New power of attorney guide

kuepper

Primrose wrote: »

yes, a GP will probably charge between £25 - £35 for this.
Do you work? A responsible person at work who can certify you know what you're doing could be thecertificate provider or your vicar if you know him/her, or even a trusted neighbour who has known you for a long time ?

No I'm retired, and not a churchgoer. I'd begrudge paying a gp that much just to spend seconds witnessing my signature, i'd rather have a day out to visit an old friend and get them to sign it.

LesleyJ62

My mother-in-law sorted her LPA a couple of years ago when she had full mental capacity, on the understanding that my husband would register it with the OPG once she lost capacity. My mother-in-law has dementia which has now taken away her capacity so my husband sent the forms off to be registered. No problems so far. The LPA was registered and sent back with confirmation letters, we filed it away safely. My husband has proxy on his mothers bank accounts so we haven't had to use the LPA, her bills have been paid etc by my husband using the bank card for her account that is in his name. Recently my mother-in law took a fall and is now in hospital having broken her hip. This has really set her back even more as far as her dementia is concerned and also her mobility, so we have to now think about 24hr care. My husband now feels it necessary to take full control of her finances. Having looked on her banks website, it seems they are saying that to register the LPA with them my mother-in-law has to make an appointment at her bank in person. How do we get round this now as my mother-in-law does not have the capability of doing this. Will the bank still accept the LPA if my husband takes the original/official LPA forms and the letters of confirmation, along with his ID. We do bank with the same bank as my mother-in-law. Thanks in advance for any advice

kuepper

the MSE article says you have to do a separate LPA for health and welfare and says " For more help on setting up a health and welfare LPA, see the Government's health & welfare LPA info." but the link goes to advice for attorneys, not to advice on setting up a health and welfare LPA, how do i do that? Can it be done online?

LesleyJ62

I used these packs from the Gov website, gives the forms and guides to down load when you scroll down the page to the ones that show print on them. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/make-a-lasting-power-of-attorney. Registering for Health and Welfare is almost the same as the finance LPA. Hope the link helps

Primrose

Lesley, the bank should accept the LPA as long as your husband takes it along with full details of his own ID (ie passport, driving licence and probably a Council Tax bill or something to prove address. However, be warned a lot of junior bank staff are very poorly trained in how a PofA works and may often refuse on spurious grounds so he needs to stand his ground and insist he speaks to a more senior person.


Also, another warning. The bank will probably want to photocopy your original P of A. If it's stapled,and staff unstaple it for photocopying, count the pages before you hand it over and when it is returned. My experience was that the final page of the original was carelessly left in the photocopier and it caused no end of trouble getting it back, and of course the PofA is useless then with a page missing.


I'd get a photocopy made now and certify it yourself. When the registered P of A was returned you should have received a sheet of paper detailing exactly how this can be done and the specific wording to be used on each page.

cherry76

kuepper wrote: »

No I'm retired, and not a churchgoer. I'd begrudge paying a gp that much just to spend seconds witnessing my signature, i'd rather have a day out to visit an old friend and get them to sign it.

I have just had mine registered. My neighbour's was the certificate provider. Could you ask?

Keep_pedalling

LesleyJ62 wrote: »

My mother-in-law sorted her LPA a couple of years ago when she had full mental capacity, on the understanding that my husband would register it with the OPG once she lost capacity. My mother-in-law has dementia which has now taken away her capacity so my husband sent the forms off to be registered. No problems so far. The LPA was registered and sent back with confirmation letters, we filed it away safely. My husband has proxy on his mothers bank accounts so we haven't had to use the LPA, her bills have been paid etc by my husband using the bank card for her account that is in his name. Recently my mother-in law took a fall and is now in hospital having broken her hip. This has really set her back even more as far as her dementia is concerned and also her mobility, so we have to now think about 24hr care. My husband now feels it necessary to take full control of her finances. Having looked on her banks website, it seems they are saying that to register the LPA with them my mother-in-law has to make an appointment at her bank in person. How do we get round this now as my mother-in-law does not have the capability of doing this. Will the bank still accept the LPA if my husband takes the original/official LPA forms and the letters of confirmation, along with his ID. We do bank with the same bank as my mother-in-law. Thanks in advance for any advice

For anyone else reading this, do not leave it until mental capacity is lost. If a mistake has been made on the form and the registration is rejected by the OPG your will forced to go down the deputyship route which is long winded and expensive. Our LPAs were registered some years ago on a just in case basis.

You really need to make an appointment to go into your nearest branch where they will sort things out on the spot. I did go in with my mother to set up joint control over her current accounts but when she had to go into residencial care I went back in on my own to take sole control.

Primrose

I cannot over emphasise the importance of what Keep Pedlling has just said.. Register your LPA as soon as it's been prepared and then the job is done, even if it,s not needed for years.....or even never! Most of life's crises hit us completely unexpectedly and an unregistered LPA in a drawer is useless if somebody suddenly loses mental capacity through a stroke or dementia.

OK, you have to pay when registering but in terms of peace of mind, the money is worth it compared to the hassle you will go through if a loved one has a crisis and you subsequently find you have to go through the alternative more complicated route. You will also have less control in how you are able to handle the individual's affairs.

Keep_pedalling

Primrose wrote: »

I cannot over emphasise the importance of what Keep Pedlling has just said.. Register your LPA as soon as it's been prepared and then the job is done, even if it,s not needed for years.....or even never! Most of life's crises hit us completely unexpectedly and an unregistered LPA in a drawer is useless if somebody suddenly loses mental capacity through a stroke or dementia.

OK, you have to pay when registering but in terms of peace of mind, the money is worth it compared to the hassle you will go through if a loved one has a crisis and you subsequently find you have to go through the alternative more complicated route. You will also have less control in how you are able to handle the individual's affairs.

The only thing to add there is make certified copies as soon as you have the registered copy back from the OPG. The donor can make these themselves by taking photo copies of the originals and do the following.

Write the following text on the bottom of every page of the copy:

“I certify this is a true and complete copy of the corresponding page of the original lasting power of attorney.”

On the final page of the copy, you must also write:

“I certify this is a true and complete copy of the lasting power of attorney.”

You need to sign and date every page.

somuchindebt

Hello, do you know if it's possible and what is the best way to transfer general power of attorney to another person? Thank you