Lasting Power of Attorney

Mojisola

troubleinparadise wrote: »

It is useful to know what your parents' views on treatment should they be in a life-threatening condition - resuscitation for instance - as being asked that can be difficult to answer on someone else's behalf unless you know their views. A bit maudlin that point, but again it can be helpful later.

It can really make a difference. I had to have these discussions with Dad's doctors and the care home manager. We had all (not just the oldies) talked about how we would want to be cared for and I knew I was speaking for him when I said he didn't want anything "heroic" done to keep him going.

Mardle

clearingout wrote: »

thanks for your responses. I guess I'm convinced! Is it something that we can do ourselves or do we need a solicitor?

You can do it yourselves. Just take your time and read through the guides. It's important that the pages are signed in the correct order and you will need someone to certify that your Mum understands what she is signing. My Mum's best friend certified Mum's LPA. You don't need to register it until such time as your Mum can no longer handle her own affairs.

Lasting Power of Attorney is one of those things that is better to have and not need than to need it and not have it.

Suzy_M

Have you also considered a joint bank account and/or third party authority on other accounts?
Always worth considering for convenience for occasions when Power of Attorney may be OTT, e.g. Mum away on a long holiday, or too cold for her to go out.
Also worth getting your Mum to 'introduce' you to the various institutions she deals with, get the various utility companies to note that you can deal with matters on her behalf, etc.

jackyann

You can do it yourselves. It's a good idea to do it early.
I also agree that a joint account can be useful - but you do need to trust each other, and if anyone else (eg: siblings) might get involved, make sure you get & keep paper statements.

securityguy

Suzy_M wrote: »

Have you also considered a joint bank account and/or third party authority on other accounts?.

An English or Welsh bank can freeze a joint account if they have reason to believe that one party has become incapable of operating it. In practice with joint accounts amongst spouses, say, they'll look the other way. But it's one clear reason why a joint account is not a reliable substitute for a PoA. See here.

In England and Wales, if one party to the joint account loses capacity to operate their account, banks and building societies will use their discretion to determine whether or not to temporarily restrict the operation of the account to essential transactions only (for example, living expenses and medical/residential care bills for both parties) until a deputy has been appointed or a power of attorney registered.

clearingout

thank you all. We did briefly dally with the idea of a joint account - however, I am a single parent and have a (diminishing) eligibility for Tax Credits and should anything untoward happen (illness, redundancy), other benefits. I don't want to muddy the waters by having access to my mum's money in such circumstances - my understanding is that if my name is on the account, any money in it would be considered mine and would therefore impact on my eligibility for benefits. It's my mum's money and was hard earned and whilst I would be very grateful for any inheritance, I would rather that whilst she's alive, my mum isn't forced into sharing it with me. Hope that makes sense! She comes from a family who have all died in their late 80s/early 90s so I expect at least another 10 years and she may well need her money to help her maintain her independence.

Mojisola

clearingout wrote: »

thank you all. We did briefly dally with the idea of a joint account - however, I am a single parent and have a (diminishing) eligibility for Tax Credits and should anything untoward happen (illness, redundancy), other benefits. I don't want to muddy the waters by having access to my mum's money in such circumstances - my understanding is that if my name is on the account, any money in it would be considered mine and would therefore impact on my eligibility for benefits. It's my mum's money and was hard earned and whilst I would be very grateful for any inheritance, I would rather that whilst she's alive, my mum isn't forced into sharing it with me.

There's a halfway house - you could be put on the account as a signatory. I did this for my parents so I was able to sign cheques for them but I didn't get any ownership of the money.

teamonster

My Father asked his solicitor to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney in March 2011. The attorneys were to be my Father's ex-partner and his sister. After two and a half years of making excuses to my father's ex-partner the solicitor said he couldn't proceed as there was no person to be notified who wasn't a family member. At this point I was contacted by the ex-partner and asked to be an Attorney in her place. We visited the solicitor and he said he would complete the necessary paperwork and send it to me. After many phone calls and emails, I finally received the paperwork in October 2013, signed it and sent it back. My Dad's sister (joint attorney) and ex-partner (person to be notified) did not receive the documents to sign again as we expected as the solicitor said he could use the signed pages from the previous document.

In the meantime, my father's Alzheimer's has worsened considerably.
After receiving the paperwork from myself the solicitor said he would get it off to be registered. Every phone call and email since is met with excuses of 'I've got a few things to check' or 'I need to check the wording is right' (it is a pre-printed form) and nothing has happened.
On Jan 17th 2014 my father was sectioned under the Mental health act, first under section 2 but progressing to section 3 on Feb 13th.
The solicitor knows this but still says, I've got a few things to check.
Please tell me what I can do as the hospital are asking me to organize ongoing care for my father when he is discharged from hospital

troubleinparadise

Dear Teamonster,

Firstly, I'm sorry that your father is declining, and secondly that this solicitor has been so useless. The LPA process can be a little slow, but certainly not a two year wait. The solicitor has let you all down very badly - the LPA forms are available for anyone to complete, and they are not complex. That really can't have helped with the stresses of dealing with dementia and your ongoing loss.

As I understand it, Section 3 means ongoing treatment, so if that only starts on February 13th, then his discharge date isn't known as yet? You might need to clarify what you are being asked to arrange, and who is responsible for payment etc.

This fact sheet from the Alzheimer's Society explains a little more:

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=112


All you can do is to tell them that as the Attorneyship isn't in place yet, you cannot make any arrangements for him; they may not like that, but what else can you do? It will buy you a little more time to organise things rather than being rushed into decisions.

teamonster

Dear Troubleinparadise,

Thank you so much for your advice and link. Having read the document I now find that a person who has been detained under a Section 3 will have all aftercare paid for by the Health Authority for as long as is necessary. This is a great relief to me and means that I won't have to worry so much about the LPA. However I feel that the solicitor, unless hounded, will not send the the LPA for registration. I want to write a letter of complaint but, as I am not technically his client, I am concerned that he will take no notice.