How can Granny change her will without going through her POAttorney?

mwddrwg

Asking on behalf of my uncle (names have been changed to protect the innocent, and all that...)

His mother has mild dementia and is in a carehome at the moment. She owns valuable property and other assets for which his mother has made a will some years ago.

Uncle has always had a fiery relationship with his mother and his sister, with whom he has not spoken to in years. Suspects that the sister is now mother's POA but this is not certain.

He still speaks to his mother at the care home, and she has recently expressed an interest in changing her will. The will at the moment does not include my uncle (due to mother changing it after the major falling-out) but mother now wants to put uncle in the will.

Trouble is, the sister is very influencial and controlling and mother is afraid of her. Add the mild dementia and possibly the official status of sister's position with regard to decisions made about Granny, it's difficult for her to change the will without sister getting involved.

I've suggested that Granny phones her solicitor to come and see her at the carehome if she wants to change the will but does that mean that sister has to be there as well if she has POA?

Uncle wrote off the inheritance years ago so is not influencing his mother to change the will - just wants to see her curret wishes acted upon without sister putting pressure on her.

Any ideas on how to proceed? Is there any way of confirming whether or not sister has POA over Granny?

Many thanks

RAS

Granny can only change her will if she is considered mentally capable by her doctor/solicitor.

If a Power of attorney has been granted on the basis that she is not mentally capable, this is going to be problematic. Not because there is a POA but because of the capacity issues

If however Auntie is only managing the finances on an informal basis/ with a POA that granny can revoke any time she wants because she still has capacity, then she also has capacity to make a new will.

The Public Guardian's Office would confirm whether a POA has been registered with them (assuming England or Wales).

mwddrwg

RAS wrote: »

Granny can only change her will if she is considered mentally capable by her doctor/solicitor.

If a Power of attorney has been granted on the basis that she is not mentally capable, this is going to be problematic. Not because there is a POA but because of the capacity issues

If however Auntie is only managing the finances on an informal basis/ with a POA that granny can revoke any time she wants because she still has capacity, then she also has capacity to make a new will.

The Public Guardian's Office would confirm whether a POA has been registered with them (assuming England or Wales).

Thanks for the advice. Personally, I think that sister is an appointee for benefits/bank admin purposes and not actually POA as Granny is still very capable mentally (has good days and bad days, apparently). Sister is a complete nighthmare and Granny is scared of her so contacting the solicitor to change the will is fraught with difficulties as sister will almost certainly pressurise Granny to leave it as it is. Goes against the grain for my Uncle because of what Granny has told him she wants to do.

I'll look into asking the PGO about the possible POA bit.

Many thanks

getmore4less

Gran needs to talk to the solicitor independantly

(do they hold the current will?)

The solicitor should not tell anyone without the permission of the gran.

One issue is that the carehome workers might spill the beans.

Does gran ever go out or get taken out, that may be a way to

Proper POA needs to be looked into anyway, who does the gran want looking after her affairs when the time comes?

dzug1

By and large the Attorney is irrelevant to the will. S/he cannot change it and cannot make a new one, regardless of the donor's capability. At least not without the (very expensive) permission of the Public Guardian who would have to be convinced that it was the donor's best interest to do so. And changing beneficiaries is not a good reason. Paying care fees is.


The Attorney most definitely should NOT be there at any meeting with the solicitor. Indeed s/he doesn't actually have the right to know its contents - or even if it exists, though it would be silly not to.


So - the donor can make a new will independently of the Attorney provided she has capability


If she doesn't have capability then for most practical purposes it's too late.

mwddrwg

Thank you all for your input. Very helpful.

You've confirmed what I thought with regard to the sister's lack of authority to change the will herself so that's on Granny's side. Gran is capable of deciding for herself what to do but having the bravery to go through with it without risking flak from her daughter is the big issue I think. I feel for her but I also think it's too late as well. She just won't do it for fear of upsetting her daughter, which is a massive shame.

Thanks again everyone.

mwddrwg

Hi all,

Bit of an update for you (in case you were wondering )

My uncle received a phonecall from the nursing home staff yesterday, saying that Gran wanted to speak to him. Gran told him that she had some news for him and that it was "to his advantage" (whatever that means) and she would explain all next time he came to see her. She also wanted his home address to send hime something. She wouldn't go into details on the phone as the care staff were there with her but reading between the lines it looks like she's managed to change the will herself by seeing her solicitor off her own bat.

Uncle gave her all the info and intends to wait about a week to see what happens and what, if anything, will arrive in the post (presumably she intends to send him a copy of the 'new' will). Need to be cautious as she has a habit of changing her mind at the drop oof a hat! lol

rpc

mwddrwg wrote: »

Uncle gave her all the info and intends to wait about a week to see what happens and what, if anything, will arrive in the post (presumably she intends to send him a copy of the 'new' will).

Not necessarily (although she could).

It is common to include the addresses for beneficiaries in a will. e.g. "My son <name> residing at <address>"

mwddrwg

That's probably another reason why she wanted the full address. Looks like she's standing up to her daughter and doing the right thing for her for a change.

No doubt there will be another update along in due course.

Thanks for the replies so far

madbadrob

Be prepared for there to be a challenge to the will. If your gran has mild dementia there could be a claim that she wasn't competent enough to change her will. Id hope not but you need to be prepared

Rob

mwddrwg

Knowing the daughter and the bad feeling between her and my uncle, I wouldn't rule that out either. Will be very interesting to see what happens next. Thanks for the warning!