Locked UK Bank Account - what next?

[DistancedCarer]

Hi I'm new to a lot of this, pse be patient! Am writing on behalf of my husband and his mum and sisters. Mother is resident in South Africa with her elder daughter, and has advanced Alzheimer's (diagnosed 15 years ago, slow progression). She has had a UK bank account (her savings) all her adult life, although resident in SA for 30 odd years. Up until quite recently she was able to travel with her daughter and would be brought for visits to us and other family. On one of these trips to the UK in 2008 her UK bank account was frozen, because during a visit to the bank with her daughter they suspected incapacity and locked the bank account (quite rightly of course). It hasn't been a problem until now but as the costs of her care has increased (24 hour nursing) it has become necessary to fund it from her money. Therefore we need to unlock/find a way around the UK bank account being locked so that her account can be accessed. There is PoA (drawn up by a solicitor in SA) in place for some years now, but that doesn't help this situation. I've looked online and it seems what needs to be done is that her children need to apply for a deputyship, which will provide the necessary authorisation for the bank account to be accessed. Am I on the right track? All suggestions, comments, advice will be welcomed.

[Onlyme]

The person who holds a financial POA for her should be able to access her accounts as long as they have a birth certificate etc. Was the POA valid for all her finances worldwide?

[jenniferpa]

You're absolutely on the right track. This will be your only option. Am I right in thinking that at least some of you are resident in the UK? Because I'm not certain that you can become a deputy if you aren't a resident (I mean it might be possible but I just don't know).

[DistancedCarer]

You're absolutely on the right track. This will be your only option. Am I right in thinking that at least some of you are resident in the UK? Because I'm not certain that you can become a deputy if you aren't a resident (I mean it might be possible but I just don't know).

Yes two of her children are resident here. BTW thanks both for fast responses. I think the SA PoA is not valid for the UK account, that is part of the problem. Now to tackle the bureaucratic nightmare that I suspect getting the deputyship will be ...!

[angelface]

I think Deputyship is the way forward. If the courts can be convinced things are really desperate they may hurry things a bit - otherwise it is 21 weeks going through the COP.

We had the locked bank account with my aunt - The solicitor dealing with the COP for me wrote to the bank, and they unfroze it, as the account paid all my aunts utility bills (she is still at home).

It did take 2 attempts by the solicitor, and the bank refused to deal with me, even when I went to see them. They did offer to make me a named person on the account, but I refused, as my aunt could have written a cheque for anything, and I would also have been liable.

Gill

[DistancedCarer]

Many thanks for the prompt advice from everyone - very helpful.

[FifiMo]

The best route to go is via a solicitor in the uk and before that even, talk to the court of protection and explain the problem to them. If the bank account is the only issue within UK jurisdiction then it could be that you could apply to the court of protection for a one off order rather than the full deputyship. Such routes exist but you would need them to tell you that this is appropriate and that you are not wasting your time.

Fiona

[DistancedCarer]

Many thanks, all, thanks to all the helpful advice, we have decided how to proceed.