Power of Attorney advice [Moved, please delete] 29 November 2020 at 5:18PM edited 29 November 2020 at 6:25PM in Over 50s MoneySaving 5 replies 261 views

[Deleted User]

[moved to a more appropriate suited sub-forum for this topic, please remove.]

Hi guys,

My mother is trying to sort out the /not so nice/ business of wills after my nan isn't around anymore.

My nan hasn't made a will but my mother is her unofficial carer and takes care of her bank to pay bills/care home. Ideally a POA is what they want to do but with my nan's position that looks unlikely as issues getting to the office etc.

Is there any other way to do this? We have all the papers but at this stage I think we'd rather just pay someone to handle this as it's rather confusing, especially now given the current world situation.

Thank you.

tacpot12

In theory, you can pay a solicitor to fill the forms out and give them their instructions over the phone, but it's expensive for what is a straightforward process. There is lots of information online, and the solicitor can't make decisions, just write down what your Nan wants as well as you can. You can also ask for advice here.

Does your Nan have someone who can act as her Certificate Provider - someone that has known her for 2 years, knows her well enough to know whether she has capacity and who knows what this means? If not, she might need a video interview with the Solicitor.

Has your mum looked at whether your Nan needs a will? The only reason to have a will is if your Nan wants to leave her money to someone other than who it will go to anyway under the rules of intestacy. See here: https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

Pennylane

Regarding the POA it is really straightforward to do on the Govt website.  It has been invaluable to me dealing with my Mum’s affairs. There are two parts Health and Welfare and Property and Finance, each of the 2 parts cost about £80 from memory but you can choose to do just one. I did both.  The forms are self explanatory and you print them off, complete them with someone who knows your Mum well as a witness and send them back to the Office of the Public Guardian.  They are also at the end of the phone if you need any advice before sending them off. They then register them and send you original copies which you will need to keep safe. 

Solicitors charge about £1500 to do this. 

[Deleted User]

Pennylane said:

Regarding the POA it is really straightforward to do on the Govt website.  It has been invaluable to me dealing with my Mum’s affairs. There are two parts Health and Welfare and Property and Finance, each of the 2 parts cost about £80 from memory but you can choose to do just one. I did both.  The forms are self explanatory and you print them off, complete them with someone who knows your Mum well as a witness and send them back to the Office of the Public Guardian.  They are also at the end of the phone if you need any advice before sending them off. They then register them and send you original copies which you will need to keep safe. 

Solicitors charge about £1500 to do this. 

Thanks Penny, I have all the papers together so will go through them this week. And yes after seeing some of the charges, I'll definitely be doing it myself!

missile

My solicitor did it for free :-)

bob_a_builder

"My solicitor did it for free :-)"  
Shows you how little work is involved in doing it 

I've done x6 myself for in-laws and my mum (Health and Finance)  - just using the forms from the web site