STEP, the professional body for inheritance advisers, has launched its Global Representative Power (GRP) to solve the challenges posed by increased mental incapacity.
The STEP GRP will be a model ‘best-practice’ template for a lasting power of attorney. It is also portable across borders, avoiding the costs involved when a power of attorney is not recognised or accepted in another jurisdiction.
STEP adopted the GRP in response to practitioner’s concerns about the lack of a globally recognised and consistent form of lasting power of attorney.
This inconsistency across countries impacted the protection and maintenance of the rights of vulnerable clients, especially those who have property and family in different countries.
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Head of government relations at STEP, Emily Deane, said: “The challenges of an ageing population mean that increasing numbers of people across the globe need to plan for what would happen if they were to lose mental capacity.
“But in many countries, there is no way for them to do so, as there are no legal frameworks in place to enable this. In others, the legislation is not as robust as it should be. This variation and the lack of consistency from one country to another is putting vulnerable people at risk of financial abuse.
“The STEP GRP aims to resolve this by proposing a set of guiding principles that, if adopted globally, would provide consistency and portability while protecting the rights and interests of vulnerable people.”
This follows a survey by STEP which found that financial abuse is increasing.
