04. Who can act—and when?

A short trip, temporary medical unavailability, legally relevant incapacity and death are different situations. Each may require different evidence and activate a different instrument. A family map that names one ‘trusted person’ conceals the central question: in which event does that person actually have authority?

A useful matrix puts actions on the rows and events in the columns. For personal expenditure, healthcare wishes, investment instructions, shareholder voting and BV management, it records the primary actor, alternate, authority source, limits and the institution that will verify the role.

Key point

The same name in several columns does not make the underlying authority identical.

A personal power of attorney covers the principal's decisions within the terms of the instrument and applicable law. A director represents the company. A shareholder exercises company rights through the procedures that govern those rights. A bank signatory acts within the bank mandate. One person may hold several of these roles, but none arises automatically from another.

A business with one director-major shareholder (DGA) is especially exposed where company decisions, the bank role and operational knowledge are concentrated in that person. A levenstestament may be an important part of the personal plan, but BV continuity requires its own company route.

• personal and financial decisions;
• healthcare wishes and representation;
• BV management and appointment of directors;
• shareholder rights and voting;
• bank, broker, insurer and other provider-specific procedures.

For each authority, identify the instrument to be presented, who establishes the event and what further evidence the institution may require. Do not promise that a bank, provider or foreign authority will automatically accept an instrument merely because it is notarial or valid in the Netherlands.

The route must be reviewed safely. The family can request general procedural information, confirm that a company procedure exists or conduct a tabletop review. No one should log in with the principal's credentials, disclose them or exercise the authority before the relevant event.

A suitable primary person may still be unavailable, live in another country or face a personal conflict of interest. The map therefore records an alternate and the method for bringing that person into the role. Where a decision affects the attorney personally or treats family branches differently, separate safeguards and sometimes an independent person may be needed.

A sound instrument answers more than ‘who’. It addresses information rights, joint decisions, limits on dealing, accountability and replacement. These features should be discussed with the civil-law notary and company specialist in light of the family's actual risks.

A change in relationships, health, directors, bank, residence or asset structure can make the earlier map incomplete. The Operating review therefore checks more than the date of the instrument: it considers whether the people remain available, whether the company documents align and whether the key institutions still apply the expected procedure.

Evidence maturity is recorded factually: client-stated, document located, authority reviewed, institution/procedure confirmed or tabletop-tested. The existence of a file alone must never produce a green status.