Advice re how to manage a bank account for someone else

Nicki24

Hi all,

I will try and cut a long story short and hope you can offer some advice on how best to handle this.

My uncle is in his 50's and has learning difficulties and whilst able to live on his own and take care of himself he has the mental age of a young person (sorry not explaining that well hope you get the gist). My my grandparents died and the will was handled it was decided that my uncles share would be held by his sister in an account in her name but of course it is his money. He has a very close relationship with his sister and felt comfortable with this.

My question is....my dad (his brother) is worried that should anything happen to his sister...the money is held in her name and not my uncles. What would happen if she died (she has no will). I guess its left to trust that her family would 'remember' that this is my uncles money.

Its tricky as of course this is the way its been handled for years and nobody wants to upset my dads sister or my uncle its more just trying to ensure everything is in order to avoid any future issues. So my question is.......is it possible for this money to be moved into an account in my uncles 'own' name but maybe giving my auntie access to make decisions on his behalf or carry out any transactions on his behalf. He relys on her for help and as mentioned feels comfortable with this so nobody wants to upset that side of things but we just want to ensure that should anything happen to any other family members the money is safely in his name.

Im rambling and mentioned I was going to try and keep this short so apologies, any advice re the best way to manage this situation would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.:)

grumbler

Search the board for "attorney" and you will find many threads on this matter (not necessarily on power of attorney).

Just a few:
Dealing with bank on behalf of relative....Barclays?
Access to a relative's bank account
...

pinkdalek

Your auntie (and other parties) could get Power Of Attorney, however if your uncle's mental health is bad you may have to get Court Of Protection.

This would allow the attorney(s) i.e. auntie to open accounts in Uncle's name and transact for him. If auntie dies the money is still uncle's and the POA/COP terminates on death.

In this scenario it may be worth getting it in joint names e.g. auntie and yourself/husband, this way should anything happen to auntie then your uncle's affairs can carry on as normal.

In your current situation auntie needs to make a will and stipulate what exactly belongs to your uncle. The POA/COP option is the best as currently any monies held in your auntie's name is technically "hers" and this would affect her right to any future benefits should she require them.

henm2

You may also find this link useful as a guide to situations where a person needs help with their financial affairs or lacks the capacity to manage their own money.
http://www.bba.org.uk/media/article/banking-for-people-who-lack-capacity-to-make-decisions

At the bottom of the web page for the above there is a download link for a very useful leaflet (9 pages in length) which covers situations like the one mentioned.

jaybeetoo

If you are going down the attorney route then I recommend you avoid Lloyds Bank. My dad was with them when I had Power of Attorney for him and they were a complete NIGHTMARE to deal with.

I also had POA for my uncle, he was with HSBC, and that was a much easier experience.

nwc389

You do need to look at the power of attourney / court of protection route.
If anything were to happen to your Aunt then any accounts in her name would be classed as part of her estate and although I'm sure you would amicably sort things out it has obviously crossed your mind that this is the case.
I would get it sorted asap and then it takes the worry away.

Yorkie1

JP64 reported for spam - promoting same website in posts.

G_M

The money belongs to uncle and should be in an account in his name.

There are 2 options to manage it:

1) uncle applies for internet banking (or auntie goes online and applies in his name); when log on details arrive, auntie uses them to manage account

2) the 'proper' way'; set up Power of Attorney.

see https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/overview