Power of attorney and paying for a pre-paid funeral

Inamuddle79

My oh has recently obtained LPA for his dad who has gone into a care home. He is self funding and we are looking into deferred payments on the property in the short term. His dad has approx. £8000 savings which we were hoping to use to pay in part for a pre-paid funeral, this is something his dad discussed prior to his condition worsening but was never sorted. We are unclear though if this is something we are now allowed to do or will we find ourselves in trouble for using his money in this way, especially given that it could take several more weeks before deferred payments are in place. We're anxious not to do anything wrong but also want to ensure his dad is able to have a decent funeral, something we wouldn't be able to afford when the time comes. Additionally are we allowed to spend money on the upkeep of the house as there is a fence that has blown down in the winds that needs replacing and we would like to sort this but again can't afford this ourselves. Any advice appreciated, thank you.

Keep_pedalling

A POA has to manage the donors assets for the sole benefit of the donor. Paying for a PPFP is not going to benefit him only his beneficiaries as this would remove funeral costs from the estate, So please don't do it.

Care costs will not leave him penniless, as he would cease to be self funding if his savings fall below £23,250, so there should be ample funds in his estate for a decent funeral.

Yorkshireman99

Inamuddle79 wrote: »

My oh has recently obtained LPA for his dad who has gone into a care home. He is self funding and we are looking into deferred payments on the property in the short term. His dad has approx. £8000 savings which we were hoping to use to pay in part for a pre-paid funeral, this is something his dad discussed prior to his condition worsening but was never sorted. We are unclear though if this is something we are now allowed to do or will we find ourselves in trouble for using his money in this way, especially given that it could take several more weeks before deferred payments are in place. We're anxious not to do anything wrong but also want to ensure his dad is able to have a decent funeral, something we wouldn't be able to afford when the time comes. Additionally are we allowed to spend money on the upkeep of the house as there is a fence that has blown down in the winds that needs replacing and we would like to sort this but again can't afford this ourselves. Any advice appreciated, thank you.

Upkeep of his house is permitted. No need for a funeral plan and not permitted anyway.. If he has no money when he dies then the local authority will pay for a basic but quite acceptable funeral.

Prothet_of_Doom

I'm not so sure.

My parents had POA over my nan's affairs and after she had a massive stroke, they made sure that she paid for what she would have paid for had she been able to make the decision.

For instance, she always sent us a book token for Christmas and my parents made sure she continued to do that.
Plus she always gave a donation to a certain charity and they kept that going.
If you've discussed that he wanted to pre-pay his funeral, before he was ill, then I think it would be immoral not to carry out his wishes.

Keep_pedalling

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

I'm not so sure.

My parents had POA over my nan's affairs and after she had a massive stroke, they made sure that she paid for what she would have paid for had she been able to make the decision.

For instance, she always sent us a book token for Christmas and my parents made sure she continued to do that.
Plus she always gave a donation to a certain charity and they kept that going.
If you've discussed that he wanted to pre-pay his funeral, before he was ill, then I think it would be immoral not to carry out his wishes.

it is absolutely fine to continue making those sort of gifts because you can show that this pattern of spending is well established, but you can't just do this based on a conversation that took place when the donor was quite capable of doing the deed themselves but never carried it out.

TBagpuss

An attonrney has to act in the best interests of the the donor. Household repairs for your dad's proprty to maintain it for him to live in, or for it to be sold for his benefit, are fine.

Continuing a pattern of things such as gits or charity donations is OK where the gifts/donations are reasonable in light both of their value compared with theperson's assets and with their level of giving when they were making the decision themselves.

A funeral plan is more of a grey area. How far had your dad got with arrangin this himself before he became unwell? There is a big difference between doing something which he had mentiond once or twice in passing but never actioned, and finalising arrangments which he was already part way through.

There is also the issue of whether it is in his interests. If the fear is that there may not be enough to pay for the kind of funeral he would liek by the time he passes, then you have to consider whether spending the money now would risk depriving him of funds needed to meet his more immediate needs - if so, then I don't think you can argue that it is in his best interest to spend money on a funeral instead of using it to meet his needs now. If there is going to be sufficient either way then it may be more reasonable to make the arrangments.

However, I would take some advice from an expereinced private client solicitor or by contacting the Office of the Public Guardian

ETA - you should ensure that you keep records of the money you spend and keep receipts for work donw on the house so that you have a clear record of how you have exercised your role as Attorneys

Mojisola

TBagpuss wrote: »

There is also the issue of whether it is in his interests. If the fear is that there may not be enough to pay for the kind of funeral he would liek by the time he passes, then you have to consider whether spending the money now would risk depriving him of funds needed to meet his more immediate needs - if so, then I don't think you can argue that it is in his best interest to spend money on a funeral instead of using it to meet his needs now. If there is going to be sufficient either way then it may be more reasonable to make the arrangments.

If the FIL's capital reduces to the point where he gets his care paid for him, he will still have a reasonable amount of capital left. Why not put a lump sum to cover his funeral in a separate account (or just mentally ringfence it if you can get higher interest by having the money all in one account?)

Keep_pedalling

Mojisola wrote: »

If the FIL's capital reduces to the point where he gets his care paid for him, he will still have a reasonable amount of capital left. Why not put a lump sum to cover his funeral in a separate account (or just mentally ringfence it if you can get higher interest by having the money all in one account?)

Agree with this, but probably best done with the proceeds from the house sale.