There are Stronger Rules to Build a Wall Than to Get Power of Attorney – Protect Scotland’s Elderly from Abuse

If you want to build a home extension, you have to notify your neighbours and have it approved. But someone can take over every part of an older person’s life — their money, care, and who they’re allowed to see — and not a single family member has to be told. That’s how the law currently works in Scotland when it comes to Power of Attorney.

This legal silence has devastating consequences. I lost ten years with my mum because no one was required to check if the PoA was being used properly. No one asked questions. No one intervened. The people closest to her were cut off — and it was all technically legal.

Families across Scotland are being shut out while vulnerable people are isolated and controlled behind closed doors. Authorities often say, “take it to court yourself” even when there are clear signs of harm — but by that point, it’s too late.

This is not just my experience — it’s the reality for many families across Scotland.

People are being silenced, blamed, and left to battle a system that protects attorneys instead of the vulnerable adults they control. Authorities fail to uphold the very laws and guidance designed to safeguard older people. Emotional & psychological harm is dismissed as no risk. The wishes of the adult are not prioritised and overruled illegally as if they don't matter. 

Worse still, attorneys can use the adult’s money to fight the very family members trying to raise concerns — while those families are left funding their own legal battles, emotionally and financially drained, just to be heard.

This is not a family issue. It’s a national failure. And families are being devastated by it every day.