New power of attorney guide

Sope

I'd appreciate some advice/opinions regarding the best plan for setting up LPA's to cover most eventualities in my family's case please?

Basically, Mum and Dad are both in their 80's (still have full capacity) and have two sons.
Collectively we are a close family with no trust issues.

Given the circumstances, how many LPA's would it be best to set up, and who would be best named as the representatives?
My initial thoughts are one for each parent having both sons named as co-represenatives?

Are there any pitfalls or restrictions that need to be considered if choosing to have two named representatives?

Is it the case that if one spouse loses capacity it would be beneficial for the other to be named as represenative on their LPA, or would having the sons only on the LPA suffice?

Am I right in thinking that the forms can be completed, signed and stored away safely with only the need to pay for registration if and when they become required in the future... is this the option most moneysavers would go for?

And finally that last question raises another.... what benefits are there in choosing to have the LPA active for use before the loss of mental capacity?

Apologies for the list of questions with potentially obvious answers, but having no experience of this type of thing, I'm struggling to work out the best way to approach it.

Any thoughts/suggestions appreciated, thanks.

MallyGirl

we have just done LPA and the health and welfare version for my Mum and her husband. Myself, my brother and my step brother are named on each along with the relevant spouse. Any single one can make a decision without the others. It seemed simplest to have all round coverage without the need to have different setups for each of the parents. No idea on the fees as Mum paid and we just had to sign huge amounts of paperwork (it seemed huge but she was setting up inheritance trusts as well so there was a lot of paper floating around)

Sope

MallyGirl wrote: »

Myself, my brother and my step brother are named on each along with the relevant spouse. Any single one can make a decision without the others. It seemed simplest to have all round coverage without the need to have different setups for each of the parents.

That's interesting, thanks.
I was under the assumption that if more than one person was named as representative on an LPA neither could make a decision without the other/s being jointly involved and in agreement?
I'm guessing, in that case, that there may be an option on the form to allow reps to either make decisions solely or to restrict them to only acting jointly?

Keep_pedalling

Our LPAs name each other and both our children who can all act jointly and seperately as this is the most flexible, and means the LPAs does not fail if one of the attorneys dies or becomes unable to act.

I would not go down the route of leaving registration until needed at this will result in a gap of around 8 weeks before anyone can act in the case of a sudden illness or accident. It is also risky doing this as the LPA could be rejected if there is an error in it, by which time it will be to late to correct it if the donor no longer has the capacity to act for themselves.

Sope

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Our LPAs name each other and both our children who can all act jointly and seperately as this is the most flexible, and means the LPAs does not fail if one of the attorneys dies or becomes unable to act.

I would not go down the route of leaving registration until needed at this will result in a gap of around 8 weeks before anyone can act in the case of a sudden illness or accident. It is also risky doing this as the LPA could be rejected if there is an error in it, by which time it will be to late to correct it if the donor no longer has the capacity to act for themselves.

This sounds like it would be the best solution for our family situation too.

It's really helpful to know that LPAs can have this much flexibility... comes as a bit of a surprise given it's a government/law related thing!

Thanks a lot

Also sounds like it does make sense to register them in advance although if we choose both the finance and property, and the health and welfare versions, for both parents it's going to add up.

Keep_pedalling

Sope wrote: »

Also sounds like it does make sense to register them in advance although if we choose both the finance and property, and the health and welfare versions, for both parents it's going to add up.

We prioritised the financial LPAs as that is the area that can be most difficult to deal with and you also have the alternative (free) option of completing a advanced decision (aka living will) for health decisions.

http://compassionindying.org.uk/library/advance-decision-pack/

Sope

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

We prioritised the financial LPAs as that is the area that can be most difficult to deal with and you also have the alternative (free) option of completing a advanced decision (aka living will) for health decisions.

http://compassionindying.org.uk/library/advance-decision-pack/

Hmm... that sounds like a decent option.
Thanks for the link, I'll take a look

Sope

Well I've finally got around to filling out the online applications but I'm still unsure of a couple of things.

Regarding fees, I'm struggling to determine what documentation would be suitable proof of low income for a married non-taxpaying pensioner who only receives state pension and modest interest from savings/investments.
I'm guessing that HMRC may be able to provide some sort of documentation for this purpose but I'd be grateful if someone was able to point me in the right direction as to what would be best to use in this case?

Also, is anyone able to confirm whether or not the LPA certificate provider (ie. the independent person who certifies that the donor is acting freely) can also act as witness for the donor and attorney's signatures? It would be easier to get everyone together and get it all signed in one go.

Clear answers to my questions don't appear to be covered in the LPA help documentation that I can find?

Any advice appreciated

pphillips

Proof for low income can be for example: HMRC tax calculation, P60, wage slips, Letter from DWP, statement of dividends, the annual tax statement from your bank.

Certificate provider and witness can be the same person.

Sope

pphillips wrote: »

Proof for low income can be for example: HMRC tax calculation, P60, wage slips, Letter from DWP, statement of dividends, the annual tax statement from your bank.

Ok, thanks... I reckon the easiest approach for our situation will be to contact HMRC to request a tax calculation summary although presumably the latest one available would be for April 2015-16 so I hope this would be accepted and not deemed outdated.

Certificate provider and witness can be the same person.

Great, that simplifies things... we can get everyone together at the same time to hold a signing marathon!

Cheers