My 89 year old mother and her Internet skills

lover_ducks

I am about to help my Mother invest some money from the sale of her house. Have not yet decided whether to use an Independent Advisor or to just research everything myself. Now I know that there will be several potential investments that would be best opened using the Internet to get the best rates of return.

My question is ......As my mother has never used the Internet how can this be achieved? Can I handle it all on her behalf ?

hcb42

assuming your mother is in sound mind, why not let her choose to do this off line?

I would never have forced my father to switch to online banking services, for the sake of a bit mroe return. It was his money after all, his decision

lover_ducks

"sound mind"
Uncertain how to answer that. She is frail and has moved to a nursing home now and the funds will come from the sale of her house. She has never had to take responsibility for such a large amount of money and does not have any financial acumen.
My question is really = if I have to make financial decisions on behalf of my Mother should or could I go down the Internet investment route in order to make sure she will have some extra cash.

Savvy_Sue

This is tricky, IMO.

I think that every internet account I've ever opened has sent paperwork to me for signature, so on that basis there's no reason NOT to open online accounts and have your mother sign the paperwork.

However, if she's then dependent on you for their online operation, it might be best to have Power of Attorney - which would probably be a good thing anyway.

And not all online accounts can be operated by PofA, others have found.

If you did have PofA, then you would be obliged to act in her best interests.

lover_ducks

Thanks Savvy - I think that it is a question of now obtaining Power of Attorney so that this kind of financial matter can be sorted in the future and reading the small print if and when an Internet investment is to be made.
I read on the Post Office Online Saver Issue 4 T&C the following :

Item 19) Third Party Authority :
You agree not to give anyone else authority over your Account except under an Enduring Power of Attorney or a Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney that is registered with the Court of Protection. Only in exceptional circumstances will we accept unregistered forms of Attorney or other third party authorities to operate the account.
etc etc

So the Power of Attorney seems to be vital in this case. It seems a pity not to enjoy any Investment that is attractive BUT only can be carried out on the Internet.

Errata

There are a number of investment vehicles that are offline and pay a better rate than the online ones. Do more research.

lover_ducks

thanks errata -
very helpful additional comment for a newbie on here
now about your tag line:
I'm smiling because I have no idea what's going on

Newly_retired

Not too sure of the detail but a IFA would be able to advise you on the type of investment that will cover the nursing home fees.

Katiehound

From personal experience I would much rather use an independent advisor when handling that amount of money then trust my own judgement, so to speak. When my mother went into residential care (this was some years ago) my FSA was excellent- ok- they are being paid commission but it was worth it because I was struggling to cover the costs. My mother did not let me see what was being paid out- catastrophe- so at that point I said please let me deal with it all.You can of course pay for FSA advice up front instead of commission.
I had PoA because although my mother was reasonably with it mentally she was physically quite frail so I ended up with the responsibility of selling her bungalow and then investing the money.

John_Pierpoint

The average stay in a care home is, I believe, something like 3 years.
lover_ducks may have a prognosis for her mother.
If you need to use an IFA, pay a fee. There have not been many successful investments over the last 4 years that pay high commission.
Unfortunately lasting powers of attorney can be expensive and a lot of hassle (enduring power of attorney was a simple matter of filling in a form costing a quid) You might never need to use them but you just might.
By all means "help" your mother to open an on-line account, it is the most convenient way to get a half decent rate of interest.
Keep immaculate accounts.
The lasting power of attorney procedures require you to keep all the other family members in the loop - but you were going to do that anyway, were you not?

dzug1

Newly_retired wrote: »

Not too sure of the detail but a IFA would be able to advise you on the type of investment that will cover the nursing home fees.

I found it difficult to find an IFA who was willing to advise someone of that age - too specialist for most