Dear Ms Wise, my brother has taken over managing my mother’s share portfolio. He used his status as her power of attorney. My mother, 85, seems okay with this, but I am worried he will lose her money, invest poorly or – at worst – help himself. Does he have a legal “duty of care” to our mother? Andrea

A Power of Attorney is a formal document authorising one or more persons (the attorneys) to make personal and/or financial decisions on behalf of somebody else.