Powers of attorney have a crucial role to play in looking after vulnerable people, including the elderly and those with medical conditions. Yet power of attorney legislation is inconsistent across the globe, with some jurisdictions having very limited legislation in place. Jurisdictions that do have robust legislation in place may not be recognised in countries outside of where it was made, and some jurisdictions do not have any power of attorney legislative instruments at all.

In this comparative guide, members from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) present Q&A-style chapters for their own jurisdictions that address a range of key topics, including:

• ordinary, continuing, enduring and lasting powers of attorney;
• formalities of establishing a power of attorney;
• registration processes;
• revocation and termination of power;
• cross-jurisdictional recognition of power of attorney;
• court powers in relation to finances, medical treatment, guardianship and wills;
• formal assessment of testamentary capacity; and
• guidance on law and procedure.

With most clients having assets and property spread across jurisdictions, advisers must know how the legal frameworks in those places coordinate with the client’s own jurisdiction. This clear and practical guide is a valuable tool to help navigate some of the challenges and uncertainties in relation to powers of attorney in practice, and provides quick and informative answers to advisers’ questions on policy and legislation.

Stephen Alexander
Partner, Mourant
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-alexander-3733b4102/

Stephen Alexander is a partner, advocate and the practice leader of Mourant’s Jersey litigation practice. He regularly advises on a wide range of multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes, with a particular focus in the areas of contentious private wealth and trust matters, partnership and investment fund disputes and corporate liquidations and reorganisations. Stephen is qualified in England and Wales, the Cayman Islands and Jersey.
Stephen is actively engaged in Jersey’s business community and is the chair of STEP in Jersey. He also sits on the legal and regulatory committee of the Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Experts, the STEP Main Committee and Technical Sub-committee. Additionally, he sits as a standing member of the Law Society of Jersey committee, the body which regulates the legal profession in Jersey. He regularly delivers training sessions to the Jersey financial services industry and onshore firms.

Fraser Allister
Partner, Bedell Cristin
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fraserallister/

Fraser Allister is an international private client attorney at Bedell Cristin, specialising in all aspects of Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands wealth structuring. He is a council member of STEP Cayman Islands and sits on its Regulatory and Legislative Committees.
Fraser is a contributing author to the Cayman chapter of International Trust Precedents (Sweet & Maxwell) and the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands chapters of Private Trust Companies: A Handbook for Advisers (Globe Law and Business, 2023). Fraser regularly speaks at conferences and other events on international wealth structuring.

Sherlynn G Chan
Partner, Deacons
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherlynn-g-chan-252b95184/

Sherlynn G Chan is the head of the family, mental capacity and vulnerable client practice at Deacons. She is a leading lawyer in mental capacity law and a seasoned family and private wealth lawyer. Sherlynn is a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and chairperson of the Mental Health Law Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong. She is also the co-chair of STEP Hong Kong’s Mental Health, Elderly and Capacity Law Sub-committee.
In addition to being a frequent speaker on family and private wealth matters both internationally and in Hong Kong, Sherlynn is the author of A Practical Guide to Mental Health Law in Hong Kong, published by Hong Kong University Press.
Sherlynn and her team won the “15th Annual STEP Private Client Awards – Vulnerable Client Advisory Practice of the Year” and is a finalist in the 19th Annual STEP Private Client Awards in the same category. They continue to serve the needs of vulnerable clients and their families.

Yue-En Chong
Founder, Bethel Chambers LLC
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yueen/

Yue-En Chong is the founder of Bethel Chambers LLC, a full-suited Singapore law firm providing both corporate and litigation services to clients. He holds an LLB from the National University of Singapore, an LLM from Cardiff University (Social Care Law) and a Master of Counselling degree from Monash University.
Yue-En personally specialises in cross-border probate, mental capacity law, estate planning and family law. He is also a professional deputy and donee (attorney) and has represented high-net-worth international families in this role.
At STEP, Yue-En is the current global chair of the Mental Capacity SIG Steering Committee. He is also the chair of the GRP Working Committee. As part of the GRP project, Yue-En frequently participates in discussions with national governments and local advocacy groups emphasising the need for laws to be enacted allowing everyone to have the freedom to make their own LPA/EPA.

Emily Deane
Technical counsel and head of government affairs, STEP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-deane-tep-314a3aa8/

Emily Deane is technical counsel and head of government affairs at STEP, and is an internationally qualified private client lawyer. She has practised as a private client and trust solicitor in the United Kingdom, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands specialising in wills, property, tax planning, estate administration, onshore and offshore trusts and litigation.
Emily joined STEP in 2016 leading the policy team in relation to trust and estate-related issues. She informs public policy and promotes best practice in the private client industry, working with global regulators, lawmakers and stakeholders.

Farah Deba Mohamed Sofian
Partner, Wong Lu Peen & Tunku Alina
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/farah-deba-mohamed-sofian-525b8b40/

Farah Deba Mohamed Sofian is a partner at Wong Lu Peen & Tunku Alina with over 30 years of experience in legal practice. Spearheading the inheritance and succession planning team, she led to broaden the legal firm’s corporate, estate dispute resolution and real estate practice to offer estate planning services, which include trust and business succession and collaborative practice solutions.
Having accumulated over three decades of industry expertise, she serves a diverse portfolio of clientele ranging from individual private clients (from all walks of life, Muslims and non-Muslims included) to corporate institutions, not limited to trust companies, financial institutions, cooperative societies, family businesses, philanthropic and non-profit organisations. She customises Shariah and civil law estate planning solutions for local Malaysians and foreign residents. She also provides Labuan IBFC solutions for private wealth clients.
Farah is the current STEP Malaysia branch chair, a registered mediator with the Bar Council Malaysian Mediation Centre and a trained collaborative practitioner.

Sandra Duerden
Partner, Mourant
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-duerden-b4b15723/

Sandra Duerden is a partner in Mourant’s Guernsey litigation practice. She is an English-qualified solicitor and a Guernsey advocate with over 17 years’ experience at Mourant. She is fluent in English and French and has a good knowledge of German and Lingala (being of Congolese heritage).
She specialises in commercial litigation and contentious trusts disputes and has a particular interest in commercial or trust disputes involving private international law aspects and cross-border disputes (particularly those which raise issues of jurisdiction and enforcement of foreign judgments).
Sandra primarily acts for fiduciaries or beneficiaries in complex, often multi-jurisdictional, trust litigation. She is a skilled liaison for clients in European countries including Switzerland, Monaco and Luxembourg and her French legal background also gives her insight into those aspects of Guernsey law which are based in Norman law. Sandra also regularly assists financial institutions and fiduciaries in commercial disputes and advises clients on the scope of their regulatory duties.

Joel Evans
Trainee, Mourant
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-evans/

Joel Evans is a trainee in Mourant’s litigation team based in Jersey. Prior to joining Mourant, Joel worked at CEDR and the Beijing office of a leading Chinese law firm where he worked on various international arbitrations and cross-border disputes.

Kelly Greig
Partner, Blick Rothenberg
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-greig-81806214/

Kelly Greig is chair of STEP Worldwide and a dual-qualified solicitor (non-practising) and chartered tax adviser specialising in international issues affecting private clients. Kelly is a private client partner at Blick Rothenberg which acts for high-net-worth individuals and corporate entities in structuring their affairs for future succession.
Kelly spent many years on the England and Wales panel of deputies – made up of those who are experts in mental capacity and acts as the person of last resort for those lacking capacity – and she has experience in financial abuse of the vulnerable as well as untangling complex legal issues for those lacking capacity.

Martin Haanen
Director and senior trust adviser, Castle Trustees Ltd
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinhaanen/

Martin Haanen is a TEP, director and senior trust adviser with Castle Trustees Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. Martin has more than 30 years’ experience with trusts, estate and asset planning. He is a registered legal executive and has a master’s in entrepreneurship. Martin was in the army and worked for the justice department. He also spent some time in the insurance industry and community mental health. He has been a court trustee with the Official Assignee’s office and worked for various statutory trustees. He has acted as court-appointed property manager dealing with subject persons adjudged mentally incapable.
Martin is a board member of STEP’s international Special Interest Group on Mental Capacity. He has a particular focus on intergenerational wealth transfer and the increasing risks we all face with an ageing population. Martin sees a power of representation as a fundamental way to lessen a client’s risk, not just regarding the client’s financial affairs, but also their personal care and welfare.

Nour Harb
Senior associate, Tindall Gask Bentley Lawyers
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nourharb/

Nour Harb has been working exclusively in succession law since 2018. Nour’s areas of expertise include all facets of estate planning, administration and litigation. Nour is a member of the Law Society of South Australia’s Elder Law and Succession Committee and is also a succession law tutor at the University of Adelaide. Nour’s interest areas include trusts, equity and superannuation.

Gilly Kennedy-Smith
Partner, Mourant
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilly-kennedy-smith-68378428/

Gilly Kennedy-Smith heads up the award-winning trust and private client team in Guernsey at Mourant and has several years of experience in both London and offshore. She has been on two secondments to trust companies, which has provided practical experience of the issues facing the advisory team. She brings over 18 years’ experience of working with international ultra-high-networth individuals, trust companies, family offices and independent financial advisers on the establishment, restructuring and management of family asset holding vehicles as well as estate and succession planning, with a focus on achieving private wealth objectives by thoughtful planning and governance. While her clients are global, she has particular experience working with Middle Eastern, Swiss and UK-connected clients.
Gilly is a member of STEP and sits on the Guernsey branch Technical Committee. She is also a tax technician and member of the Association of Tax Technicians. In 2024, She was appointed International Correspondent for Private Client Business, the leading journal for those involved with private client work. Gilly is also a Guernsey Advocate and has litigated in the Guernsey Court.

Ian Lebane
Vice president, tax and estate planner, TD Wealth
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-lebane-095353150/

With over 30 years of estate, trust and taxation experience, Ian Lebane has spent his career actively focused on providing holistic and comprehensive estate planning solutions to individuals, families and businesses, often consulting on complex issues. Ian has been a member of the Ontario Bar since 1990 and was in private practice focusing on estate planning and taxation until 1994, when he achieved his Master of Law in Taxation. From 1994 to 2006, Ian held various positions with the Law Society of Upper Canada related to lawyer training and accreditation in the areas of estates, trusts and taxation.
In 2007, Ian joined TD Wealth, Wealth Advisory Services as a will and estate planner, where he advises clients on the structure of their wills and often assists in setting up trusts, which can be particularly important considerations for beneficiaries with special needs. Ian works closely with clients and their outside advisers to implement strategies that will best help meet their unique circumstances. Ian is an experienced professional who will work with clients every step of the way to help them and their families progress towards achieving the goals and dreams they share.
Ian is the current branch chair of STEP Toronto; a board member of STEP Canada; and also chairs the STEP Canada Tax Technical Committee.

Andrew Miller
Partner, Bedell Cristin
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-miller-a27a5018/

Andrew Miller specialises in all aspects of Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands (BVI) international wealth structuring for individuals and financial institutions. He is past chairman of STEP Cayman; the cochairman of the STEP Cayman Legislative Committee, a founding board member of the STEP LatAm Conference and the STEP Cayman International Wealth Structuring Forum; a member of the International Tax Planning Association and the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, an overseas member of the Chancery Bar Association and a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
Andrew is the editor of the STEP Directory Cayman Section and contributes the Cayman Section of International Trust Precedents, the BVI section of International Succession Law and the BVI and Cayman sections of Private Trust Companies: A Handbook for Advisers (Globe Law and Business).

Timothy Morton
Consultant, Glass Goodwin
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/estateplanning-timothymorton/

Timothy Morton was admitted as a legal practitioner in 2011 and has worked solely in wills and estates law since 2010. His practice covers wills, estates, probate, estate litigation, tax law and equity litigation. Tim has been a committee member of the Elder Law and Succession Committee of the ACT Law Society since 2012. He presents seminars for a wide range of legal education topics within his areas of practice. He is passionate about learning and sharing what he learns with his peers.

Martina Moscardi
Senior partner, Caldara & Associati
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/martina-moscardi-70777469/

Martina Moscardi – lawyer and partner at Caldera & Associati – has over 20 years of experience in the field of protection and transmission of private person wealth by legal tools like trusts, family agreements and other civil law instruments. Martina strives to take a problemsolving approach to practice and bring a constructive touch to clients’ needs. Her work particularly relates to cross-border issues regarding inheritance and beneficiaries’ rights and any other matter with international nuance. She is also currently devoted to mental capacity issues and diminishing capability regarding transmission of wealth and protection of beneficiaries’ rights.
Martina has been an active member of STEP since 2005 and served as deputy chair of the local branch – STEP Italy – in whose running she is deeply involved. At STEP Global, Martina is the current deputy chair of the Mental Capacity SIG Steering Committee.
Martina was the first professional member in Italy and first woman professional in the STEP continental Europe area to win the STEP Founder’s Award for Outstanding Achievements. She was also awarded the Award of the National Bar Association scholarship in EU Law and Regulations for young lawyers. As a general commitment, Martina acts in favour of non-profit associations.

William Ostick
Senior associate, Mourant
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-ostick-a4521b183/

William Ostick is a senior associate in the international trusts and private client practice. He assists with a broad range of international trusts and private client issues. He advises trustees, high-net-worth individuals and family offices in achieving their objectives when it comes to wealth structuring, succession planning and trust and foundation set-up and administration.
William also assists high-net-worth individuals with any objectives they may have in the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands, whether that be in conjunction with, or separate to, their needs in Guernsey. William works with several institutional trust companies on an ongoing basis, providing advice in relation to their powers, duties and responsibilities as fiduciaries. He also assists with the drafting of various instruments to give effect to the exercise of those powers.

Anthony Partridge
Partner, Ogier
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-partridge-4015b871/

Anthony Partridge specialises in all aspects of non-contentious and semi-contentious private trust and estate matters, wealth structuring for high-net-worth individuals, institutional trustees and family offices together with all related regulatory work and cross-border succession matters. He has particular expertise advising executors, beneficiaries and onshore counsel in relation to obtaining grants of probate, letters of administration and resealing foreign grants in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. Anthony is the current chair of the Cayman Islands branch of STEP and has been a long-serving member of Council for many years. He also served as student liaison officer for the jurisdiction. Anthony is a member of the Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association and is a notary public in and for the Cayman Islands.

Shelley Rhoads Perry
Co-founder and CEO, Senior Advocacy Group
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelley-rhoads-perry-jd-tep-a55b887/

Shelley Rhoads Perry is co-founder and CEO of Senior Advocacy Group. The Naples-based firm provides fiduciary and lifecare management solutions for vulnerable adults and their families. Shelley and her team serve as agent under power of attorney, healthcare surrogate, independent trustee and personal representative, and also provide a full array of life-care management services.
She is a trust and estates attorney who has also held senior fiduciary planning and administration positions in a multi-family office and corporate trust department, in addition to practising in a boutique estate planning law firm. She has extensive experience in trust and estate administration as both an attorney and administrator, and is committed to assisting individuals and families dealing with the issues surrounding diminished capacity.
Shelley is a founding member of the STEP Digital Asset Global Special Interest Group and has also served on the STEP Mental Capacity Global Special Interest Group Steering Committee. She was an adjunct professor at Ave Maria Law School Estate Planning Clinic and is currently a member of the Professional Fiduciary Council of Florida’s executive board. She speaks and writes on a variety of topics related to fiduciary services and vulnerable adults.

Leah Sewell
Barrister, Chalfont Chambers
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-sewell-2a584055/

Leah Sewell was admitted as a legal practitioner in 2002 and worked as a solicitor in New South Wales (NSW) until April 2024. She specialised in wills and estates and was an accredited specialist in wills and estates law in NSW. Since 2022, Leah has been a member of the STEP Mental Capacity Special Interest Group. In May 2024, Leah was called to the NSW Bar, where she continues to work in the area of wills and estates and general equity.

Jason Tian
Senior partner, Shanghai Landing Law Offices
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasson-tian-01699a5/

Jason Tian is a founding partner of Landing Law Offices and head of the cross-border family and inheritance team in the firm. He was admitted as an IAFL Fellow in July 2022 – the third in mainland China. He is a long-term affiliate member of STEP.
Jason’s legal practice covers services, mostly on behalf of foreign clients from outside China, such as cross-border estate planning and administration, family trusts, inheritance, insurance, international divorces, guardianship and custody, real estate, cross-border investments and foreign exchange control in China.

Claire van Overdijk KC
Senior counsel, Carey Olsen Bermuda
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevanoverdijk/

Claire van Overdijk KC is senior counsel in the dispute resolution and litigation team and trusts and private wealth team at Carey Olsen Bermuda. She has extensive court experience in the fields of commercial and civil litigation, contentious and non-contentious trust and estate disputes and regulatory disputes. As a specialist in the resolution of complex disputes, Claire’s practice is principally contentious extending to advocacy, strategic expertise and tactical advice in domestic and multi-jurisdictional high-value litigation.
As an expert in private international law, she is also well equipped to advise on cross-border elements that arise in these fields. Claire’s client base is predominantly comprised of global businesses, financial institutions, public bodies, trustees, beneficiaries, settlors, protectors, private individuals and families.
In her spare time, Claire serves as panel chair for the Bermuda Human Rights Tribunal and the Bermuda Mental Health Tribunal. She is immediate past chair of the STEP Mental Capacity Global Special Interest Group and a full member of STEP. She has been called to the Bar of England and Wales and the Bermuda Bar.

Margaret Walsh
Partner, Sheil Solicitors LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-walsh-5b523153/

Margaret Walsh joined Sheil Solicitors in 1987 and became a partner in 1991. Her extensive experience in recent years includes representation of local authorities and private clients in a variety of property transactions; commercial and residential conveyancing, retail landlord and tenant and all ancillary matters for private clients; acting for builders and developers of housing schemes, mixed developments, holiday home schemes, office and business parks, project management from site acquisition, through planning and construction to setting up appropriate legal structures and sales of units; and wills, taxation and estate planning.
Margaret is a serving member of the Law Society Advisory Committee on Probate Administration and Trusts, is currently a member of the Law Society’s Mental Health Law and Capacity Task Force, is a full member of STEP and of Solicitors for the Elderly Ireland. She is editor of Irish Conveyancing Precedents (Bloomsbury Professional Limited).

Kevin J Winters
Associate, Brodies LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-j-winters-00888445/

Kevin J Winters is an associate in the personal and family team at Brodies LLP in Glasgow. Kevin deals in all aspects of private wealth law: the creation, administration, and wind-up of trusts; the drafting of wills and powers of attorney; and UK personal tax and estate planning and administration. He has a special interest in advising on matters where there is an international dimension and is frequently involved in advising on UK estate planning and administration where there is a cross-border element.
Kevin publishes in leading professional and scholarly journals including Taxation, The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland and British Tax Review. He is a full member of STEP.