New power of attorney guide

Mojisola

tooldle wrote: »

I think the situation you have described is correct.
I am in the process of obtaining POA for my mum. I have spoken to her bank (Co-op). They tell me that when the POA is confirmed, I should make an appointment with my local branch, to register the POA. Once this is done, I will be issued with the appropriate passwords, cards etc to be able to make transactions on behalf of mum.

I had to take the POA paperwork and evidence to prove that I was the person named on the paperwork into the bank and they took copies of everything before I was able to act for my father.

troubleinparadise

Financial institutions each have their own methods of dealing with POAs of the different varieties.

It appears there is usually 1 nominated person within a branch, or group of branches, who actually knows how their particular system works.

I had mixed experiences - simple and straightforward with some, had to make a specific appointment with another, and others that had no clear idea or understanding of any of it :eek: Sadly you will now become an expert in something you never wanted to know anything about, and will often have to instruct those you come across about the technicalities!

I'm afraid you just have to go along with what your bank is asking. If this means the payment might be late, contact the home to tell them what is happening so that there are no misunderstandings. Care homes are well versed in these situations

ropewalk

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

HSBC refused and said that my wife would need to make an appointment with them to come in and register the LPOA.

Is this correct? If the Public Guardian says that the LPOA is registered then surely that should be enough?

Yes, of course, they have to check it is genuine, take a copy for their files, check that you are who you say you are etc. They need to take sensible precautions. Take some good ID. Also, if you only have one copy of the POA I suggest you try to get another certified copy from a solicitor asap. Sooner or later someone will not return it to you!
Sue

Dimey

valmiki wrote: »

Hello, hope someone can answer my quick query...

My parents are both British Citizens (as am I), but are now retired and planning to move to India. They wish to hand over a POA to look after their financial affairs , either soon or at some point in the future.

Do I have to arrange a POA for them in this country before they leave, or would an Indian POA (ie. one that would be set up when I go to visit them in India) suffice?

Just wondering whether we would encounter any obstacles if we did the latter option?

Thanks for any advice!
valmiki

Valmiki, I would be tempted to take out two powers of attorney - one in each country. Then you know they will be recognised by their appropriate legal system and you'll not have any hassles with bureaucrats.

I can't imagine a UK POA being acceptable in India nor an Indian POA being acceptable in UK.

Mojisola

ropewalk wrote: »

Also, if you only have one copy of the POA I suggest you try to get another certified copy from a solicitor asap. Sooner or later someone will not return it to you!

I had several certified copies made of the POA forms and only used those. The original is locked away safely. If a copy isn't returned to you, you can have more made. If the original goes astray, you've really got problems.

Crater

I'm posting this here because there are a lot of people here who have put an LOA in place and may have had a similar experience, if they are small self-employed or partnership traders.

We've applied for "remission" (half refund) of our fees as our personal income is below £12,000 each.

However now that we've sent the Remission Team the HMRC form SA302 (which they didn't specify, but is the standard HMRC statement of income based on the last tax return) they have told us that they need to know our "gross turnover" and need "a certified tax return from HMRC".

I don't understand why they need our small business turnover figures, when the LPAs are personal documents, and the business turnover is not personal income ... the HMRC form reflects this, and they don't supply "certified tax returns" - all our stuff is done by a small accountant on line, and HMRC only responds if they have a query. Otherwise they just send a request for payment - in December! And they won't this year anyway as we are both below the tax threshold. I think I owe them £14 because I paid too much Gift Aid.

I've tried asking the Helpline about this, they are usually very helpful, but they can't help with this, there seems to be nobody who is expert there, and they can only repeat what it says in the letter. They can't name any other form, or source of information, that they will accept. (And in any case our actual turnover will be just over the threshold - anyone who works for themselves will understand that this means that our actual personal income is well under the threshold, because of costs.)

I have written a long and puzzled letter to the Remissions Team about this (you can't get them on the phone) but am not confident. It doesn't ask for "turnover" on the application form, it asks for the Donor's gross (ie pre-tax) personal income, which is on the form we have supplied!

Does anyone haave any idea what is going on here?

Crater

Mojisola wrote: »

I had several certified copies made of the POA forms and only used those. The original is locked away safely. If a copy isn't returned to you, you can have more made. If the original goes astray, you've really got problems.

I believe you can buy fully legal copies from the Office of the Public Guardian helpline - worth checking if in doubt.

You can make your own accredited copies from your original but yes it's wiser not to send your original out to anyone.

Mojisola

Shamsan wrote: »

I believe you can buy fully legal copies from the Office of the Public Guardian helpline - worth checking if in doubt.

You can make your own accredited copies from your original but yes it's wiser not to send your original out to anyone.

My solicitor didn't charge for doing the certified copies.

georgiesmum

I have just done this myself. Didn't use a solicitor. Couldn't afford it. It can be time consuming and you have to do things exactly in order. Dating it is important, I had both of mine returned as the dating was wrong but then so did my daughter and she did use legal services.
I am in my 70s and quite proud that i managed that.
My advice from experience would be to get 2 lots of forms so you have spares if (when :rotfl: )you go wrong.

Cleopatra21

My brother who held my mother's power of attorney has died suddenly. I have no idea what happens now. Will it pass to his wife? It is not her mother so I think it would be unfair on her to expect her to carry this? Anyone else been through this?