I WANT TO SET UP POWER OF ATTORNEY ADVICE PLEASE

silvercar

Also consider whether it is wise to have different POAs for health to finance. I have finance PoA for a parent set up, as I generally sort most of the paperwork, though we haven’t yet invoked the PoA. I have joint PoA (either can act) for health. Which means that if we had a situation where care finance needed to be set up, I would in fact have total control as I would hold the purse strings, whatever my siblings thought on suitable health care. I did point this out at the time, but it fell on deaf ears.

elsien

This is true. But if you declined to pay for an option which the other health attorneys think is on the donor’s best interest then you can expect a challenge, ultimately theis via the OPG.

Confusedlad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82013059#Comment_82013059

I would wholeheartedly endorse this. My mother had me & her (younger) sister as attorneys (not joint) and I was (as only son) the understood 'primary' attorney (she was appointed as a backup to cover the situation if I predeceased my mum). I'm not sure incidentally whether legally there is such a thing as 'primary' but this situation created untold issues. When it came to it & decisions regarding care needed to be taken she was obstructive and unhelpful, failed to attend best interest meetings, and made life so much harder for everyone. Life would have been so much easier (for all) if I'd been the sole attorney. Be warned, this caused real problems.

Keep_pedalling

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82013551#Comment_82013551

I don’t quite understand the issue you had here. If you were appointed as the primary attorney her sister should not have been involved in any decision making unless you revoked your PoA, died or lost your mental capacity.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82013551#Comment_82013551

AFAIK, there is no such thing as a Primary attorney, but I am not 100% sure.

To cover the possibility of a sole attorney dying before the donor, a substitute attorney can be nominated when the Po A is set up. They have no power unless the sole attorney relinquishes it, voluntarily or by dying.

Susan1942

Thank you all for the information. It is a bit daunting for me so perhaps it might be better to use my solicitor. I would have put both my son and daughter equally but from your responses I will not do so. Maybe my daughter who lives in Harrogate and also the eldest. My son lives in Ireland. My daughter spoke to me last week about The DNR and thought I should sort this out. She says if anything happened to me while she knows my wishes this would not be accepted by emergency services etc. As a nurse and midwife all of my working life I just want to die with dignity. I do appreciate all the advice and information you have given me.

Keep_pedalling

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82013597#Comment_82013597

That may not be the terminology used but as well as well as your first choice attornies the application allows a donor to appoint replacement attorneys, so in effect you have primary attorneys if you appoint replacement attorneys.

Keep_pedalling

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82013775#Comment_82013775

I was not suggesting you don’t appoint both, just appoint then to act jointly and severally. My attorneys are my wife and my two children and as they can act jointly or severally it is likely that only one will need to act at any particular time.

I have given no preferences or instructions as I trust them to to do what is required and it keeps things simple as well as simplifying the application.