Getting added to my parents current account

ollie_thecat

My mum is terminally and want me to take over my dad's banking when she dies. Dad has never been involved in the banking side of the household and does not have a mobile or computer. Would a 3rd person (me) on their joint account solve mums worries? She just wants things in order before she passes. 

eskbanker

You might find that the bank is prepared to add a third person to the account but the best approach is likely to be for him to grant you Lasting Power of Attorney, in order to manage his finances if he's not in a position to do so.

lr1277

Something called a 3rd party mandate. I have never set one up but imagine it is quicker than setting up Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).

An LPA can cake a few weeks to setup. I imagine both mum and dad will have to set up an LPA making your their attorney so that you can access the joint account.

I recently discovered, the donor (your mum or dad) can set it up so that you can register it with a bank before they are physically or mentally incapacitated, as long as you have their permission to take whatever action you want to take.

Keep_pedalling

The best thing to do here is for your father to put a financial lasting power of attorney (LPA) in place. A 3rd party mandate is OK as a stop gap but it can no longer be used if the OPs father ever loses mental capacity. 

p00hsticks

lr1277 said:

An LPA can cake a few weeks to setup. I imagine both mum and dad will have to set up an LPA making your their attorney so that you can access the joint account.

In my experience an LPA will take a few months, not weeks, to set up,  as once the Office of the Public Guardian receives the application they will write to all the named parties and give them four weeks to object if they are not happy, before they carry on processing the application....

Keep_pedalling

p00hsticks said:

lr1277 said:

An LPA can cake a few weeks to setup. I imagine both mum and dad will have to set up an LPA making your their attorney so that you can access the joint account.

In my experience an LPA will take a few months, not weeks, to set up,  as once the Office of the Public Guardian receives the application they will write to all the named parties and give them four weeks to object if they are not happy, before they carry on processing the application....

Which is why I said that a 3rd party mandate is a stop gap solution. The length of time it takes to get an LPA in place should be a good reason not to delay doing it now.

PRAISETHESUN

It's not really in your Dad's best interests to add you as a joint account holder to their account, as that is effectively gifting you the money. Instead you need to look into LPA and third party mandates as detailed above.