Powers of Attorney & Preventing Scams
In this article we discuss how appointing a power of attorney could be vital in protecting you or your loved ones in the event they are targeted by scammers and may be experiencing a decline in their capacity.
It is becoming more and more common for vulnerable people to be targeted by scammers and sadly many are successful. Scammers use many different methods to trick victims into sending/paying them money or allowing them access to their accounts.
In recent times, scammers have used the cost of living crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic to their advantage by creating elaborate schemes to rid people of money they cannot afford to lose. This includes sending fake emails and texts to people asking for payments for things such as vaccine appointments and Covid tests and trying to trick people with emails pretending to be from government authorities with promises of grants and payments to help during tough times.
Whilst most of us may feel confident in our ability to spot these scams, the sad truth is that most of the time the scammers will look to target the elderly – who they expect to be more trusting and, sadly, more often than not, will tend to have a declining capacity and will be less able to spot the warning signs.
What is a Power of Attorney?
A power of attorney is a legal document that is used to give a person of your choice the ability to manage your affairs in the event you lose the capacity to do so yourself. This can include the management of financial and property matters as well as and personal welfare matters.
In Scotland, there are two types of power of attorney:
Continuing Power of Attorney –
This gives the power to someone you have appointed to make decisions regarding your financial/property affairs. You can decide if these powers are to take effect immediately or only when you choose or lose capacity.
Welfare Power of Attorney –
This gives the power to someone you have appointed to make decisions based on your welfare, but only when you lose the capacity to do so.
A person can grant a “Continuing” Power of Attorney, a “Welfare” Power of Attorney or one that combines both “Continuing” and “Welfare” Powers.
The Power of Attorney must be certified by either a solicitor or medical practitioner who must interview the granter of the Power of Attorney before it is signed. This is to ensure that you understand the nature and effect of the document that you are signing.
Who can be my Attorney?
More than one person (over the age of 16) can be appointed to be your attorney. It can be a family member, friend, a professional adviser, or a combination of these. We recommend that more than one person is appointed as an attorney or, at the very least, have a substitute attorney in place. That is someone who can step in should your first-named attorney be unable to act. The most important factor, however, is that you trust your chosen attorney(s).
Please note that someone who is currently declared bankrupt cannot be appointed to act as a continuing (financial) attorney.
What happens if I don’t have a Power of Attorney?
If you or a loved one loses capacity to look after your/their own affairs and there is no valid Power of Attorney in place, then a Court Order might be required. No one has an automatic right to take actions on your behalf without legal authority.
How can a power of attorney can help?
Having a power of attorney in place can help protect you or your loved ones against these types of scams. A power of attorney will allow someone else to manage your affairs for you. In times where you or a loved one loses the capacity to make important financial decisions a power of attorney can help protect them from scams by legally managing their affairs for them.
If you have any questions or are seeking any advice on any of the issues discussed above please contact us on 0141 552 3422 or by email at info@mitchells-roberton.co.uk