Our Amye Aris deals with this often asked and important question – what is the role of an Attorney?

We have seen a large increase in new client enquiries asking us to prepare and register Lasting Powers of Attorney documents on their behalf.  But what does it mean to be appointed as someone’s Attorney, and what are your legal duties in that role? Our Amye Aris explains more.

If you have been appointed as an Attorney for someone under a “Lasting Power of Attorney” you can legally make decisions on their behalf, stepping into their shoes and acting as if you were them. The person who has appointed you is known as the ‘Donor’.

The decisions that you take on behalf of the Donor will depend on whether you have been appointed under:

An LPA for Property and Financial affairs; or
An LPA for Health and Welfare.

Attorneys must always act in the best interests of

Our Amy Trevellick continues her series of articles about mediation.

Where children are concerned, our client’s attend mediation mostly to discuss when and how often their children will see each parent after a separation or divorce. This is commonly known as “child arrangements”. If these arrangements are agreed as a result of mediation, or indeed, via a direct agreement between the parents, they can be drawn up into a Parenting Plan or, if necessary, a Child Arrangements Order.

However, mediation can also be used for a number of other reasons, and you don’t have to wait until you have separated to attend mediation. It can be helpful to agree to joint approach to things such as how or when to tell your children you are separating, or how to approach the subject of divorce. If the mediator is trained in Child Inclusive Mediation, your child or children can also form part of