Power of attorney
KROMANN Law Firm specialises in family and inheritance law with more than 20 years of experience. With us, you therefore receive competent and thorough legal advice in connection with the creation of future powers of attorney and general powers of attorney.
FUTURE POWER OF ATTORNEY
If you wish to have influence over who will manage your personal and/or financial affairs if you are at some point no longer able to do so yourself, you should create a future power of attorney. If you do not have a future power of attorney, the only alternative is that guardianship is initiated for you, which can be a slow and burdensome process, and neither you nor your family would be able to choose your guardian.
As long as you, as the principal, are able to manage your own affairs, the future power of attorney remains inactive in the register of future powers of attorney. If the future power of attorney is brought into effect, it is the appointed attorney-in-fact who represents you in the areas covered by the mandate.
A future power of attorney only takes effect on the day you, for example due to illness, are no longer able to manage your own affairs. If this happens, and you have not created a power of attorney, you will instead be placed under guardianship on the terms set by The Agency of Family Law (Familieretshuset).
A future power of attorney differs from guardianship in that you yourself have made prior decisions about what should happen if you, for example, become affected by dementia, suffer a stroke, or are involved in an accident. In a guardianship situation, it is the Family Court and the rules of the Guardianship Act that determine what will happen in that situation.
You decide to what extent the attorney-in-fact may act on your behalf. You can therefore limit their authority so that they are not able to act on your behalf in all matters.
A future power of attorney can be created by anyone who has reached the age of 18 and is capable of acting rationally. This means that you must be able to understand the consequences of creating a power of attorney that will only take effect in the future.
As long as you, as the grantor, are able to manage your own affairs, the future power of attorney remains inactive. Once it takes effect, your appointed representative will represent you in the matters covered by the power of attorney
1 in 5 future powers of attorney are rejected!
In recent years, more and more people have created a future power of attorney. However, figures from the The Agency of Family Law (Familieretshuset) show that approximately 1 in 5 future powers of attorney are rejected when they are to be activated. These powers of attorney are rejected either because they conflict with the law or because they have not been correctly prepared.
The reason for the high number of rejected documents is most likely a lack of legal advice and expertise. Today, many online providers offer to prepare future powers of attorney at low cost and within minutes. It is also possible in many places to purchase templates for these widely used documents.
A common issue with many of these providers is that they are not lawyers, meaning there is no guarantee that the document is legally valid. If a future power of attorney is not legally valid, it unfortunately becomes unusable and cannot be activated.
Even if a power of attorney is not legally valid, it may still be registered. This unfortunately creates a false sense of security, as registration does not in itself mean that the document is valid. The validity is only properly assessed when it is to be activated – and by that time, the person who created it will often no longer be able to make a new one.
If you or someone you know is considering creating a power of attorney, it is therefore important to seek proper legal advice. By using a lawyer to prepare the document, you ensure that it is legally valid and can be activated when needed.
Contact us directly on tel. +45 8618 1102 or email kontakt@advokatkromann.dk if you wish to create a future power of attorney, or if you are unsure whether your already registered power of attorney is valid.
GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY
It is also possible to create a so-called general power of attorney. A general power of attorney is a document in which you can authorise one or more persons to act on your behalf in both financial and personal matters. There are no formal requirements for creating a general power of attorney, which means that not all institutions recognise it; for example, some banks do not accept it.
WE HELP YOU CREATE YOUR FUTURE POWER OF ATTORNEY
KROMANN Law Firm’s team of lawyers are experts in this area and can help you create your future power of attorney digitally in the Register of Future Powers of Attorney. If you are exempt from Digital Post, we can also assist you in registering a paper-based future power of attorney in the register.
The court fee for registering a future power of attorney with a notary is DKK 300. If the power of attorney later needs to be activated, an additional fee must be paid to the Family Court (Familieretshuset). This fee is currently (January 2024) DKK 1,010 and is non-refundable if the power of attorney is not activated.
CONTACT US TODAY
At KROMANN Law Firm, we offer a non-binding meeting with one of our legal advisors regarding your wishes for a future power of attorney.
Contact us today on tel. +45 8618 1102 or email kontakt@advokatkromann.dk if you wish to create a future power of attorney, so you can ensure fast, efficient, and competent case handling.
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