Lasting power of attorney or something else?

GSTAR

Hi all,

I currently help my mum (a pensioner) with pretty much all of her financial affairs.

She DOES have mental capacity, but she's always been very nervous about dealing with this stuff, and her English isn't very good either.

She recently had an issue on her bank account, because there were some fraudulent transactions, which we had so much trouble getting sorted because they refused to speak to me and therefore I had to travel down to her place to get her to pass security on the phone before they would speak to me. I have since set myself up as a third party mandate on her bank account.

I also often have to deal with things such as her broadband and utilities - again I have to be present with her each time to go through security.

I was wondering, given the circumstances I have described, would it be an option for me to become a lasting power of attorney for my mum? Or is there another option where I can basically become an "approved" person to be able to deal with her financial affairs?

tacpot12

Your best option is to ask your Mum if she will make a Power of Attorney. There are advantages for her in doing so as well as yourself. She can nominate reserve attorneys who can take over from you if anything were to happen to you, but clearly these need to be people she trusts.

Keep_pedalling

A LPA is going to be essential if she ever looses mental capacity so it is definitely the right thing to do.