New power of attorney guide

elsien

When choosing an attorney, you need to think about - how well they look after their own affairs, eg their finances, if you trust them to make decisions in your best interest and how happy they will be to make decisions for you
Even if it were possible to appoint someone under 18 (which I'm fairly sure it's not) how can you and they possibly make this sort of decision now ? It's a big ask of someone and they have to decide for themselves if it's a responsibility that they want to take on without them feeling obligated to do so. It would be very unfair on your children to do so when they're still just children.

Mojisola

brionz wrote: »

I know that attorneys have to be 18 or over. However, on a LPA, can you name an attorney who is currently under 18 so that they can make decisions on my behalf once they turn 18? I am thinking of naming my wife and my children (under 18) as attorneys who can make decisions jointly and severally, plus a replacement attorney in the event that my wife cannot act in that capacity before my children turn 18. Would that work?

No.
https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/choose
Your attorney can be anyone 18 or over

Vic_Mel

597money wrote: »

Has anyone tried the Which? LPA service that is mentioned in the recent MSE Weekly Newsletter? Does it add any value apart from the "paralegal" check? I can follow the official instructions on how to fill in a form does the Which? service have more common items that people like/usually add the LPAs on top of what is suggested in the official instructions? Thanks.

Yes I have - and I have had our money refunded.

The site does not make anything very clear. It does not point out that the personal details of the person registering can only be used to populate the forms in the donor section - not in the attorney section. We only discovered this after we had registered (and paid) as an attorney.

We also wanted to alter the way in which replacement attorneys may act. By default, a replacement steps in when either of the original attorneys is unable to act. The guidance notes point out that this is not necessarily what you might want. We wanted the replacement to act only when BOTH of the original attorneys was unable to act.

There is a tick box on the actual LP1F form which, if ticked, allows you to add additional wishes on Continuations sheet 2. However, the Which service does not provide an option to tick the box, nor any option to complete a continuation sheet.

When we contacted Which, the agent knew nothing about the workings of the website or any option to add a continuation sheet. On the legal aspect of our intentions, after several consultations amongst themselves, and despite me pointing him at the guidance notes and other case history, we were told that our desired course of action was not legally allowable. At that point I asked for a refund.

I have since used the gov.uk LPA forms which are easy to use and self explanatory. The course we wanted is given as a selectable option, and all personal details once entered for the first time, can used to populate any part of subsequent forms.

So, no I don't think it adds any value, and having the forms checked by paralegals who do not appear to know the rules would appear to be money not well spent - at whatever rate has been blagged. If your circumstances do not need much more than the basics I would look at the gov.uk website - additionally, that site allows you to fill in all of the forms, and maybe identify any areas which you might have issues with, before you have to pay any money.

Have a look at gov.uk/power-of-attorney/overview

Vic_Mel

brionz wrote: »

I know that attorneys have to be 18 or over. However, on a LPA, can you name an attorney who is currently under 18 so that they can make decisions on my behalf once they turn 18? I am thinking of naming my wife and my children (under 18) as attorneys who can make decisions jointly and severally, plus a replacement attorney in the event that my wife cannot act in that capacity before my children turn 18. Would that work?

Mojisola wrote: »

No.
Your attorney can be anyone 18 or over

We were in the same boat - it would seem sensible to have the grandchildren as replacement attorneys, in case the original attorneys pre-decease the donor after the donor has lost mental capacity, by which time it would be too late to register another LPA.

However, I guess the issue is that any replacement attorneys have to be in a position to sign the form and acknowledge their commitments, and therefore have to be over 18, at the time the LPA is registered.

pphillips

Vic_Mel wrote: »

However, I guess the issue is that any replacement attorneys have to be in a position to sign the form and acknowledge their commitments, and therefore have to be over 18, at the time the LPA is registered.

Actually, attorneys and replacement attorneys have to be over the age of 18 at the time the donor signs the LPA.

Vic_Mel

Yes, my mistake - I was taking the completion of the forms and registering as the same thing - which it isn't necessarily. Presumably the attorneys have to be over 18 when they sign though?

elsien

Vic_Mel wrote: »

We were in the same boat - it would seem sensible to have the grandchildren as replacement attorneys, in case the original attorneys pre-decease the donor after the donor has lost mental capacity, by which time it would be too late to register another LPA.

However, I guess the issue is that any replacement attorneys have to be in a position to sign the form and acknowledge their commitments, and therefore have to be over 18, at the time the LPA is registered.

Also if the grandchildren/children are minors, you have no idea if they're going to go completely off the rails and be someone you wouldn't want within a hundred miles of your finances.

pphillips

Vic_Mel wrote: »

Yes, my mistake - I was taking the completion of the forms and registering as the same thing - which it isn't necessarily. Presumably the attorneys have to be over 18 when they sign though?

The attorneys cannot sign the LPA if they are under 18 and this would mean that the LPA was signed in the wrong order as the donor must sign the LPA before the attorneys can sign it.

walace58

Has anyone used 'ten minute wills'? Their website seems to give plenty of advice an implies plenty of choice when completing the forms. They are cheaper than which and price is not time constrained, so can get it right before paying etc.

597money

Do I need to add any wording so that the donors property can be maintained (pointing, windows, boilers) using the money of the donor?

For example: if the external walls needed pointing an attorney can arrange for this works to be done on their behalf and pay for it out of the donors bank account?

Would this change if the donor (mother) and attorney (son) were living in same property but only the donor (mother) owned the property?

Thanks