Newly diagnosed parent - completely lost.... any helpful pointers going forward?

Simmo68

New member
Aug 29, 2018
2
0
hi,

My 76yr old mother has finally been diagnosed with advanced Mixed Dementia and Cardio Vascular Alzheimer’s. Mum is pleased she know has a name for her issue, but I/we are now In need of some guidance - the Dr/consultant said POA was something that needed to be looked at.

Is it a case of visiting a solicitor???
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
0
London
Not necessarily. You can of course use one but it's not a legal requirement. The online form is easy enough to understand and comes with plenty of guidance notes. The only outlay would then be £82 for registration with the OPG:

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

MaNaAk

Registered User
Jun 19, 2016
11,757
0
Essex
Dear Simmo,

Firstly I'm sorry to hear about your mum but pleased that she seems 'relieved' to have a diagnosis.
When dad was diagnosed we both felt depressed but then we realised that just because he has Alzheimers doesn't mean that life doesn't continue. First of all when I realised that dad had dementia before he was diagnosed I set about dealing with POA and like Beate says you can do this online at a cost of £82. When he was diagnosed we were referred to the Alzheimers Society
who told us about the benefits and what social activities are available to help the PWD lead a fulfilling life. Therefore I suggest you get in touch with your local Alzheimers Society to find out about all the activities in your area they will suggest that you apply for Attendance Allowance and eventually Carer's Allowance.

Good luck

MaNaAk
 

Al_B

Registered User
Jun 8, 2016
8
0
Manchester
Hi Simmo68,
Sorry to hear about your mother.
I think POA is now known as LPA Lasting Power Of Attorney. As Beate says there is no legal requirement to have them but I think it helps if you do. I have used both of the ones I have for my OH.

There are 2 LPAs, one which allows you to deal with finances and also one for health and welfare. I would suggest that if you decide to go down this route then you look at these as soon as you can as your mother has to sign them.

A solicitor will complete the paperwork and register them for you but it is expensive, much cheaper if you are able do them yourself.
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
0
London
My point was that's it's not a legal requirement to use a solicitor when filling in the LPA form. If you want to manage somebody else's finances or welfare, having an LPA is very much a legal requirement
 

nae sporran

Registered User
Oct 29, 2014
9,213
0
Bristol
Welcome to TP Simmo68. It's good that your mother has accepted her diagnosis, though sad that she has the condition. When my OH signed over PA to me last summer we got AgeUK to help us fill in the forms, and her chiropodist countersigned everything after her GP was going to charge £150 or something like that.
As Manak suggested it is definitely worth looking into carers allowance, attendance allowance and even care if needed in the future. AgeUK and your local carers support centre would advise on those or you can speak to social services and ask for a care needs assessment and a carers assessment.
 

try again

Registered User
Jun 21, 2018
1,308
0
The online form is very straight forward. My mum's doctor signed , no fee was mentioned and as yet no bill has arrived.
 

Sirena

Registered User
Feb 27, 2018
2,324
0
My mother did her own LPA (before diagnosis) through her solicitor. The advantage to using a solicitor is that they can keep the original and give you certified copies (they will make a charge for certifying). If you do the LPA yourself, you will just have the original and you don't ever want to let that out of your hands. So if you need to send a copy through the post to the DWP or a bank you would want a certified copy. I've sent out half a dozen certified copies and only half of them were safely returned, it isn't guaranteed you will get them back.