Power of Attorney (my Dad)

proformance

Hi,

As my Dad gets older, I worry more about his mental capacity. We've been advised to grant me full Power of Attorney and wondered where to start with it? Some of the online guides look very ominous with pitfalls and expenses in every direction.

Money is short, so while I don't want to do things "on the cheap", I have to be realistic WRT how much we can spend. If anyone has experiences with particular avenues, then I'd be grateful.

Thanks,

Z

Mojisola

A couple of relatives have just done this for their father - it was very straightforward.  They did both types so the cost was £164.

The application form had guidance about filling them in - they kept things fairly general.

If your father wants specific things, it may be worth contacting the OPG or paying for advice. 

Download the forms and work through them carefully.

Savvy_Sue

Are you his only child / likely to be the only beneficiary of his estate when he dies? 

What's your living situation - do you live with him / are you single / do you have adult children? 

I ask those questions because there are definitely pitfalls in appointing only one attorney: if anything happens to you, your father is doubly affected, both by the 'normal' grief of losing a child, but also by the practical problem of no longer having anyone to manage his affairs. So appointing someone else with you, to act 'severally' (ie independently) has advantages. 

Malthusian

To echo the above, Lasting Power of Attorney forms are extremely straightforward. They don't need to be any more complicated than inserting the names of the attorneys (preferably at least two), the donor, the certificate provider, and signing in the right order. Register them with the OPG as soon as they are finished; if you have made a mistake that makes the LPOA invalid, they will send them back.

LPOAs only get complicated when people imagine they need to second-guess their attorneys and include all sorts of wishes and instructions. For most people these are unnecessary at best (and harmful at worst) and the "preferences" and "instructions" sections can simply be left blank.

If your father is short of money he should definitely make LPOAs as otherwise the Court of Protection will be in charge if he loses capacity, which is much more expensive and incredibly slow. If he has very little money he may also be eligible for a refund of the £82 fee.

Flugelhorn

it is designed for people to complete themselves, not complicated (I managed it) - just get everything signed in the right order and as @Malthusian says don't get too concerned about instructions 

proformance

Yes I am his only child (non dependant) and whilst there isn't much of an estate for me to ever inherit, it is more about having the power to manage his financial and medical affairs.

He is moving home and changing his utility providers has proven a real pain in the neck!

So I need to "apply" via UK Gov and separately, I need to find a solicitor? 

Robin9

proformance said:

Yes I am his only child (non dependant) and whilst there isn't much of an estate for me to ever inherit, it is more about having the power to manage his financial and medical affairs.

He is moving home and changing his utility providers has proven a real pain in the neck!

So I need to "apply" via UK Gov and separately, I need to find a solicitor? 

No need for a solicitor - the forms may be long but just follow them through.

What was the difficulty with the utilities - it's all on line and you can do it all in his name.

proformance

Yeah but only if he has accounts.. He has been with the same providers for 20 odd years+ and didn't have the traditional online accounts. All that is sorted now.

Now I'm having issues with his banking. He keeps responding to phishing emails and SMS messages and then calls me to tell me HSBC just asked him to "approve a payment" etc. So then I need to go to his home to check his banking app to see if money was taken.

I've managed to get myself a joint cardholder on his credit account, but not his current account.

Things like this for example, keep popping up

Mojisola

proformance said:

So I need to "apply" via UK Gov and separately, I need to find a solicitor? 

The forms are here - www.gov.uk/government/publications/make-a-lasting-power-of-attorney

You don't need a solicitor - lots of people complete the forms themselves - good advice from Malthusian above.

RAS

If you are married, it might be worth asking dad if your partner could also be the second attorney? We ended up with one child and one in-law (who delegated most of the actual running around to anther child).

bouicca21

Plus one for doing it yourself.  The only hard thing about filling in the forms is getting the signatures in the right order.  You might, whilst you are at it, do the health one too.