# Power of Attorney Advice



## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Any legal people have advice on Power of Attorney?

My parents have recently sorted their funerals out and updated wills due to changes in family since they made wills 15 years ago. My dad has been unwell for few years now and has been diagnosed with vascular dementia although shows no sign of it yet. 

When sorting wills my mum asked about PoA and solicitor said it's a good idea but costs a lot (£800). Mum said she'd leave it. Ive looked online and cost seems to be £82 to register for it but I can't figure out if you can do it yourself.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Sorry to hear about your dad, it can be a terrible illness. There are drugs than can slow down the illness, so if it may be worth requesting these from the GP if your dad hasn't already, or at least being aware they are available as time goes on.

We looked into this some time ago for a friend and from what i can recall it was a case of filling in a form and paying the fees. If you go through a solicitor, that is when it costs the big money. There are two types, ones for health decisions and one for financial.

https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/overview

Also from what i remember, they have to be of sound mind when completing the forms, so better to do it sooner rather than later, or you have to apply via the courts and that costs a fair bit of money.

Fortunately for us, after 2 years of the rapid decline of our elderly friend, chasing around doctors and other things, our friend was admitted to hospital a couple of weeks ago as she was not safe in her own home and a close relative has to come to light, so she is taking on the LPA and our friend went to a care home over the weekend.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Just found this:

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org....up-a-power-of-attorney#registration-and-costs

_Registration and costs

It costs nothing to draw up a lasting power of attorney, unless you want a solicitor's help - but in England, Wales and Scotland you have to register it before you can use it.

In Northern Ireland you can use it without registering it while you still have mental capacity, but you have to register it as soon as your mental capacity starts to decline.

It's best to register as soon as possible. This is because during the registration process the document will be checked for errors.

If you catch them while you can still manage your affairs you can correct them - if not, your power of attorney might be invalid.
Registration fee
_
England and Wales: £82 for each lasting power of attorney.
Northern Ireland: £115 for each enduring power of attorney.
Scotland: £75 for each power if you register them separately.


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## Paul08 (Jun 1, 2014)

I'm not a legal person but my dad and auntie got power of attorney for their mother's finances last year as she is in a similar situation to your dad. Unfortunately her mental state has very rapidly declined since then. Another relative has come out the woodwork and tried to challenge the power of attorney (wanting it revoked so she can change the will and then get PoA herself). End result is that this hasn't worked, and the PoA has stood. This has involved visits from court officers, social services, police ect. I think my dad and auntie would have struggled in this situation if the PoA wasn't written up by a solicitor as he has been very helpful to them throughout this stressful ordeal.


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## NornIron (May 12, 2007)

It's very simple to do yourself (we had to register PoA for parents-in-law a few years ago.

Just do it on line, the instructions are very good...

Good luck, and don't delay!


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. To be honest I've told my mum to get him checked out again as he was diagnosed about 8 yrs ago after a fit type episode. He was put on all kinds of medication and was displaying all the signs of dementia. About 8months into this and a few more fits they changed his medication and it was like a switch being flicked. His memory, actions everything went back to normal and on that side of things he has been fine since. His main problem is Emphysema and is now on oxygen 24hrs and he suffers a lot with chest infections etc so ends up in hospital a lot. This is why my mums looking at PoA as last week he was in and she couldn't sort money out for bills/banking etc.


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## Bigjase (Apr 17, 2017)

HI Darlofan,
It may not be straight forward to get power of Attorney of your fathers estate and money affairs, not to worry you. But first things first ,does your father still have good communication with you and your mother, does he understand that you or your mother will take control of his money and that you or your mother will have the power to sell the house if need be and control his money?

If he does not understand the meaning of you or your mother being the power of attorney you will not be granted the power as his doctor will have to sign the papers saying that your father fully understands what he is doing to allow you or your mother to take control of his affairs and estate.

Now if your father does understand what he is doing then everything should be straight forward and the doctor will sign the papers for you to take control of your fathers estate.

Now you will have to be careful of what you do when granted power of attorney, you can take all his money out of the banks and place this into your mothers account ,your mother would be able to sell the house as well. But and a big but if your father needs to go into care at some point in the future he will be means tested for funding his own care as he owns a house and has savings and pension. if you were to spend his money so he had no money left to to pay for his own care even if your father told you to spend his money and enjoy life and even spending on a luxury holiday for the whole family to have a good time while he still could enjoy himself, you or your mother could be in trouble for deprivation of assets.

Deprivation of assets mean that you spent his money knowing that your father would need to go into care ,and had the money to fund his care. So the local authority will take your mother to court to claim the money back.


Sorry to go on a bit but just trying to give you some good advice. The main thing is ,if your father still has got a good memory and understands what he will be doing by allowing you or your mother to be power of attorney you should be fine.

good luck Jason.


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Thanks for that Jason. He's fine and of sound mind at the moment and totally aware of what mums doing. She wants it the other way too now in case anything happens to her. There'll be no issues with mum taking all his money (I know that's easy to say) she's really funny about his money being his as he worked all his life and saved for his pension. She struggles letting him pay for things for her even after 52 yrs of marriage!!


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## wee man (Sep 29, 2016)

When in this situation we got a Doctor to countersign the forms stating the person was of sound mind and could understand what was going on when they signed the paperwork relating to the enduring power of Attorney.
Two years later the person could not handle their own affairs and we used the forms to organise banking , pension , medication and housing for them with no problems; it was also used later with probate when they died as I was the executor of their will.

Wee Man


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## Pinky (Feb 15, 2008)

If you get both parts of p o a done then in the future you can go ahead and pay bills etc for your Mum and Dad .It doesnt have to come in force immediatly , 
I have it for my Mother but it will only be used if she is ill or cannot manage herself , We got it done via our solicitor (Scotland ) .
I would get advice if you think you will need it .


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## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

My step mother has dementia, I would empathise the urgency to get power of attorney I looked after my mother for two years, her dementia care home is now expected to cost £890 a week, so if they have more than £23000 they will have to pay. 
Many homes try to get you to pay the shortfall cost, which could be £500 a week !

Mine is for health and finance so you have some say in the decision making process rather than the LA sending her anywhere.

Once an official diagnosis is in place that is too late the state would act on her behalf, so do it today !


The. Talking Point.. Alzheimer's forum is good..

Good luck, it is a very hard emotional and eventful journey.

John Tht.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

This is something we're needing to look into as well.


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## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

The notion of "disposal of assets " plan early, like a decade..good luck.

John Tht.


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