Doctoral project: Enduring power of attorney regarding self-determination in financial family law
The project investigates the legal function and practical application of enduring power of attorney in family financial law, with focus on the individual's right to self-determination in cases of impaired decision-making capacity.
Project information
Doctoral student
Benita Falk
Supervisor
Niklas Selberg
Assistant supervisor
Jenny Westerstrand
Timetable
Spring 2026–spring 2031
Subject
Legal science (Department of Law, Faculty of Social Science)
More about the project
The project examines the legal function and practical application of the enduring power of attorney within the field of financial family law, with a particular focus on individual autonomy in situations of diminished decision-making capacity. Through a doctrinal and comparative legal methodology, the study analyses legislation, case law, and legal scholarship in Sweden as well as in other Nordic legal systems.
The study highlights how legal ambiguities, issues relating to conflicts of interest, and institutional constraints affect the effectiveness of the enduring power of attorney. Practical obstacles – such as restrictive interpretations adopted by banks and public authorities – have contributed to an erosion of the autonomy originally intended by the legal framework.
The project aims to identify potential needs for legal reform and to draw attention to the challenges that arise in connection with the establishment and use of the enduring power of attorney. The findings are expected to contribute to a clearer understanding of these challenges and, it is hoped, to result in proposals for a more consistent application of the law, and enhanced legal certainty for older individuals.
