Getting power of attorney........any advice to make it smooth/easy?

[Dave7]

A relative has asked me to take power of attorney for their affairs. She is fully compos mentis but aged 94 is quite frail.
Can't say I look forward to doing it but she is such a lovely person. We already do a lot for her.
My wife had power of attorney for her mother but she had dementia so social services etc were involved.......this, I assume, will be different.
What I DONT WANT is to immediately take over so that she has no authority............I want her to be in charge as long as possible.
Myself and her are meeting with her solicitor next week to explain things eg she wants me to ensure the will and her estate are handled properly.

I am going to google it and, as I say, meet with her solicitor but any obvious pointer would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[mistyoptic]

Having been through this with the Parents-in-Law, is it just the financial LPA or finance and health/welfare that she wants you to take? We only did finance and now realise it would have been best, in our case, to do both

 

[Sea of vapours]

The actual application process is pretty straightforward and explained here:
https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

It can be done entirely on-line, bar the signatures. The documents are about 15 or so pages long so access to a printer is, I believe, essential if taking the on-line approach.

Actually obtaining and registering lasting power of attorney does not mean that you have to do anything at all, it merely means that you can if necessary. What you actually do with the power is up to your agreement with your reltive, who can also override you or rescind it at any time, should she so wish. Also, if you do think both the financial affairs type and the health type might be needed, which is probably the case, then doing both at once would be a simpler option.

 

[Archie_tect]

Just because you have power of attorney doesn't stop your relative having control as long as she wants... it sits in the background for when it's needed.

 

[fossyant]

We did both for my MIL, mainly as she couldn't be bothered with anything after FIL passed as he did it (sounds harsh, but that was the reality - didn't want to know, nor even now - currently deciding what to do with her house as she is in Nursing care and it's been empty since February).

Easy enough to do it yourself, but if you want less stress, use a solicitor. Handy for dealing with bills etc, although not fool proof as some companies will still insist on speaking to the individual - which isn't easy when said individual doesn't want to know, and when they ask a question it's 'don't know' when a 'yes' is needed.

Anyway does help get things sorted with an awkward relative.

 

[Dave7]

Having been through this with the Parents-in-Law, is it just the financial LPA or finance and health/welfare that she wants you to take? We only did finance and now realise it would have been best, in our case, to do both

She said to me, this morning, "I want you to make sure I go into a nice home".....so I assume it's both. TBH I didn't know they were separated.

 

[Dave7]

The actual application process is pretty straightforward and explained here:
https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

It can be done entirely on-line, bar the signatures. The documents are about 15 or so pages long so access to a printer is, I believe, essential if taking the on-line approach.

Actually obtaining and registering lasting power of attorney does not mean that you have to do anything at all, it merely means that you can if necessary. What you actually do with the power is up to your agreement with your reltive, who can also override you or rescind it at any time, should she so wish. Also, if you do think both the financial affairs type and the health type might be needed, which is probably the case, then doing both at once would be a simpler option.

Good advice and info..........thank you.

 

[si_c]

A year or so ago my Dad asked my brother and I to take joint lasting POA for his financial affairs following a tumble from his bike. He's only 70 so still relatively young, but his concern was that by the time something was needed he might be unable to delegate this authority. All I had to do was sign a piece of paper, he took care of everything else.

In the day to day case nothing has changed and I don't see that it should in the near future, but the benefit is that if he was hospitalised my brother and I can access his bank accounts to ensure that bills continue to be paid on time and so forth.

It seems to me that she trusts you to make decisions that are in her best interests and perhaps she might be concerned that if you dont' do it that it might be delegated by default to a different relative who is perhaps less interested. Just my thoughts.

 

[Dave7]

We did both for my MIL, mainly as she couldn't be bothered with anything after FIL passed as he did it (sounds harsh, but that was the reality - didn't want to know, nor even now - currently deciding what to do with her house as she is in Nursing care and it's been empty since February).

Easy enough to do it yourself, but if you want less stress, use a solicitor. Handy for dealing with bills etc, although not fool proof as some companies will still insist on speaking to the individual - which isn't easy when said individual doesn't want to know, and when they ask a question it's 'don't know' when a 'yes' is needed.

Anyway does help get things sorted with an awkward relative.

Thanks for that.
Sadly its a reality isn't it. I will use a solicitor.........we are meeting her solicitor next week so can get the ball rolling.

 

[Dave7]

A year or so ago my Dad asked my brother and I to take joint lasting POA for his financial affairs following a tumble from his bike. He's only 70 so still relatively young, but his concern was that by the time something was needed he might be unable to delegate this authority. All I had to do was sign a piece of paper, he took care of everything else.

In the day to day case nothing has changed and I don't see that it should in the near future, but the benefit is that if he was hospitalised my brother and I can access his bank accounts to ensure that bills continue to be paid on time and so forth.

It seems to me that she trusts you to make decisions that are in her best interests and perhaps she might be concerned that if you dont' do it that it might be delegated by default to a different relative who is perhaps less interested. Just my thoughts****.

You have hit the nail on the head there..........she really does trust me and wants me (rather than any other relative) to handle things.

****Out of interest she is actually my wife's aunty and they are really close but for some reason she thinks the sun shines out of my backside. last year I went with her to see her bank manager. She told him to show me her account details, which he did. to this day I have told NO-ONE, NOT EVEN MY WIFE. To me a confidence it literally that, a confidence.......and she realises that.

 

[johnblack]

I didn't take power of attorney, but I just completed a letter which my mum signed confirming that she wanted me to have authority to discuss and act on her behalf and had all correspondence sent to my house. Worked really well for us. With her bank accounts I went on as joint holder. Made things so much easier. After she died and I had to deal with probate, I already had all the paperwork, so it made that part a lot easier too. Hopefully you have plenty of time before that becomes a factor.

 

[fossyant]

Oh good advice. You may want to be named on her bank account too. My wife has access and online banking for her mum.

 

[Brains]

I've ended up as the 'responsible adult' for parents, step parents and sister.
My step father gave me financial POA nearly 20 years ago, he would only have been 70 at the time and as fit as a fiddle.
It sat in the background for the next 15 years until I suddenly needed it

I have since updated it so that I have both Financial POA and Medical POA over my mother.
(Note: if you have a POA more than about 5 years old,it probably needs to be updated)

 

[ClichéGuevara]

I've thought about doing that with my kids, but I reckon I'll get a text message along the lines of, "we nearly had you a care home where the beds are nice and soft, but unfortunately the going at Sandown wasn't".

 

[Deleted member 26715]

It can be done online, my sister has POA over my father with my consent, but if there was likely to be any relatives who appear out of the woodwork in the event of her demise using a solicitor is very wise, nothing seems to divide a family than the thought of some cash.