power of attorney, should I?

barrydh

im in a difficult situation. My dad is 86 and is reasonably wealthy. It has become apparent quite a substantial amount of money in his account is being spent by a family member and her 2 adult kids
( cars, holidays etc) Should i get Power of Attorney to safeguard my dads money? If i did would i be entitled to see bank statements and take my dads credit card from them?

thanks

Sea_Shell

You can't initiate a POA, it has to be your father's decision to make one. Assuming he still has capacity. If not you'll have to apply to the court of protection.

TBagpuss

Has your dad given them permission to use his card?

If not, he (not you) can cancel the card and if neccessary, report the theft.
If he has, then unless he has lost capacity, it is his choice.

If you are worried, talk to him. If he wants to, he could give you power of attorney, which would allow you to access his bank statements. However, unless he has lost capacity (in which case he is no longer able to grant a POA) he could still give the card to the other family member and give them permission to use it.

Pollycat

How do you know that your Father hasn't given this family member the money rather than them taking it?

How has this family member got hold of your Father's bank details?

As for your question:

power of attorney, should I?

as has already pointed out, it's not a case of what you should do, it's what your Father wants to do.