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International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Creating A User-Friendly Environment for The Elderly in The Context of Power of Attorney in Malaysia

Nurazlina Abdul Raof, Nuraisyah Chua Abdullah

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i11/15406

Open access

Entrusting others to perform chores is practised by the elderly to ensure matters are attended to when they cannot perform those functions. Sometimes, they resort to executing a power of attorney by giving the power to the donees to act on their behalf. Under the Powers of Attorney Act 1949, the elderly can choose the types of powers they would like to delegate, which can be either revocable or irrevocable. One pertinent issue concerning the elderly is whether the donees would be able to continue performing the powers given by the elderly as the donors when the elderly could not make decisions on their behalf. This paper uses the doctrinal approach. It seeks to examine the concept of the powers of attorney in an elderly user-friendly environment. It analyses the extent of the application of the power of attorney in Malaysia compared with England and Wales, and Singapore. This paper suggests that it might be time for laws to be changed so that older people can make plans for who will make decisions for them about their health, welfare, or finances when they no longer have the ability to do so.

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In-Text Citation: (Raof & Abdullah, 2022)
To Cite this Article: Raof, N. A., & Abdullah, N. C. (2022). Creating A User-Friendly Environment for The Elderly in The Context of Power of Attorney in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(11), 2562 – 2570.