Power of Attorney - reappointment as a replacement attorney and 3rd back up POA

annod1

Hi, does anyone have any experience of completing a power of attorney, whereby it reappoints an attorney as a replacement to act along with two new replacements. 

I'm creating attorney's for my parents who would prefer people to act jointly, rather than severally.  In the first instance, they will be the sole attorney for each other, and my sister and I are to be named as replacements, to act jointly.  The plan is to register this one now.  Because this POA states we would be acting jointly this would obviously mean that if something should happen to either my sister or I or one of us did not want to act, then the POA would not be useable.  As a result we are looking to draw up a a 2nd POA, to be registered only if the original one is no longer useable.  

The 2nd one would reappoint which ever of my sister and I were willing/able to act as attorney, so they would be reappointed as a replacement, along with two new replacements, and the three replacements would be required to act jointly as follows which will be included in section 7;- 

IF ONE OF MY ORIGINAL JOINT ATTORNEYS, JANE DOE OR JOHN DOE IS UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO ACT, I THEN REAPPOINT MY REMAINING ORIGINAL ATTORNEY, JANE DOE OR JOHN DOE, AS REPLACEMENT ATTORNEY TO ACT JOINTLY TOGETHER WITH THE REPLACEMENT ATTORNEYS' JOE BLOGS AND FRED SMITH.

I can't find anything to suggest that when filling in the forms I need to list my sister and I as the attorneys in section 2 and to then list both ourselves again as replacements in section 4, even though only one of us will be a replacement, but at this point, we don't know which will be the replacement.  If I do list both of us in section 4 as replacement, along with the details of the two new replacements, this suggests there are 4 replacements, but as per the wording above to be included in section 7 only 3 of the replacements which actually be used.  I've phoned the OPG Helpline no. to ask who's names should I include in the replacement attorney boxes in section 4 and they said they can't tell me this as it's legal advice!  

Has anyone done anything similar?

sheramber

Would the same problem not arise if , when the time came and either you or your sister were unable or unwilling to act. either  Joe Blogs or Fred Smith were unable or unwilling to act?

Keep_pedalling

Appointing people to act jointly is almost always a bad idea. We are in the same situation as your parents but we have kept things simple we have appointed each other and our two children as attorneys who can act jointly and severally. I can’t see any point in having more than 3 attorneys, 

Do your parent not trust either of you to make decisions on your own?