Power of attourney

magicman62

My sister has persuaded my elderly parents to give her power of attourney they are both in their 90's are reasonably ok ..I am the oldest of the family . Recently things didn't seem to ring true , my father's bank card no longer works so iy is not possible for him to draw out money the only money they get is what she allows them to have , I have just found out that his paper statements have also been stopped and she has linked her phone to their account . My son researched a new I pad for my mother and hit a barrier and when he went to purchase it for her it pinged my sisters phone for a code which she refused saying she would get them a second hand one ...she has also arranged unnecessary has improvement totalling thousands .. To me everything seems so suspicious especially the cancelling of bank statements and 2 level authentification on their finances. Is there anything my parents or anything can do to check the integrity of my sisters actions , if so how , ie go into the bank in person ....many thanks

Brie

If they are ok they don't need your sister (or anyone) doing things for them.  If they are mentally fit but not mobile, well yes help may be required but it sounds like you think there's fraud taking place.  If that is the case I would suggest you contact the bank to register your suspicions.  

elsien

They can revoke the power of attorney, if they have capacity to do so and are unhappy with how it is being managed 

Your sister shouldn’t be using it without their consent unless they have lost capacity around their finances – with the caveat that they will have separate powers of attorney so may have separate needs around that- the whole purpose is to involve the person as much possible. 

So if your dad is still able to use his card safely and wants to continue to do su, she should not have cancelled it. Ditto if he wants a new iPad and not a second hand one and can afford it, that should be facilitated. 

You/they can also raise concerns with the OPG  although there will probably be a delay.

You do, however need to differentiate between your concerns and theirs. You may feel the home improvements are unnecessary, but if your parents are happy for them to go ahead, and understand how much they are, that is their decision to make. 

It would be preferable if your parents contacted the bank, or the OPG or anyone else they feel necessary rather than you because you have no power to act for them unless you are with them and they give consent.