Advising the Carer: Financial Planning Content for Clients Managing a Loved One's Money Under Power of Attorney

05 October 2026·6 min read

Quick answer: Content for attorneys managing someone else's money should answer the practical questions first — what can and can't be done with the funds, how to keep clean records, and when to bring in a solicitor — before anything about investment strategy. A short guide plus a checklist does more for this audience than a review-booking push, because most attorneys arrive anxious about getting the role wrong, not looking for a product. 🤍

Acting under power of attorney for someone else's money is one of the loneliest financial roles a person takes on — usually unpaid, often unplanned, and almost always without proper training for what the job actually involves. Most financial planning content skips this audience entirely because it doesn't map neatly to a typical client journey; the attorney isn't planning their own future, they're managing someone else's present. But they are, in every practical sense, a prospective client with urgent, specific questions — and the practice that answers those questions plainly, before pitching anything, earns a kind of trust that's hard to manufacture any other way. 💖

What most practices get wrong with this audience

Writing generic "managing a parent's finances" content that never distinguishes between an attorney acting under an enduring power of attorney and an informal arrangement with no legal standing at all.
Implying the planner can confirm whether an EPOA is valid or properly executed — that's a legal determination, not a financial planning one.
Treating the first enquiry as a sales opportunity rather than what it usually is: someone overwhelmed, looking for a competent adult to tell them what to do next.
Assuming the attorney is managing money for an elderly parent — ignoring spouses managing finances after a partner's diagnosis, or someone acting as enduring guardian for a sibling, who have very different emotional and practical starting points.
Leaving out the unglamorous but critical detail: record-keeping standards, because a poorly documented attorney arrangement is where real disputes start, often years later among other family members.

The usable asset: a "Managing Someone Else's Money" guide + solicitor referral note template

The guide (as a downloadable PDF or long-form page) should cover, in this order:

What an attorney can and can't legally do with the principal's money under a typical EPOA (general information only — always tell the reader to confirm specifics against their own document).
The record-keeping standard to meet from day one: a simple ledger of every transaction made on the principal's behalf, dated, with a one-line reason.
Keeping the principal's money entirely separate from the attorney's own — no shared accounts, no "I'll square it up later."
When to involve other family members in decisions, even when not legally required to.
Signs it's time to get professional help: anything involving selling property, large gifts, or changes to the principal's own estate planning.

Solicitor referral note template (for the practice to send when a legal question comes up): "Thanks for your questions about [specific issue — e.g. whether you can gift from the account, or sell the unit]. This sits outside what we can confirm as financial planners — it needs a solicitor to check against the actual wording of the power of attorney document. Happy to recommend someone, or you're welcome to use your own. Once that's sorted, we're glad to help with the financial side of whatever's decided."

An adult child managing an ageing parent's finances: A client acting under EPOA for her mother, newly diagnosed with dementia, wasn't looking for investment advice at all in the first meeting — she wanted to know if she was "doing it right" and whether she could be personally liable for a mistake. The guide's record-keeping section, sent before the meeting, let the conversation start from an informed place instead of pure anxiety.

A spouse managing finances after a partner's diagnosis: A husband managing household and investment accounts after his wife's stroke faced a different problem — the accounts were jointly held, so the legal mechanics differed from a typical parent-child EPOA scenario. Content aimed squarely at "managing a parent's money" would have missed him; a broader framing around "managing someone else's money, whatever the relationship" captured his situation too.

A client acting as enduring guardian for a sibling: This role sits adjacent to financial attorney responsibilities but isn't identical — enduring guardianship typically covers personal and lifestyle decisions, while a separate financial EPOA covers money. Content that conflates the two confuses readers in exactly this situation; being explicit about the distinction (and recommending a solicitor confirm which powers actually apply) avoided a client assuming she had authority she didn't.

How to build this into an actual content and intake process

Publish the guide as a standalone, easily findable page — this audience searches in a panic, often at odd hours, with phrases like "what can I do with my mum's money" or "power of attorney bank account rules." Pair it with an intake question on your enquiry form specifically asking whether the enquirer is managing their own finances or acting under a power of attorney for someone else, so the first phone call or email starts from the right footing rather than an adviser discovering the real situation ten minutes into a meeting.

💡 Never answer "is this power of attorney valid" directly, even informally. It's tempting to reassure an anxious attorney that their document "looks fine" — resist it. Point them to a solicitor every time a question touches on the document's validity, scope or execution, however simple it seems.

Please note: general information, not legal or financial advice — financial planners cannot confirm the validity or scope of a power of attorney document; always refer that question to a solicitor, and check current ASIC guidance before relying on anything here.

Mistakes to avoid

Don't let the content drift into legal advice territory, even when the question seems straightforward — "can I do X with this account" is a legal question dressed as a financial one.
Don't assume the attorney and the principal have the same goals — sometimes they genuinely don't, and content that assumes harmony can read as tone-deaf.
Don't forget the attorney themselves may eventually become a client in their own right — treat the relationship as worth building properly, not just a service ticket.
Don't bury the solicitor referral point at the end of a long guide — readers in this situation often skim, so flag it early and repeat it.

Frequently asked questions

Can a financial planner help an attorney manage the day-to-day accounts?

Yes, within the planner's normal scope — budgeting, cash flow, and investment decisions the attorney is authorised to make can all be part of ongoing advice, provided the attorney's authority to engage a planner on the principal's behalf is itself clear (again, a legal question first).

Should this content mention aged care financial advice specifically?

It can touch on it, but aged care advice is specialised enough that it usually deserves its own separate content rather than being folded into a general power-of-attorney guide — otherwise the piece tries to do too much and does neither well.

Is it appropriate to charge for an initial consultation with an attorney in this situation?

This is genuinely a judgement call for each practice, and worth naming honestly rather than pretending there's one right answer — some practices offer a short complimentary call given the circumstances, others charge from the first meeting as normal. Neither is wrong, but the fee position should be stated clearly before the call, not discovered afterwards.

What if the attorney and the principal's other family members disagree about decisions?

This happens often enough that it's worth planning for in advance — the planner's role is to document financial advice clearly and keep records that would stand up to scrutiny, not to mediate family disputes. Recommending family mediation or legal advice early, rather than letting the planner get pulled into the middle, protects everyone including the practice.

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Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

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