My husband was diagnosed in april with the start of altziermers. Our gp said i should get power of attorney while he is still capable of making decisions. I already deal with our money and pay the bills. We are a council tennant only have our state pensions and everything except the electric is in my name so would i really need to get the poa and if so how much will it costs as its worrying me. I would be grateful for any help on this problem of mine. Thank you
do i need to get power of attorney
- Thread starter gem of the sea
- Start date
Hi and welcome to Talking Point.
My feeling is that LPA's are always worth while drawing up, particularly if it costs you nothing to create them (https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/make-lasting-power). You don't have to register them if you don't want to (which is where the potential cost comes from, although you might well be eligible for reduced or eliminated fees). You might well not need the the financial LPA: if you are both only in receipt of state benefits, and have no savings a DWP appointment might well be sufficient. However, an LPA for welfare and health is in my view even more important: you might not need it, most people don't but if you do, there is no way round it. If you didn't have a LPA for finances and it turned out you needed it, you could apply for deputyship, but it is rare for a deputyship to be granted for health and welfare.
Bear in mind, it's not unheard of for joint bank accounts to be frozen if the bank feels that one party has lost capacity. You can avoid that by getting appointee-ship from the DWP now, and get a new bank account which is solely in your name.
My feeling is that LPA's are always worth while drawing up, particularly if it costs you nothing to create them (https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/make-lasting-power). You don't have to register them if you don't want to (which is where the potential cost comes from, although you might well be eligible for reduced or eliminated fees). You might well not need the the financial LPA: if you are both only in receipt of state benefits, and have no savings a DWP appointment might well be sufficient. However, an LPA for welfare and health is in my view even more important: you might not need it, most people don't but if you do, there is no way round it. If you didn't have a LPA for finances and it turned out you needed it, you could apply for deputyship, but it is rare for a deputyship to be granted for health and welfare.
Bear in mind, it's not unheard of for joint bank accounts to be frozen if the bank feels that one party has lost capacity. You can avoid that by getting appointee-ship from the DWP now, and get a new bank account which is solely in your name.
Do you have a joint account? The bank could freeze it if they think he's lost capacity which means you couldn't get access to any of your money. It's always better to be prepared. The forms can be filled in with the help of charities for free plus if your husband is on any benefits, the registration won't cost anything at all. If he has less than £12,000 a year coming in, registration is half price. That is only £55 for peace of mind, or £110 if you do the health one as well.
In your case becoming a Department of Work and Pension Appointee should suffice.
https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits
It's free and would allow you to operate a special bank account in your name to handle his state pension and any benefits.
It would just mean a visit by a DWP person to set it up.
https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits
It's free and would allow you to operate a special bank account in your name to handle his state pension and any benefits.
It would just mean a visit by a DWP person to set it up.
Hi Gem. welcome to TP
Generally the advise is get an LPA, you don't have to use it but you might just need it one day, however, if everything is as simple and straightforward as you say then nitram has a point you could just get a "Department of Work and Pension Appointee".
If you can get all the bills, tenancy, insurance ect everything in your name and then get access to his pension and benefits as his appointee then that should do.
It is as nitram says a visit from the DWP (ours was less than 20 minutes) and now everything comes to me.
If your life is that straightforward that should do, however, and LPA for health is a different matter, should anything happen a health LPA means the doctors have to keep you informed and seek your opinion to a greater extent that they do if you are a partner or next of kin.
K
Generally the advise is get an LPA, you don't have to use it but you might just need it one day, however, if everything is as simple and straightforward as you say then nitram has a point you could just get a "Department of Work and Pension Appointee".
If you can get all the bills, tenancy, insurance ect everything in your name and then get access to his pension and benefits as his appointee then that should do.
It is as nitram says a visit from the DWP (ours was less than 20 minutes) and now everything comes to me.
If your life is that straightforward that should do, however, and LPA for health is a different matter, should anything happen a health LPA means the doctors have to keep you informed and seek your opinion to a greater extent that they do if you are a partner or next of kin.
K
Hi Welcome to TP.
If your husband has a private or firms pension , you may well find that the will not discuss anything with you unless you have LPA or Deputyship.
As already said, you can become an Appointee for your husbands state pension, which I believe needs a separate bank account.
TBH I always think it is best to have things like LPA's in place just in case .
You can complete the forms yourself if you feel able also people from your Local Alzheimer's society or Age UK will often be able to help fill them in.
The certificate providers can be someone who has known your Husband for two yrs who is not family.
I'm wondering if you have the joint bank accounts changed into your sole name if this could be considered by Social Services SS as deprivation of assets at Some later date, I will leave others here to help with this.
Yes joint accounts can be frozen if the bank feels one party is losing or has lost capacity to manage their affairs.
I agree with Jenniferpa and Kevin about the Health and Welfare LPA , as getting Deputyship for Health is nearly as rare as hens teeth also , It is not unknown for some to hide behind rules of confidentially even when you're the nearest relative (used to be next of kin)
If your husband has a private or firms pension , you may well find that the will not discuss anything with you unless you have LPA or Deputyship.
As already said, you can become an Appointee for your husbands state pension, which I believe needs a separate bank account.
TBH I always think it is best to have things like LPA's in place just in case .
You can complete the forms yourself if you feel able also people from your Local Alzheimer's society or Age UK will often be able to help fill them in.
The certificate providers can be someone who has known your Husband for two yrs who is not family.
I'm wondering if you have the joint bank accounts changed into your sole name if this could be considered by Social Services SS as deprivation of assets at Some later date, I will leave others here to help with this.
Yes joint accounts can be frozen if the bank feels one party is losing or has lost capacity to manage their affairs.
I agree with Jenniferpa and Kevin about the Health and Welfare LPA , as getting Deputyship for Health is nearly as rare as hens teeth also , It is not unknown for some to hide behind rules of confidentially even when you're the nearest relative (used to be next of kin)
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take some advice from someone who is dealing with a similar situation - get a LPA for
property and finances and health and welfare ASAP - I was unable to do this and have applied for deputyship which has not yet been awarded was unable to prevent a consultant from prescribing medication which we knew was unsuitable (made problems much worse) if i'd had a POA for health and welfare I could have prevented weeks of distress for both of us - sorry if it sounds scary but none of us know including the consultants what effect the wrong medication can have
best wishes
property and finances and health and welfare ASAP - I was unable to do this and have applied for deputyship which has not yet been awarded was unable to prevent a consultant from prescribing medication which we knew was unsuitable (made problems much worse) if i'd had a POA for health and welfare I could have prevented weeks of distress for both of us - sorry if it sounds scary but none of us know including the consultants what effect the wrong medication can have
best wishes
