Section 25 Power of Attorney?

Hummel

I've been getting the run around from the bank and am not sure what to do.


My dad was the executor of the estate for my grandparents. He is now disabled and I have lasting power of attorney for him. My grandparents very kindly left me and my sibling each £25k which we were due to inherit some years ago. Unfortunately due to my Dad's disability this has never happened, as I've only become power of attorney recently.


Now I've contacted the bank and provided proof of the trusts but they initially claimed the trusts didn't exist. Now they say they've found them but they were made dormant.


They intend for me to setup two new trusts. They require me to provide a 'specialist' Power of Attorney which allows me to act on trust matters for my Dad. They say I need one form for each trust. Then they intend to bring the money out of dormancy into those trusts.


I'm afraid the instructions were very vague and I'm totally lost. I managed (using Google) to stumble across section 25 of The Trustee Act. I found this:

The form referred to in subsection (5) of this section is as follows—“THIS GENERAL TRUSTEE POWER OF ATTORNEY is made on /FONT][FONT=monospace]date[/FONT][FONT=monospace by /FONT][FONT=monospace]name[/FONT][FONT=monospace]of one donor[/FONT][FONT=monospace of /FONT][FONT=monospace]address of donor[/FONT][FONT=monospace as trustee of /FONT][FONT=monospace]name or details of one trust[/FONT][FONT=monospace.I appoint /FONT][FONT=monospace]name of one donee[/FONT][FONT=monospace of /FONT][FONT=monospace]address of donee[/FONT][FONT=monospace to be my attorney /FONT][FONT=monospace]if desired,[/FONT][FONT=monospace]the date on which the delegation commences or the period for which it continues (or[/FONT][FONT=monospace]both)[/FONT][FONT=monospace in accordance with section 25(5) of the M1Trustee Act 1925./FONT][FONT=monospace]To be executed as a deed[/FONT][FONT=monospace”.

I am totally unclear about this. Am I supposed to simply create a document like that and have my Father sign it?


Do I require a solicitor for this?

Keep_pedalling

The LPA does not give you the authority to act for your father in his capacity as an executor, as this goes beyond simply managing his affairs.

Presumably probate has never been applied for and their are other assets that have not been distributed. Your father can certainly give you POA for sorting probate see link, but whether you need anything else regards those trust I think you need to take professional advice.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-pa11-apply-for-power-of-attorney-will

Hummel

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

The LPA does not give you the authority to act for your father in his capacity as an executor, as this goes beyond simply managing his affairs.

Presumably probate has never been applied for and their are other assets that have not been distributed. Your father can certainly give you POA for sorting probate see link, but whether you need anything else regards those trust I think you need to take professional advice.

Probate was done at the time that my grandparents died (2 decades ago). The bank have a copy of this. All other assets have been distributed but the terms of the will state that money to my sibling and I are to be paid out upon us reaching a certain age.

Unfortunately my Dad became sick long before that.

Thanks for the link, it looks useful!

Keep_pedalling

Hummel wrote: »

Probate was done at the time that my grandparents died (2 decades ago). The bank have a copy of this. All other assets have been distributed but the terms of the will state that money to my sibling and I are to be paid out upon us reaching a certain age.

Unfortunately my Dad became sick long before that.

Thanks for the link, it looks useful!

Thanks for the clarification. If these were set up as bare trust you should have been able to access your inheritance once you became 18, but presumable the money was put into something more complex. I think you and your siblings need to take professional advice on getting these trusts wound up. The fact that they have been managed by Barclays brobably means you have lost out on growth over the decades due to the high fees they charge and the fact that they now sit in dormant accounts earning nothing.