When we talk about safeguards around Lasting Powers of Attorney, the conversation often focuses on protecting vulnerable people.

And rightly so.

But there is another side to the discussion that receives far less attention.

Good safeguards protect attorneys too.

Most attorneys are family members who have stepped into the role out of love, duty or necessity.

They are often managing:

• complex finances;
• difficult family dynamics;
• caring responsibilities;
• and emotionally challenging decisions.

Frequently, they are doing so with little guidance and considerable pressure.

When concerns later arise, it is not uncommon for questions to be asked:

“Why was that payment made?”

“Why was one family member informed and not another?”

“How was that decision reached?”

In many cases, the attorney may have acted entirely appropriately.

The difficulty is that good decisions can become difficult to defend if there is no clear record of how and why they were made.

Transparency, documentation and oversight do more than protect vulnerable individuals.

They also:

• demonstrate that decisions were properly considered;
• reduce the risk of misunderstandings;
• help avoid family disputes;
• and provide reassurance that attorneys have acted in accordance with their duties.

In other areas of life, we rarely view accountability as a sign of mistrust.

We accept audits, governance, second opinions and independent review because they help good people demonstrate that they have acted properly.

Perhaps LPAs should be viewed in the same way.

The best safeguards are not designed for bad attorneys.

They are designed to support good ones.

And in doing so, they help preserve trust for everyone involved.

This is one of the reasons independent oversight can be so valuable. Not because families cannot be trusted, but because transparency, structure and accountability help protect everyone involved — including those who have taken on the responsibility of acting as attorney.