We’re often asked by those people organised enough to set up a Power of Attorney (PoA) whether an English version can be used in Scotland, or vice versa. Here’s the answer.
Using a PoA from England / Wales in Scotland
In general, a PoA from England and Wales can be used north of the border. However, some organisations (such as banks or financial services providers) may ask for it to be endorsed by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) in Scotland. This is tricky because there’s no mechanism in the law for this to happen.
This is clearly unsatisfactory, so the OPG has come up with the pragmatic, interim measure of creating a Certificate that can be printed out from its website and presented along with the PoA. The certificate states that interpretation of the relevant law suggests ‘a non-Scottish Power of Attorney is automatically valid in Scotland’ and should therefore help to get a non-Scottish PoA accepted.
Using a Scottish PoA in England / Wales
The situation here is similar: the PoA should be accepted south of the border, but some organisations may not do so. And, likewise, if they ask for the PoA to be endorsed by the OPG, there’s no mechanism for this to happen.
Unfortunately, the OPG in England has not created an equivalent of the Scottish Certificate, but they acknowledge the situation is not ideal and have indicated they will seek to remedy it.
Waiting times to register PoAs in Scotland currently stand at 7-8 months, meaning it’s more advisable than ever not to procrastinate.
PoAs in or from other countries
The situation with other countries can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, so it is best to seek expert advice if this may affect you.
In general, any change of residence – whether it’s to a neighbouring country or across the globe – is a good time to check paperwork such as PoAs, Wills and other documents.
Powers of Attorney in a nutshell
A power of Attorney (PoA) is a legal document that appoints someone (or more than one person) to be your attorney and act or make decisions on your behalf. These decisions could relate to:
- Your finances and/or property
- Your health and personal welfare
- Or both of these
When should you get one?
A PoA is important because it provides legal authority for your attorneys to look after your affairs if you cannot do so yourself - for example, through illness or accident. If you lose capacity and don't have a PoA in place, your loved ones may have to go to court to be appointed as 'Guardians'. This can take months - during which they may not be able to make even the simplest decisions on your behalf.
As with insurance policy, you want a PoA in place before you actually have to use it. Waiting times to register PoAs in Scotland currently stand at 7-8 months, meaning it's more advisable than ever not to procrastinate.
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