Court protection order vs Power of attorney???

CATS

No we havent thought about that, but would a POA cover FIL's affairs if he dies? There is no will as he is against a will, not sure why!!

securityguy

CATS wrote: »

No we havent thought about that, but would a POA cover FIL's affairs if he dies? !

No. It ceases on death. And you can't (except in some very specific circumstances which are quite unusual) use a PoA to write a will on someone's behalf.

securityguy

CATS wrote: »

I am just trying to get info on what is best to do legally as my FIL is completely against doind a POA

Running a CoP order is hard work, much harder than running a PoA. Tell your FIL that you will not do so, and that the consequences of not drawing up a PoA are his and his alone.

As to not drawing up a will, when he has a wife who has had a stroke, the word "selfish" springs to mind.

troubleinparadise

Sorry to hear about your MIL, and the difficult situation you all find yourselves in.

Please be careful about rushing in and making decisions and taking actions re finances and the house.

You are entering the minefield of care and financial assessments, and whether MIL will be regarded as self-funding, or whether she might qualify for LA or NHS funding for her care in the future.

Certainly set up a POA or LPA for FIL - and it is worth applying to be a Deputy for MIL via COP to handle her finances - she still has pension/s etc to be dealt with, and possibly selling the house in the future.

I've posted a link here to the Age UK website, which has lots of useful information and guidance about how to approach all these matters:

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/

securityguy

troubleinparadise wrote: »

Certainly set up a POA or LPA for FIL

But he's refusing, which is the end of it. You can only get a PoA without the consent of the donor if they are deemed to lack capacity and you apply to the CoP.

Mr_Toad

Court of Protection is a nightmare, it's cumbersome slow and expensive. A friend of mine had one for a parent and regretted it.

What can and often does happen is that parent needs something, with the CoP you can't use their money without the court say so. You use your money as the need is great then apply to the CoP to get your money back.
They are slow and need endless proof that you spent the money and that it was 110% necessary. In my friends case it was several hundred pounds and took over a year to sort out with the CoP.

They err on the side of caution, they take a lot of convincing and they don't move quickly. Also there are fees involved payable each year.

As someone else has already stated don't do it unless strictly necessary to protect your MIL from avaricious relatives or others who may have access to her money.

If accounts are joint then your FIL can carry on as normal.

I agree that he should set up an LPA for himself in the event of him losing capacity.

margaretclare

Can't understand why FIL is refusing to do something as simple and basic as making a will, never mind doing a PoA. Very selfish, to say the least.

DH and I did some major changes a few years ago, after we got married and after my younger daughter's death. We each have a will and we did PoA for each other at the same time. We have a joint account to ensure the basic bills get paid and the property is in joint names. These steps, we feel, are the very basics. Once done, you can forget about them. Whatever happens our affairs are in order. However, I've heard of people our age-group who, for whatever reason - usually superstition: 'it's tempting fate' or the like - will not make a will. I regard it as very selfish and extremely inconsiderate to those who will have to sort things out afterwards. None of us is immortal!

I think I would leave the matter of selling the house and concentrate on trying to get FIL to do a will and/or PoA. These are, as I've indicated, the very basics. Selling the house would be impossible without MIL's signature and this can't be forthcoming. If FIL is insistent on selling his house then, I believe, he would need to go down the CoP route and, as others have indicated, he would have to prove that this was in MIL's best interest.

Can't help you any further, I'm afraid!