Power of Attorney (or POA's)

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows someone to make decisions on your behalf if you are over 16 years old in Scotland.  To appoint a Power of Attorney you have to be capable of asking another person to make decisions for you.  If your child does not have the ability to appoint you Power of Attorney (e.g. because of learning disability) then you will need to seek guardianship to make decision on their behalf.  Guardianship is the right route if your young person has a learning disability (lacks capacity) and Power of Attorney is the right route for people who want to ensure that legal processes are in place if they become incapable of making decisions for themselves in future (this may be due to natural ageing, or to a degenerative condition).  Sometimes Power of Attorney is shortened to POA.