Lasting Power of Attorney.

TELLIT01

I'm trying to get some guidance on the above but I'm not sure which forum to post on. Is this the place? If not, can somebody please point me in the right direction.
I don't want to go into detail, it's complicated and long winded, until I'm in the right place.
Thanks in advance.

elsien

There's been questions on here about POA before so unless it's more specifically about bank accounts or whatever, it's probably as good a place as any.

TELLIT01

Thanks elsien.
The basic question is what checks are made, and by whom, to ensure that the person applying for, and then holding, POA is a fit person to do so? Friends are in a situation where a sibling had POA for the mother who has Alzeimers. They don't live in the same area as the mother and sibling and were therefore unaware that he even had POA.
The sibling has recently died and they have discovered that he had cleared out all the mother's bank accounts, cashed in shares, and even opened credit card accounts in her name and maxed them out. As a result it looks like the family home will now be sold to cover care home costs. That wouldn't have been the case if the sibling hadn't acted as they did.
The sibling had severe problems with multiple addictions for some years, if that's relevant.

elsien

They should have been notified when it was registered.

Sorry, wrong link.
Look on the office of the public guardian website for more detailed information.

Keep_pedalling

Have a look at the application form, it should tell you everything you need to know.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/make-a-lasting-power-of-attorney

As you will see there are checks in place, but if someone is determined they can get round them.

As the attorney is now deceased and the money spent then there is little they can do apart from attempting to get those credit card depts written off.

TELLIT01

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

As the attorney is now deceased and the money spent then there is little they can do apart from attempting to get those credit card depts written off.

Thanks, that was very much my thoughts too. As you can imagine they are currently in a terrible state over the whole thing. It was only after the death of the brother that the whole can of worms opened up. Apparently, they went round to the mother's house to discover that Social Services had changed all the locks. They can't even get in to retrieve their own possessions.
To add to all their problems, Social Services passed on their details to the local hospital who are pressuring them to pay for the brother's funeral as there is no money in his own estate to pay for it. That simply isn't going to happen given the circumstances.

Keep_pedalling

Sounds like the local authority now have control over her finances through the court of protection. They need to speak to the care home to find out who they need to speak to in the LA to get their property back, but they are going to need to show some evidence it actually belongs to them if it has any monetary value.

As the LA have total control over the finances, it is down to them to deal with those CC depts as well.

troubleinparadise

Whilst the children (presumably adult) should have been notified of an application for LPA, did they not have any involvement in their mother's life as she had dementia, whether at home or in a care home?

There must have been some question about how her care costs were being met, and how her property was being managed.

TELLIT01

troubleinparadise wrote: »

Whilst the children (presumably adult) should have been notified of an application for LPA, did they not have any involvement in their mother's life as she had dementia, whether at home or in a care home?

There must have been some question about how her care costs were being met, and how her property was being managed.

The whole thing is horribly complex. The son who had POA lived with the mother and had managed to break the family link, preventing his sister and the grand children from any access with the mother. They weren't even aware that she was in a home until they were contacted to say the brother had died. The move to a home had only happened comparatively recently ie. under a year previous. That short timescale hadn't stopped the brother blowing everything.
Social Services were quick enough to contact them when the brother died, so obviously had contact information for them.

sheramber

TELLIT01 wrote: »

The whole thing is horribly complex. The son who had POA lived with the mother and had managed to break the family link, preventing his sister and the grand children from any access with the mother. They weren't even aware that she was in a home until they were contacted to say the brother had died. The move to a home had only happened comparatively recently ie. under a year previous. That short timescale hadn't stopped the brother blowing everything.
Social Services were quick enough to contact them when the brother died, so obviously had contact information for them.

The mother could have granted POA to the son while she was of sound mind. An interview by a UK doctor or solicitor registered to practice law in Scotland is required and a certificate of fitness completed.

It would be up to the mother who she told about POA.

If POA was not given before mother was diagnosed then application would have to be made to the courts

helcat26

Hi
Just been doing one of these so here is my contribution:


If the mother had been of sound mind at the time of the LPOA she could have applied for it herself or through a solicitor appointing her son. There would be no requirement for her to notify anyone, although there is opportunity in the application to list people who she wished to be notified. If doing it this way then she would have needed the application to be witnessed by a person to say that she was aware of what she was doing.
There would be no legal requirement for anyone else to be notified even if they were relatives or were likely to benefit from her estate after death.


If the son applied for POA on behalf of his mother, likewise he would have to have had her consent, possibly after her diagnosis but while someone could still certify that is was her wish. Once again there is no legal requirement to notify- just an opportunity to do so.


He could not apply on her behalf after Alzheimers had robbed her of mental capacity as he could not then get the certification. In that instance he would have had to apply for deputyship for her affairs.


My questions
1. did he have both the health and the financial?
2. was the money spent on the mother's care including but not limited to people looking after her in her own home prior to her going into nursing care. Fitment of safety stuff in the home, contribution to care costs. Do not damn him without knowing this
3. what right have these other people to complain after they have not contributed any time or effort to the care and welfare of this poor lady. Taking responsibility for a person with Alzheimers is a big deal
4. Regarding selling the property to pay care home costs- care homes are very expensive and these rightly or wrongly are the rules. If you have assets the government will expect you to use them towards the care.