Problems with POA

denis06

I'm having real trouble investing £20k for my father as his POA. The post office have shown me a cold shoulder and returned my cheque. I tried another route but that too fell by the wayside. Can anyone tell me who would be interested in this investment given that my father is 95 next week?

jimjames

Is investment suitable for a 95 year old? Is that the reason that they returned the cheque?

xylophone

Does the Post Office accept applications on a POA basis? What was the reason for returning the cheque?

A relative has POA for his nearly 94 year old relative and has opened accounts with various institutions including Coventry BS, Leeds BS and Virgin as well as administering stock market investments.

What was the account/investment in question and why was it refused?

Linton

The easiest place for a POA to store money is in a savings account provided by his current bank with which presumably the POA is already registered. Bearing in mind that as a POA you should be acting in your relative's best interests not those of any beneficiaries, I dont see that the investent/savings return matters very much for a 95 year old. If the relative needs the money he can get it from capital. Far more important are the security of the money and ease of access.

Flobberchops

Now, bank bonds are generally held to be pretty rubbish, but would short term (1-2 years) bonds be suitable in this situation, paired with a savings account and/or ISA? The gentleman would have the security of knowing the bulk of his money was beating inflation while still having cash to hand in an interest paying account. Of course other factors like current state of health would play a role, but does this sound at all useful?

xylophone

Some 95 year olds will live to 100 and possibly beyond.

Perhaps there is a need to supplement the OP's father's income?

At all events, there is no need for father to subsidise the bank?

In the case of my relative, the income from savings/investments helps to pay very high care home fees for his relative.

G_M

I had POA for my mother for several years up to her death.

In that time I opened/managd/closed various accounts in her name (both bank accounts & investment accounts).

I encountered a number of difficulties with several, but eventually resolved them each time.

The bottom line is that as POA you have authority to make all those financial decisions in his name - the difficulty is getting the right people in the institution to recognise this.

Most banks/institutions now seem to have dedicated POA/probate departments or specialists, so you need to identify them, as they know what to do. The counter staff, or call centre staff, often don't. They just see a signature/name that does not match the account-holder name.

Obviously you have to show/send them the POA, usually accompanied by your ID, and/or the account-holder's ID, and often complete a specific bank form as well.

My biggest annoyance was with accounts that had a 1 year bonus, where at the end of the year I'd want to close the account and transfer the funds to a new 1 year bonus account with the same bank. And they'd insist on re-registering the POA (and IDs and forms blah blah....) (Santander...)

It takes a bit of time and effort. Enjoy!

ps - I never used the Post Office

denis06

Xylophone. Where is the investment you mention please?

dunstonh

Some 95 year olds will live to 100 and possibly beyond.

Maybe but the regulator and ombudsman would take a dim view of investing new money at age 95 unless there is a very good justification.

Although I suspect the OP means save rather than invest.

xylophone

Xylophone. Where is the investment you mention please?

I have checked with the relative - he manages both cash deposit accounts (including ISAs) and stocks and shares accounts (including ISAs) for his relation.

He says that lately he has opened a fixed interest bond with the Coventry and with Birmingham Midshires.

You do need to comply with any institution's terms and conditions for POA which involves showing the original document or a certified copy and completing an application form as Attorney - the usual identification checks are made for donor and Attorney.

You will need to identify the account in which you are interested then contact the institution for their requirements.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1583859/Best-savings-rates-General-savings-Internet-branch.html

darkidoe

jimjames wrote: »

Is investment suitable for a 95 year old?

Sounds like a thing Warren Buffett would do at 95...