Parent terminally ill - no power of attorney

seans_elysees

My father is currently in hospital with terminal cancer. (Based in Scotland) 

The hospital social worker advised that their current assessment is that the doesn’t have mental capacity. 

He hasn’t previously assigned power of attorney, so implication is that he now obviously cannot. I am his next of kin and only child - he is divorced from my mother. 

I asked the social worker if power of attorney would automatically transfer to me and she said ‘not necessarily’ and that the local authority can intervene to take charge/control. 

Who should I speak to for advice? I mentioned CAB to the social worker and she said that they could help with advice. 

Does anyone else have any other advice in terms of process or what to be aware of so I’m going into this situation with my eyes open? 

My father does own his house, but has no other assets. 

Mark_d

You might find some useful information here:
https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/court-of-protection

buddy9

Mark_d said:

You might find some useful information here:
https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/court-of-protection

Court of protection is England and Wales only.

sheramber

From Age  Scotland

What happens if there is no Power of Attorney in place? If you lose capacity to make decisions for yourself and have not appointed an attorney, someone usually has to go to court to apply for a Guardianship Order to be able to act on your behalf. The process of applying to the court can take a long time, is expensive and can be a stressful and emotional experience. The person appointed by the court may not be the person you would have chosen, and they may not know what your wishes would have been. Call the Age Scotland helpline on 0800 12 44 222 for more information and advice and see our guide to Legal options for people who have lost capacity.

Keep_pedalling

Sorry you find yourself in this situation. Obtaining a LPA now takes several months, obtaining deputyship is even more longwinded and is also expensive, so if your father only has a short time live then unfortunately there is very little you can do. 

buddy9

I have been in the same position, terminal parent in hospital with no POA. Not having POA didn’t throw up any problems to me, but I suppose that it will depend on personal circumstances.

seans_elysees

Keep_pedalling said:

Sorry you find yourself in this situation. Obtaining a LPA now takes several months, obtaining deputyship is even more longwinded and is also expensive, so if your father only has a short time live then unfortunately there is very little you can do. 

Thank you. I am yet to get a life of expectancy estimate from his consultant (awaiting test results from MRI and biopsy) - so it’s difficult that I don’t quite know what I’m dealing with. I am assuming from his condition that ‘several months’ for a deputyship is longer than he has to live. 

buddy9 said:

I have been in the same position, terminal parent in hospital with no POA. Not having POA didn’t throw up any problems to me, but I suppose that it will depend on personal circumstances.

Thank you. Reassuring to know that it didn’t cause you any problems, but like you say - I guess that can vary by circumstances. I simply don’t know yet what is likely the materialise in terms of decision making. For example, whether the authority would push him into residential care (against his wishes), rather than home care. I guess it just throws up a lot of unknowns and questions and I don’t yet know how it will work and/or how consultative the local authority / social work would be. 

Keep_pedalling

seans_elysees said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Sorry you find yourself in this situation. Obtaining a LPA now takes several months, obtaining deputyship is even more longwinded and is also expensive, so if your father only has a short time live then unfortunately there is very little you can do. 

Thank you. I am yet to get a life of expectancy estimate from his consultant (awaiting test results from MRI and biopsy) - so it’s difficult that I don’t quite know what I’m dealing with. I am assuming from his condition that ‘several months’ for a deputyship is longer than he has to live. 

buddy9 said:

I have been in the same position, terminal parent in hospital with no POA. Not having POA didn’t throw up any problems to me, but I suppose that it will depend on personal circumstances.

Thank you. Reassuring to know that it didn’t cause you any problems, but like you say - I guess that can vary by circumstances. I simply don’t know yet what is likely the materialise in terms of decision making. For example, whether the authority would push him into residential care (against his wishes), rather than home care. I guess it just throws up a lot of unknowns and questions and I don’t yet know how it will work and/or how consultative the local authority / social work would be. 

A lack of health and welfare LPA should not be much of an issue, my mother would not make one as she was reluctant to talk about stuff like end of life care, but lack of financial LPA can cause major issues in dealing with financial institutions or utility suppliers, luckily she did do one of those. The worst situation to deal with would be if you had to sell his house while he is still alive.

LPAs can be even more important than a will which is why people should put both in place while they are still fit and healthy.

SVaz

I can’t think of a situation where you would have to sell a property for someone terminally ill.   They would be cared for under CHC , at home or in a hospice.  

When my Dad was dying,  any of his bills not under direct debits were put on hold when we explained the situation ( no LPA). 

I’d say with a property involved,  a will is more important as getting letters of administration is currently taking up to a year . 

msb1234

I’m sorry to I’m sorry to hear about your father, but what do you want to be able to do that you currently can’t do? Anything to do with finances can wait - money will still go 9n and out of his bank account and any bills will wait. Try not to get too focussed on this, spend the time he has left just being there for him x

Keep_pedalling

SVaz said:

I can’t think of a situation where you would have to sell a property for someone terminally ill.   They would be cared for under CHC , at home or in a hospice.  

When my Dad was dying,  any of his bills not under direct debits were put on hold when we explained the situation ( no LPA). 

I’d say with a property involved,  a will is more important as getting letters of administration is currently taking up to a year . 

True, but my comment was meant as a general one rather than specifically to this case, I should have made that clear, sorry.