LPA & ISAs

Miles1

My Mum has Alzheimer's and resides in a care home. I have LPAs in place (both financial & health).

Due to needing to part pay for care home fees & my Dad also residing in the same home (until he sadly passed away mid December) we sold my parents house.

My Mum now has a fairly large sum of money sitting in her current account. I have put £10000 in one of the pensioner bonds and am looking at investing some more.

Mum has three small stocks and shares ISAs with M&S and having put nothing in this year, I thought I'd pay the £15000 for this year into one of the ISAs already held in her name.

However, M&S are saying I cannot do this due to the debit card and cheque book held for the account being in my name and not Mum's. Mum doesn't even know who I am most of the time so no longer has a debit card as she wouldn't know what to do with it, and whilst I have a cheque book in Mum's name, she cannot write anymore and could not sign anything.

M&S are saying that as the usable cheque book and debit card for the account are in my name (the account is registered in Mum's name with myself named on it as LPA) it would be a third party payment and I cannot pay money into Mum's ISA using it. They can only accept payment from a card or cheque with Mum's name on it. Regardless of the fact it is Mum's money and would be being paid from her account.

Help! I can't see a way around this with M&S so how else can I invest some of Mum's money, with an account to be held in her name but with me as LPA?

Archi_Bald

If you can manage to open them for her, you'll do better with some current accounts: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-loophole

If she is not liable for income tax, you can get the interest paid gross by filling in R85 forms.

masonic

Archi_Bald wrote: »

If you can manage to open them for her, you'll do better with some current accounts: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-loophole

If she is not liable for income tax, you can get the interest paid gross by filling in R85 forms.

Hard to say whether current accounts would do better than a S&S ISA.

Notfarfromtheborder

Not sure why your mum's accounts are in your name, my Dad's are in his name, I just sign them and write Attorney under the signature.

Miles1

It's just the way Nat West did it I guess.

The accounts are in Mum's name but I am named on the account. The card and chequebook have to be in my name to allow me to use it. i handle all of Mum's finances now as she can't.

The accounts are held as xxxxx (Mum's name) & yyyyy LPOA (my name) but the debit card and chequebook solely have my name on them.

Notfarfromtheborder

Strange, everything I have is still in Dad's name but with no reference to me on cheque book / bank card, although I am named as POA


Was the same when I acted as POA for great aunt


Would be interested what others situation is

jimjames

Could the bank supply a debit card in her name again?

xylophone

You have a cheque book in your mother's name. You have LPA.

Register the LPA with the bank and you can sign cheques "Miles I,
Attorney for Mrs X I ?

You then send a cheque for the requisite amount?

And are you sure that M&S are providing the best S&S platform?

As Attorney you could move to another provider if you found one providing a service you prefer?

Miles1

LPA is registered with the bank, hence me having a card and cheque book in my name.

I spoke to Nat West today and they said I cannot sign a cheque from Mum's chequebook as my name is not on the cheque. They will only honour the cheque if signed by the person whose name is on the chequebook, and as stated above, Mum cannot sign anything now.

I have no idea if M&S are providing the best platform it was just as Mum already has three small ISAs with them, I thought it would be the easiest way of investing some money now, rather than leaving it sat in the current account.

Also, I had LPA for my Dad and am now in the process of sorting probate etc.

It will be so much easier to deal with as few people as possible when anything happens to Mum, as sorting out Dad's stuff has been a nightmare and he left it all in pretty good shape!

Miles1

Jimjames - I'm not sure if they will issue a card in Mum's name. I can ask.

xylophone

I am mystified by what you have been told by Natwest.

A relative has PA for his mother who has a sole account with Barclays. Only her name appears on the chequebook.

The PA has been registered with the Bank.

The relative signs cheques John Brown Attorney for Mrs Mary Brown.

I think you should ask your Natwest branch to refer to their Trust/PA department.

At the least a debit card should be issued in your mother's name - the relative uses his mother's debit card to manage all her investment accounts.

Have you registered the LPA with M&S?

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/diyinvesting/article-1718291/Pick-best-cheapest-investment-Isa-platform.html