Tony explained:“I have heard of occasions when someone is phoning up the GP surgery or NHS 111 on behalf of a family member who is ill – and they were asked if they were Power of Attorney.They explained that if they weren’t, they would not be speaking to them.
“On this particular occasion, the caller had been trying to get through to NHS111 for almost two hours – fortunately, they were the patient’s Power of Attorney.
“Unless you are legally named as someone’s Power of Attorney it is often very difficult to deal with a loved one’s medical emergencies (or financial matters) on their behalf. Nobody wants to be turned away, or prevented from helping, when their family member is in need of medical care, whether at home or if they go into hospital.”
According to the Scottish
incapacity. This could be relevant to someone with a fluctuating condition.”
The term ‘incapacity’ can mean very different things.
Incapacity means someone “who lacks capacity to act or make some or all decisions for themselves”. It could be caused by a mental disorder, such as dementia, learning disability, brain injury, or severe mental illness. It also covers people who are unable to communicate due to a physical condition such as a stroke or severe sensory impairment.
But you can also “lack capacity to act” if you are bed-bound or house-bound because of a sickness bug or a simple urine infection. Did you know, often a urine infection can cause a high temperature which can lead to someone being unable to make decisions for themselves too?
This is why arranging a Power of Attorney is so important, as an Attorney is able deal with financial or wealth matters, or both, and they can act immediately (i.e. before incapacity, but once the POA has been granted and registered with the Public Guardian) or start at the onset of incapacity.
A POA must be arranged when the person applying for it has capacity.
The impact of having no Power of Attorney can be huge as it limits the amount of information or help a family member, spouse or close friend can be given or give.
Unless you are Power of Attorney it’s difficult to deal with a medical emergency