Power of Attorney for my mum - advice needed

Lungboy

In 2005 my mum had a stroke, and since then I've been a carer for her whilst also working a full time job. My dad is long dead and my brother lives in Australia. Some time ago my wife was asked by my mum to download the power of attorney forms so that she could formalise things in case she had another stroke. However, my brother and his wife took this very badly and felt my wife was interfering, so it never went any further. My brother and his wife are now over for a holiday and the subject has come back up. They want us to sit down tomorrow and get it sorted but I have zero understanding of power of attorney, what the options and legalities are. From what little I have been told, it makes sense for me to have day to day discretion with my brother as secondary due to his location, but I don't know if he'll agree to that.

Can anyone shed a bit of light on the whole thing for me? Many thanks.

elsien

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/power-of-attorney?_ga=1.110685701.1641182487.1404332811

and

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3671735

Please note that although it's a good idea to get it done, your brother and his wife pressuring mum to do it there and then in their presence may invalidate it. She needs to do it in her own time when she's happy with the provisions and who she has nominated.

Lungboy

Thanks, that last bit is something I haven't heard of before.

elsien

From the age uk website:

When is an LPA valid?
An LPA will only be valid if you have the mental capacity to
set it up and haven’t been put under any pressure to create
it. It must be your decision and you must be able to trust
your attorney, as you’re giving them extensive power to
make decisions about your life.
The LPA must be signed by a certificate provider who
confirms that you understand it and haven’t been put under
any pressure to sign it. They must be someone you know
well or a professional person such as a doctor, social worker
or solicitor. The LPA must be registered with the Office of the
Public Guardian before it can be used.

There's quite a thorough guide on there as well if you want more reading.
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matters/legal-issues/powers-of-attorney/

Edit - and to be perfectly honest it makes no odds what your brother does or doesn't agree to as it's not his decision to make. It's your mum's LPA, she gets to choose who does what.
And how can he make decisions about (for example) what the best home or medical treatment for your mum might be if circumstances change when he's the other side of the world and can't visit anywhere or see what's going on to make judgements for himself?

Lungboy

I just read on the discussion thread about LPAs that if you are joint attorneys and something happens to one then the LPA becomes invalidated. Is that the case?

Savvy_Sue

Lungboy wrote: »

I just read on the discussion thread about LPAs that if you are joint attorneys and something happens to one then the LPA becomes invalidated. Is that the case?

I think only if it's been set up in such a way that there's no provision for one attorney or the other being unable to act.

We've just done ours: DH and I take care of each other until we no longer can, at which point our 3 boys take over with the power to act jointly and severally. That means that if one of them is the other side of the world, or doesn't want to get involved, any of the other two can get on with it.

Or they can divvy up the work between them, if they so choose.

Lungboy

It turns out that I was worrying over nothing. It's all sorted. However, I'm confused about what forms I need. I'm filling out an LPA14 and and LPA17, do I also need an LPA002 for each? Or just one LPA002? Or no LPA002 at all?