Lasting Power of Attorney for Care Home resident

arunadasi

My husband is in a care home and has, among other things, dementia. I need a Lasting Power of Attorney in order to arrange his matters, and pretty quickly. I do have a power of attorney, but not an official one: it's in German for a start (hubby is German) but certified by a British notary.

Hubby would sign anything I tell him to but I know this is not going to be that easy; for a start, I need a witness. He would not know what he is signing.

What can I do?

alanq

What do you mean by "not an official one"? I would have thought either it is or it isn't.

If someone is not competent to understand what they are signing it is to late to obtain Lasting Power Of Attorney. Instead one has to be appointed as a Deputy by the Court Of Protection. It will take at least a few months to arrange as would an LPA.

What not contact the Office Of The Public Guardian/Court Of Protection?
http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/about/court-of-protection.htm
http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/utility/contact.htm

Savvy_Sue

I would also get an opinion from the OPG as to whether what you have is acceptable (I have no idea!) If it is, then a certified translation would be essential: banks have enough difficulty coping with English PofA. If that's what your notary certification is, then fine.

arunadasi

alanq wrote: »

What do you mean by "not an official one"? I would have thought either it is or it isn't.

It's a Power Of Attorney that would be valid in Germany, dated 2008: it sets out in detail all the areas he approved for me to represent him in (finance as well as health etc). Since it is in German, I had a UK notary add his own "certification". I am happy to have it translated; I just don't know if it would be acceptable in the UK in lieu of a Lasting Power of Attorney.

monkeyspanner

arunadasi wrote: »

It's a Power Of Attorney that would be valid in Germany, dated 2008: it sets out in detail all the areas he approved for me to represent him in (finance as well as health etc). Since it is in German, I had a UK notary add his own "certification". I am happy to have it translated; I just don't know if it would be acceptable in the UK in lieu of a Lasting Power of Attorney.

It may be ok you would need to seek legal opinion and if that is positive have a translation certified by a solicitor. Even then many organisations may be too uncertain to accept it.

Errata

arunadasi wrote: »

It's a Power Of Attorney that would be valid in Germany, dated 2008: it sets out in detail all the areas he approved for me to represent him in (finance as well as health etc). Since it is in German, I had a UK notary add his own "certification". I am happy to have it translated; I just don't know if it would be acceptable in the UK in lieu of a Lasting Power of Attorney.

If you phone the Public Guardians Office they should be able to give you a definitive answer.

stevepett

We are qualified to deal with English and Welsh Law as far as these sorts of things are concerned.
It is my understanding that (for example) an English Lasting Power of Attorney may or may not be acceptable overseas, and for our international clients we always recommend duplicating or at least taking local advice on Wills/ Powers of Attorney in each country just to be sure.

The same does not necessarily hold true with Wills, though it should be checked in each legal jurisdiction that an English Will would be acceptable, though (often) the palaver of getting everything translated an notarised and then paying an overseas lawyer to try to understand it means that a separate Will for each jurisdiction may be worthwhile - but tax considerations may vary widely, so it is not easy.

DO BEAR IN MIND - many lawyers will accidentally cancel existing overseas Wills (This is my last Will and testament replacing all former Wills" - cancel ALL Wills made anywhere in the world unless it specifically says that it does not!)

Scotland has its own rules, and even those in Northern Ireland are slightly different in some areas - we don't get involved!)

Our own law is complex enough to keep us busy.

stevepett

Arunadasi - do let us know what the final answer is!

Steve