POA question

Ciprico

I hope this is not too off topic for a pension forum..
I realise to apply for POA the donor has to be of sound mind. 
For a slowly deteriorating mind this date can be hard to specify
Is this date the point when the POA is registered with the Office of Public Gardian...?
...or when the completed/certified POA is registered with the various banks/pension companies...
I appreciate this may sound pedantic and the easy answer is "do it all immediately", but when the person involved is "anxious" about his authority over his affairs 
being eroded, and maybe a little "awkward", it would be helpful to do the POA first when he is of sound mind, and apply to the banks etc further down line when
when he possbily is not...
So the question is, does the donor have to be of sound mind when the certified POA is applied to the banks etc ?
Many Thanks

NottinghamKnight

The POA has to be completed when the subject is of sound mind, but it can be many years before it is enacted. So it should be completed as soon as reasonable, it can be enacted at any point, but if it isn't in place when they lose capacity then it becomes very onerous process. If he refuses there's not a lot you can do, my father refused to do anything and is now in a care home having lost capacity.
The donor does not ave to be of sound mind when dealing with the banks, just evidence of the POA needs to be supplied.