Using savings platform for elderly parent

spg1

Hi

My 93-year-old dad moved into a care home in the summer and the sale of his house is currently going through.

My dad is pretty OK mentally but I have full PoA and manage all his finances.

When the money from the house sale comes through (£c250k) I’m looking at where to invest it to generate income to help pay his home fees. I have heard it can be quite a hassle opening accounts even with PoA (and we had quite a bit of trouble proving my dad’s identity for the house sale as he has no photo ID).

Given that, a savings platform seems like a good option to be able to move money around to get best rates without having to go through all the ID/money laundering checks each time.

From a quick look some of the platforms either don’t allow PoA accounts or have quite high minimums for PoA accounts (eg £1m).

Has anyone experience of using them in similar circumstances and any advice?  I did wonder whether it would be easier to set up an account in my dad’s name without using the PoA as he could sign forms etc although would need me to handle online side of things.

Thanks in advance.

tacpot12

I see that AJ Bell allow Attorneys to access their system and AJ Bell have a savings hub for Cash. I have my retirement pension and S&S ISA with them and have found them to be good.

See here for their information on attorney access: Can a power of attorney have access to my account? | AJ Bell

tr7phil

I have just been in a similar position with my mum, I have actually arranged an immediate needs annuity to pay the difference between the care home fees and her monthly income.  The advantages of this is that the money paid out goes straight to the care home without any income tax issues and it will carry on paying until she dies even if that's a long time.  The disadvantage is that if she dies within five years (the cost was roughly five times the annual pay out) we have made the wrong decision.

Edited to add that your father is considerably older than my mother so would anticipate a cheaper purchase.

Sam_666

Why are you complicating things?
Move money from house sale to your account and invest in best return products.
Setup care home payments from your account, it doesnt have to come out from your fathers account.
Not the most tax efficent, but best if you are having issue with poa accounts opening.

eskbanker

Sam_666 said:

Why are you complicating things?
Move money from house sale to your account and invest in best return products.
Setup care home payments from your account, it doesnt have to come out from your fathers account.
Not the most tax efficent, but best if you are having issue with poa accounts opening.

It's not OP's money so it needs to be kept in the father's name - PoA doesn't entitle the attorney to take ownership of it, however convenient that might be.