Disability
8. Financial Management
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 16 Jul 2015
- Some individuals with a disability may not be able to look after their financial affairs. This can be because they are too unwell or because they do not have the capacity to do so.
- If you cannot make competent decisions about your financial affairs you can appoint a power of attorney to act as your legal personal representative. You can also appoint a person or organisation to act as an informal financial advisor to yourself if you have capacity or the person holding your power of attorney.
- When a person or organisation acts as an informal financial advisor for a person with a disability there are strict rules that they must:
- keep your money somewhere safe such as an investment account with a reliable institution;
- ensure that your money is kept separate to their own;
- obtain reasonable interest on your money;
- not profit from their position;
- only spend your money and the interest earned on it for the direct benefit of you as the owner of the money and not for the benefit of anyone else; and
- hand back the money if you ask for it and you have a basic understanding of the value of the money.
- As a person with a disability you may need to appoint someone to assist you with managing your financial affairs by creating a Power of Attorney. A power of attorney provides another person with legal authority to make financial decisions on your behalf.
- The person who acts on your behalf is referred to as an attorney.
- The person who makes the power of attorney is called the principle. In most cases this is you.
- You can make the power of attorney if you understand its effect at the time you are making it.
- An attorney will not be able to make financial decisions that are against your wishes unless acting according to your wishes would result in your financial detriment.
- Importantly a power of attorney can't be used for decisions about health or lifestyle. A guardianship order must be in place to deal with these elements of your life.
- It is important that you trust your attorney and understand the power that you are giving them. You should speak to a lawyer who can explain how a power of attorney works and how it can help or hinder your interests.
- You can use our free Find a Lawyer directory to contact a lawyer near you.
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