“The Inner House of the Court of Session has heard a Special Case raised in respect of the validity of a continuing power of attorney in substantially the same form as that which was in doubt following the opinion of Sheriff Baird at Glasgow in the case of Application for guardianship in respect of W (13 May 2014). The court, which delivered its decision at the conclusion of the hearing on Wednesday 10 December, decided that the form of words used was valid.” 

The full statement from OPG (Scot) can be found here.

A link to one of my earlier blogs on this issue can be found here.

“There is a waiting period before your power of attorney (PoA) can be processed and returned to you.

• EPOAR submissions: 30 day waiting period, we are working on PoAs received on and around 30th September 2014
• Manual submissions: 11 week waiting period, we are working on PoAs received on and around 29th August 2014

If there is a genuine urgency, we will expedite the registration of a PoA ‘on cause shown’. We ask that people respect this service and only use it in cases of true urgency to avoid defeating its purpose.”

More on this can be found here.

The continuing saga of the validity of Powers of Attorney that use wording the same or similar to that used in styles published by the OPG (Scotland) continues.    

The latest instalment comes from Forfar.  The Sheriff in this matter, Gregor Murray, refused to follow the ruling earlier this year of Sheriff Baird in the ‘NW’ case.

Sheriff Murray “respectfully declined to agree” with Sheriff Baird that every power of attorney must explicitly state the donor’s intentions concerning the onset of incapacity.

The full case report can be found here.

This is from the OPG (Scotland) website:

“Further to the opinion expressed by Sheriff Baird, which cast doubt on the validity of powers of attorney drafted in what is a standard form, the Public Guardian has instructed detailed legal advice on the most appropriate option to achieve clarity on this. The Public Guardian wishes a procedure which gives an opportunity for PoA validity issues to be fully explored. Any update will be provided here.”

More on this from can be found here.

An earlier blog on this can also be found here.

“25 August 2014

Update on Power of Attorney Submissions

There is a waiting period before your power of attorney (PoA) can be processed and returned to you.

• EPOAR submissions: 24 day waiting period, we are working on PoAs received on and around 18th July 2014
• Manual submissions: 27 week waiting period, we are working on PoAs received on and around 21st February 2014

If there is a genuine urgency, we will expedite the registration of a PoA ‘on cause shown’. We ask that people respect this service and only use it in cases of true urgency to avoid defeating its purpose.”

More on this issue can be found here.

This is from OPG Scotland’s website news section.

“31 July 2014

Update on Power of Attorney (PoA) Validity Issue

The Public Guardian has been made aware that the Clydesdale Bank has decided not to pursue its appeal against the decision of the Sheriff at Glasgow. The Public Guardian is conscious that the decision raised a number of issues, including that of the validity of the power of attorney in question. The Public Guardian is in the course of making an application to Glasgow Sheriff Court under s.3 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 in order to obtain directions from the Sheriff on a number of those issues. The procedure to be followed by the OPG should give an opportunity for PoA validity issues to be fully explored. The Public Guardian does not expect to comment further while that application is pending.

Sheriff Baird’s Opinion can be accessed from this link.”

My earlier blog on this issue can be found here.

“The majority of fees payable to the Public Guardian will increase on 1st April 2014.

Fees relating to powers of attorney remain the same, however it is recommended that frequent users of OPG services familiarise themselves with the fees that have altered to avoid overpaying.”

More on this can be found here.

“4 March 2014

Power of Attorney (PoA) Update – Manual Submissions

There is currently a 12 week waiting period before your PoA can be processed and returned to you. This week we will be working on PoAs received on and around 13th December 2013.

If there is a genuine urgency, we will expedite the registration of a PoA ‘on cause shown’. We ask that people respect this service and only use it in cases of true urgency to avoid defeating its purpose.”

More on this can be found here.

“Power of Attorney (PoA) Update – Manual Submissions

There is currently a 15 week waiting period before your PoA can be processed and returned to you. This week we will be working on PoAs received on and around 2nd October 2013.

If there is a genuine urgency, we will expedite the registration of a PoA ‘on cause shown’. We ask that people respect this service and only use it in cases of true urgency to avoid defeating its purpose.”

“Turnaround Time for Annual Reviews

There is currently a 14 – 16 week waiting period for annual accounts to be reviewed. We apologise for any inconvenience the delay may cause financial guardians

The Annual Review Team are currently working with accounts received on and around 30th September 2013. Financial guardians who have queries regarding their accounts or the waiting time may contact opgreviewteam@scotcourts.gov.uk.”

More on this can be found here.

“There is currently a 12 week waiting period before your PoA can be processed and returned to you. This week we will be working on PoAs received on and around 30th May 2013.

If there is a genuine urgency, we will expedite the registration of a PoA ‘on cause shown’. We ask that people respect this service and only use it in cases of true urgency to avoid defeating its purpose.”

More on this can be found here.