POA for mum in Scotland

Mojisola

Peco141 wrote: »

The doctors do not expect she will last a week.

I would just spend as much time as possible with your Mum and deal with all the official and financial stuff after the inevitable happens.

So sorry for you.

Peco141

Will do, thanks guys.

sheramber

Sorry to hear about your mum

You can ask the Public Guardian, Scotland to deal with it urgently.

Registering your PoA

Q. Can my PoA be registered urgently?

A. If there is genuine urgency we can process the documentation quicker.

To request this expedited service:

Please mark your covering letter as urgent along with the reason for the urgency. Where possible highlight or use large font when marking as 'urgent' so that it can be easily noticed.
If the PoA has already been sent, then contact us by telephone or e-mail. The reason for the urgency should be clearly stated when making the request.

emdoug

I'm in a similar situation, does anyone know if you can get POA if the other person cannot communicate at all? and also if there are 3 siblings is it the oldest that is next of kin or are we all equal?

Malthusian

emdoug wrote: »

I'm in a similar situation, does anyone know if you can get POA if the other person cannot communicate at all?

If they have mental capacity and it's only writing/speaking that is the problem, then they should still be able to make a PoA by "making a mark" or indicating consent some other way. Solicitors are not usually necessary to make PoAs but in cases like these they are very useful to certify that the donor understood what was going on and gave their consent.

If they do not have capacity then you need to look at becoming a Deputy of the Court of Protection.

and also if there are 3 siblings is it the oldest that is next of kin or are we all equal?

For all practical purposes there's no such thing. If we're talking medical decisions, all of you might be consulted about their treatment, but there's no legal obligation on the doctors to follow your instructions.

troubleinparadise

Peco141 wrote: »

The lawyer came out to the hospital last week and the bill just come through for £435 for Will and power of attorney.

More than double the price I thought it was going to be. My mums financial situation is not complicated.

Is that price normal for just a revised will and to set up POA in Scotland or have I been ripped off !??

I'm sorry to hear your Mum is so ill - a very difficult time for you.

Actually, for a personal visit plus the solicitor drawing up the Will and the POA, that was a reasonable charge.

To apply online yourself for an LPA costs £82 each, without factoring in time costs.

Fees of £200 per hour plus add-ons for a solicitor aren't unusual. So a visit - probably a minimum of an hour plus travel time - and the work to produce the approved paper copy of each for signing would hit a few hundred pounds quite quickly. I really don't think you could hope to achieve that for £200.

I know you are concerned that you don't have the POA to send off - but do you really need to urgently deal with your Mum's finances this week? If necessary, you can explain to any financial institution or utility etc the situation and ask for patience for a few weeks. Best wishes.

elsien

emdoug wrote: »

I'm in a similar situation, does anyone know if you can get POA if the other person cannot communicate at all? and also if there are 3 siblings is it the oldest that is next of kin or are we all equal?

Next of kin doesn't have any legal meaning, although hospitals aren't always very good at explaining that. They like to have a name as a point of contact. If there is lack of capacity but the relevant power of attorney in place, the attorneys make the decisions. If not, for medical/welfare decisions then the relevant professionals will make a best interests decision in consultation with family members.

When you say the person cannot communicate at all, you need to be clearer about what that means. If they are unresponsive then they will not have capacity (being able to communicate the decision is part of the capacity assessment) and it won't be possible to get the power of attorney.

emdoug

elsien wrote: »

Next of kin doesn't have any legal meaning, although hospitals aren't always very good at explaining that. They like to have a name as a point of contact. If there is lack of capacity but the relevant power of attorney in place, the attorneys make the decisions. If not, for medical/welfare decisions then the relevant professionals will make a best interests decision in consultation with family members.

When you say the person cannot communicate at all, you need to be clearer about what that means. If they are unresponsive then they will not have capacity (being able to communicate the decision is part of the capacity assessment) and it won't be possible to get the power of attorney.

When I say she cannot communicate at all she has severe brain damage so cannot talk, write or communicate with people in any away apart from showing limited emotions ( laughing, crying ect.) The only reason I ask is because there is no way she will get any better and someone needs to be in charge of her finances that's also why I've asked about next of kin as there are 3 of us and 1 of the siblings is trying to take over everything herself without consulting me and my other sister so we want to know basically where we stand in regards to her finances.

elsien

You won't be able to get power of attorney but for benefits, you can apply to DWP to be an appointee.
For managing all other finances then a deputyship would need to be applied for (nb not sure if/how this differs in Scotland) . This can be individually or joint. There is also a process for people to object.
https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy

sheramber

If the person is not mentally capable you have to apply to the Court of Protection to be able to take over their affairs

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/if-the-person-you-want-to-help-has-lost-mental-capacity