Do You Regret Your Choice of Legal Power of Attorney?

I recently read a news article highlighting yet another case of someone abusing their power as a Property and Financial Affairs attorney and stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds from a vulnerable relative.

Geraldine Skevington-Roberts has been accused of fraud by abuse of position as her stepfather, aged 94, appointed her as his attorney, and she stole from him. Geraldine manipulated her stepfather and obtained his property at a large undervalue and then kicked him out of his home, as well as using his bank accounts to pay for holidays. She even cashed in £143,000 worth of his shares and kept the money.

To top it off, when his money started to dry up, she signed a document revoking her control as an attorney!

I always advise my clients to think long and hard about who they are going to appoint as their attorneys. Usually, clients turn around and say that they trust their proposed attorneys implicitly. I always reiterate that, unfortunately, money can bring out the worst in people, and the number of cases that are coming to light where financial abuse is incurring is going up a lot, especially with the cost-of-living crisis.

Whoever you decide to appoint as your attorney, they must be over the age of 18 and not have been made bankrupt. But have you thought about what would happen if you fell out with your attorney? Or if the attorney has a controlling partner who could be easily influenced? Or your attorney fell on hard financial times, would they have the same morals as they do now?

Have you already put a Lasting Power of Attorney in place and regretting your choice of an attorney?

Did you know that you can revoke your Lasting Power of Attorney at any time so long as you have mental capacity? You will need to sign a Deed of Revocation and send it and your original Lasting Powers of Attorney to the Office of the Public Guardian to have them cancelled. 

If you do want to appoint someone else as an attorney, you will need to create whole new Lasting Powers of Attorneys and pay the court fee again.

Should I appoint more than one attorney?

We usually advise appointing more than one attorney. That way, if something happens to one of your attorneys, the remaining attorneys can still act so long as you appoint them jointly and severally. By appointing more than one attorney, you are making them all accountable for each other’s actions, as they all need to be in agreement regarding a decision about you. You also have more people looking over your bank accounts to ensure that there is no financial abuse.

What safeguarding measures can I put in place?

When putting in place the Lasting Power of Attorney there is a section in the document called “people to notify” this is in the document to allow you to formally notify people that you are putting in place the Lasting Power of Attorney. The purpose of this section is to provide an element of protection against Lasting Powers of Attorneys being made when someone is under duress. 

The people who are notified can object to the application being made if there is any undue influence. They can also just generally keep an eye out on your attorneys and see if their financial habits change. For example, they buy a new car, and you know they are not working, etc., so they could not afford it.

What if I do not have any family or friends that I trust?

In the event that you do not have any family or friends to act as your attorneys and you want someone with professional standing to act as your attorney, did you know that you can appoint the partners of Birkett Long as attorneys? 

We have a wealth of experience in dealing with client’s finances and health and welfare under Lasting Powers of Attorneys and we can help assist you. We charge any time spent in any attorney duties.

What to do if you think someone is abusing their position as an attorney?

You should notify the Office of the Public Guardian immediately. The Office of the Public Guardian will investigate matters thoroughly, cancel the Lasting Power of Attorney if needed, and freeze the donor’s assets.

If you have any questions on Lasting Powers of Attorneys or would like to put in place Lasting Powers of Attorneys for either Property and Financial Affairs of Health and Welfare or revoke any existing documents, please get in touch with one of our specialists. I am based in our Colchester office and can be contacted on 0330 818 3324 or via leah.woodlee@birkettlong.co.uk