Power Of Attorney

[ECCOnoob]

^^^^^ what they said.   

 

Yes it is possible to do it yourself but only if you know exactly what you want and what it will be used for.  Getting it wrong can be messy to deal with.

 

If you really are not sure leaving it to a professional is money well spent.

[Jomie]

BobOfRoth - you will need two attorneys so it’s important that they are people who you know are capable of working together in your best interests.  It’s tempting to save money by doing it yourself. I have just dealt with a legal matter and saved about £200 in solicitor fees but it was something that I knew could be done legally and safely. IMHO Power of Attorney is not in this category and is best done by a solicitor. When LPA needs to be used it is usually in a difficult situation and your attorneys will thank you for making things a bit easier for them.  

Edited March 23, 2020 by Jomie

[BobOfRoth]

Thank you very much for all the helpful replies. Its taken a while to answer as I dont get online as much as id like and even when I do get online a painful wrist condition can limit how much I am able to type and sometimes its just too painful to use a keyboard.

I have read all your posts ( a big thank you again) but as the power of attorney question is for a friend and not myself I did have to go back and ask for specifics.

Right, here goes.

The person seeking the power of attorney is the mother and sister of a man in his 40s. He has terrible mental problems, self harming problem and many other issues and as a result has run into debt. The problem is he wont open his post as its all part of a problem that he is just too mentally ill to deal with. His debts are not huge in themselves and I feel they can be dealt with, the problem comes from aggressive bailiffs who are trying to recover one of the debts. They have also slapped on over £400 of "charges" in a very short time on a debt of around £30 originally. This in my view is disgusting but a different problem for a different day so I had the idea of trying to deal with these debts on his behalf but the problem comes usually at the first hurdle when I am asked to put this man on the phone. I simply cant do that as he is so ill right now. When i say this the quote data protection and whilst some are obviously sympathetic they still have their hands tied. The power of attorney would be used in order to be able to contact these companies and try to sort through the mess and give this man less to worry about so he can concentrate of getting well.

I hope I have now given enough information but if any more is needed please just ask.

Thank you

Bob.

[Jomie]

Power of Attorney needs to be set up when the person has mental capacity, is able to consent to it and to appoint the attorneys. From the description you give of this person’s problems I would hazard a guess that this might not be the case here. If so, the family will need to discuss the matter with his psychiatric team. PoA is unlikely to be valid if there is doubt about his mental capacity. 

[Silverfox21]

We were advised to apply for deputyship to deal with bank account etc for parent with Alzheimer’s 

[jaffa1]

4 minutes ago, Silverfox21 said:

We were advised to apply for deputyship to deal with bank account etc for parent with Alzheimer’s 

Solicitors  are advised not to do any power of attorneys if the person in question has Alzheimers or has not got sound frame of mind.

When we did ours we had to get it signed at the bottom by someone ( not a family member) to say at the time of signing the person in question meaning me , was of sound frame of mind.

If all the paper work is carried out after the person has been diagnosed  with Alzheimers  it will not be valid.    I know someone where this has happened .

[Silverfox21]

Deputyship is for when the person has already lost the capacity to make decisions 

[Annie Bynnol]

The Court I was referring to previously is the Court of Protection.

If as I said, a person is legally incapable of agreeing to giving someone else  permission through a Power of Attorney, this Court will decide that if they are legally incapable and decide if someone else should  can act on their behalf- a Deputy as Silverfox21 says. The Deputy can be a suitable relative, friend or Court appointee.

 

The CAB can advise.

In the past I know that Social Services have helped "freeze" the escalating debt of one of their clients by interceding. 

 

 

[Jeffrey Shaw]

On 22/03/2020 at 23:00, Jomie said:

BobOfRoth - there is an explanation of Jeffery’s points regarding Lasting Power of Attorney  here. 

 

I’ve recently been acting as an attorney with general powers. As I understand it the General Power of Attorney gives the attorney the ability to deal with things such as property, business or financial affairs. However, once the person becomes mentally incapacitated Enduring Power of Attorney will need to be applied for. This takes time because a doctor’s opinion is needed and the EPA has to be registered. The fee is circa £80.

 

I was able to manage the affairs of the person satisfactorily with just LPA for financial affairs. At the time of making it I chose not to have it for health because I did not want that responsibility. Latterly the person needed EPA and I found it problematic because at the time I had quite enough to deal with. Also, getting a doctor’s opinion then registering can take months. For this reason when I recently made a new LPA I opted to register it so it would be Enduring Power of Attorney. I did this so that my attorney would be spared the problems that I had.

 

You need to understand both and the ramifications. See a solicitor and think carefully about this. Cost wise it would maybe be circa £300  but depends on whether you register it for EPA. You can always telephone a few companies for a quote. 

Note: it's no longer possible to create an EPA, although any already existing (when Lasting Powers of Attorney were introduced) are still valid.

 

As Jomie say, there two types of LPA- 'property' and 'health'. Each needs to be registered with The Court of Protection.

Edited March 26, 2020 by Jeffrey Shaw

[Annie Bynnol]

15 minutes ago, Jeffrey Shaw said:

Note: it's no longer possible to create an EPA, although any already existing (when Lasting Powers of Attorney were introduced) are still valid.

 

As Jomie say, there two types of LPA- 'property' and 'health'. Each needs to be registered with The Court of Protection.

This was not the case last year.

The Office of the Public Guardian checks and holds the records and registrations and also deals with appeals and request for changes by one/ all parties as the circumstances evolve. It checks on the Court of Protection and the Deputies (which may be relatives) the Court has appointed.

 

In this case The Court of Protection will decide if the individual can decide for themselves, or not. If not submissions can be made of who should act as a Deputy. The process will be far more complicated, costly and time consuming than the Power of Attorney routes.  The  OPG and Court of Protection takes very seriously the removal of the rights of an individual without their permission and so it essential to go through the LPA   process before dementia, health, addiction etc. prevents agreement.