North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership

An introduction

Have you ever thought about who would make important decisions about your future should you become incapacitated due to an illness or injury?

Most people would choose someone who knew them well enough to decide how they would want to be cared for, such as a spouse, partner or family member. However, without a Power of Attorney your family and loved ones have no legal right to make decisions on your behalf should you lose capacity. Instead, these decisions will be made by the health and social care team looking after you.

While the courts can appoint someone to act as your Guardian after you become incapacitated, this can be a long and expensive process that can lead to long delays in being able to leave hospital - even when you’re medically fit to leave - and can be extremely distressing for patients and families.

What is Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney is where you give someone of your choice (known as your Attorney) the authority to make decisions for you in the event that you should suddenly be unable to do so yourself through incapacity.

You can appoint anyone you like to be your Attorney, whether that be a friend or family member, a solicitor or another professional.

What is incapacity?

Incapacity is where you lose the ability to look after your own financial and personal affairs, perhaps due to an accident or an illness such as dementia or a stroke.

What are the different types of Power of Attorney?

There are 3 types of Power of Attorney:

Continuing PoA: Where your Attorney has powers to deal with money and/or property
Welfare PoA: Where your Attorney has powers to make decisions around health or other welfare matters
Combined PoA: Where your Attorney has both financial and welfare powers

You can appoint more than one Attorney and can specify if you’d prefer one of your Attorneys to look after welfare decisions and another to make financial decisions.

What information might a Power of Attorney document include?

Your PoA document might include important details such as your preferred choice of residence should you become incapacitated, your likes and dislikes, spiritual or religious beliefs, lifestyle choices and the activities you enjoy. It can also include information on how your financial affairs will be managed, as well as information on when people should start helping you should you have fluctuating capacity.

Providing detailed information in your PoA document will ensure that your Attorney is able to ensure that your wishes are followed as closely as possible.

How do I set up a Power of Attorney?

For more information on setting up a Power of Attorney in Scotland, including the costs involved, visit My Power Of Attorney - Scotland

You can also find out more at Managing affairs for someone else - Citizens Advice Scotland

To determine whether you might be entitled to Legal Aid to help with the costs, visit Estimator: advice and assistance - Scottish Legal Aid Board (slab.org.uk)