Border points: will my Power of Attorney travel well?

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.

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. 

To read the next article in this edition click here. 

Or you can read the previous article here.