Fiona Heald: The importance of setting up powers of attorney

Contrary to popular belief, nobody has an automatic right to manage someone else's finances, even if they are related to them, or are their spouse or civil partner.   So what happens when you can't manage your financial affairs due to ill health and nothing has been put in place? The short answer is it's an expensive, lengthy and time-consuming problem to resolve. Before diving into the issues relating to not having a power of attorney it's worth saying how important advisers are in helping people understand the need for one in the first place. For many people, wills and power of a...