New power of attorney guide
Comments
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There is absolutely no need to go through the laborious, complicated and expensive lasting power of attorney route if all you want is to take care of a relative or loved ones financial affairs. (I have yet to find a solicitor who would do the financial part only of an LPA for less than £500 plus registration).
All you need is a Section 10. (power of attorney.)
The new 2 part LPA (1 part for property & finances the other for health & welfare decisions) was created by the government with the intention of preventing abuse and to protect the vulnerable. Unfortunately all it did was replace an adequate 'Enduring power of attorney' with an overly complex 2 part procedure.
section 10 power of attorney is simple, costs less and can be done by anyone whilst the donor has full capacity.0 -
donny jim
yes it is still legal, hope you never need it.
but better to have, than not. makes things easier for family.0 -
ivorycoaster wrote: »All very well but where is the advice for Scotland??
Just in the middle of this minefield, and although the guide does briefly mention the Scottish system it has missed out a route which we are taking called access to funds which means we will be able to pay the bills, with out having guardianship or power of attorney.
http://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/whatwedo/intromit_with_funds.aspx x x0 -
I think this phrase needs to be re-thought and clarifield. Clearly one in three of all the people who die in the UK each and every year do not have dementia.
This one in three figure was repeated by the BBC "moneybox" team on Wednesday 21 December as the chances of ending one's days in a care home.
I have been criticised on this forum for using the figure of 1 in 3 for females and 1 in 5 for males (men die sooner and tend to be cared for by their soon-to-be-a-widow partners.). So let us settle for a general figure of 20% of us will need help managing our affairs in the twilight of our lives. Of these perhaps half can be managed using an ordinary power of attorney/authorised signatory arrangement and failing to (ahem) mention that the elderly relative has in the meantime lost their marbles?0 -
I preface my comments by admitting I am an "inheritance specialst" and am a member of the Institute of Professional Willwriters ("IPW").
One can write LPAs oneself (only about 11 pages required now) but there are pitfalls for the unwary and mistakes can lead to more than one attempt to register with the OPG (and extra costs). So professional advice is recommended. High street solictitors don't always understand LPAs and how to draft them (and are generally relatively expensive) so going to someone for whom they are "bread and butter" (like a member of the IPW, who has had training in LPAs) is recommended.
My recent experience with helping a family obtain Deputyship from the Court of Protection was amazingly good. It took less time to get the Deputyship appointment (once the medical practitioner had completed his part of the forms) than it currently takes to register an LPA. Having said that, the forms for the CoP are more complicated (and the costs are higher) and can put families off. So my advice is always to get an LPA while you can, rather than rely on CoP Deputyship.
The original article jumps around from using "Power of Attorney" ("PoA") to "Lasting Power of Attorney". The article is about "Lasting Power of Attorney". The big difference between an ordinary PoA and an LPA is that if the donor (the person giving the power) loses mental capacity then the PoA fails, whereas an LPA continues (or maybe starts).
Getting financial institutions to understand what LPAs are and how they work, well that's another matter!0 -
If you use a general power of attorney after the person has lost mental capacity, you are committing an offence as at that point they cease to be valid.
You may be able to get an Appointeeship to deal with State Benefits, but that is very restrictive and won't help with anything else e.g. where you live, medical matters etc etc.
Lasting Powers of Attorney are not perfect, but they are the only game in town. A single Lasting Power of Attorney should be under £300, plus Court Fees of up to £130. There is a discount on the registration fee down to £65 if your income is less than £12,000 a year. We haven't been able to test it yet, but apparently hardship cases can get free registration.
HTH.
Stephen Pett0 -
My brother took out an Enduring Power of Attorney for my mother. It was not signed by my mother or solicitor does that make it an illegal document? Thanks0
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It makes it a worthless piece of scrap paper of no legal standing.Later EDIT _ this is wrong - I was confusing an EPA with a LPA, apologies.My brother took out an Enduring Power of Attorney for my mother. It was not signed by my mother or solicitor does that make it an illegal document? Thanks
An LPA has to be signed by the applicant (e.g. your mother), and someone who has known them well for two years or has the professional capacity to be sure the applicant understands what they are signing e.g. a GP or a soliciter. They also have to nominate a 'person to be told' who is written to by the courts and has 6 weeks to raise any concerns.I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once0 -
There is some confusion here between the old system of enduring power of attorney and the current system of lasting power of attorney - if the old original document still exists it could still be potentially valid BUT on the face of it, it does not have a valid witnessed signature. (It was not a sworn document so did not involve a solicitor, paying a fee and holding the bible etc.).
Are you sure that you are talking about enduring power of attorney and not just power of attorney - one piece of paper can be both.
Is there something about your mother that made it impossible for her to sign or make her mark in front of a witness?
Is your mother now (more) incompetent than she was on the date of creation of the document?0 -
i thought i had set up a power of attorney before it all became much more complicated a few years ago but now im being told its not a valid document as its not signed by a solicitor just by my two sisters, is this correct?0
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