Power of Attorney questions

Katykat

I have Power of attorney for my mother. I have to pay Care home fees from her bank account which will eventually include the proceeds from the sale of her house. I want to invest all this money where it will bring a high return but have access to it for the fees . Can I open another account if she is not able to sign any papers? Could I open it in my name and put hers on it? She isnt able to deal with her affairs any longer as she has Alzeimers. As such, I have been appointed by the Court of Protection. Would they query where her money has gone? I have to keep strict accounts, even have to get receipts for stamps & paper. How often do they request these receipts? & how long do I have to keep them? When she was more able minded, she showed a finace officer from Social Services her bank book ( I was there at the time) so they made a note of how much was in her account. Since I've been dealing with her affairs, I've found another bank account with quite a few thousand pounds in it. As there is enough money in the other account to last a few years, would they need to know about the other account? She wont be claiming any help with care fees in the forseeable future.
Sorry it long winded, but if anyone has any dealings like this, I would appreciate some advice.

natweststaffmember

THe answer is yes, you can open accounts on her behalf.

deano8000

hi, yes is the correct answer however as youve explained your mother has alzeimers and youve applied through COP to give you POA. I do believe to do any actions on behalf of your mother for example to open an account has to be done through the COP (you can check this out with citizens advice). I cant see there being any problem why they wont let you. with regards to how long to keep things im not actually sure therefore i would keep them as long as possible.

below is an extract from the alzeimers society website:

The court of protection must authorise any use of your capital on your behalf. The receiver must liaise with the court about any investments, which are usually made by the court, and about the sale of property, which must be approved by the court.
The receiver should be aware of your needs and wishes and consult you as far as possible on how you would like your money to be spent.
A receiver has to submit annual accounts to the court of protection and take out a security bond to safeguard your assets. They can reclaim the cost from your money.

Katykat

Thanks Deano. I am not actually a receiver though. There is a subtle difference. My Mother actually signed an Enduring Power of Attorney so she named me as the attorney and basically the COP regards this as my mothers wishes. Receivership means that for someone who has memory problems and has not pre apponted someone to manage their affairs, then the court will appoint someone to do it. That could be a friend or relative, or it could be a solicitor. There are a lot more restrictions on receivers than ordinary attorneys. There are no set guidelines to follow for attorneys so I thought I'd just try to clarify things.

jonesMUFCforever

Has this already been registered with her bank?

If so there is no problem you can open another account to invest her money.

If not then you would have to go through the new procedures and indeed the Court of Protection come into the equation together with several hundred pounds worth of fees!

monkeyspanner

We are in a similar position with my MIL but have not had to register the enduring power of attorney with COP as she is still able to understand her finances up to a point. Once a POA is registered with COP I believe there are stricter rules on record keeping and the COP can ask to look at your records there are more details on their web site.

We have recently sold my MIL's house and are in the process of moving the money to better interest accounts. The approach of each bank/building society is different and each require different evidence of identity and authority. Our experience with LloydsTSB and Bradford & Bingley have been good but Abbey was really difficult and the Post Office wanted MIL to sign even though we had POA which we thought was missing the point of a POA. The accounts should be in your Mum's name with you named as POA on each account.

As you say you are paying the care home fees I assume your Mum has more than £21500 in savings and is therefore self funding. If she has less than £21500 in savings then the council should be paying her care home fees (less your Mum's contribution from her income). If your Mum has less than £21500 in savings and has just gone into a care home the council should allow her a 12 week disregard period during which the value of your Mum's property is disregarded from any assessment of contribution for care home fees. This is to allow time for the property to be sold, but it has to be requested.

Is your Mum in receipt of any other benefit other than Pension and attendance allowance? If she is, then the other account you have found may have a bearing on her benefits. I think pension credit reduces by £1 for every £500 in savings above £10,000 for people in a care home. We were recently told it was worth claiming pension credit if my MIL had less than £67000 in savings as a rough guide figure.

Katykat

Thanks for the replies. I have already registered the POA at her banks and indeed had different responses. I have now consulted a Financial advisor who is looking for somewhere to invest the money. I think I'll still write to COP as a curtesy.