In one of last Sunday's papers there was a story of an elderly lady (76) who mentioned to her husband's bank that she was taking over some of the work of paying bills etc, which he had asked her to do as he was suffering some memory problems. They assumed Alzheimer's and immediately froze his account, including the £200 cash she had just handed in. This was while he was standing beside her! She and her son were advised to consult a solicitor to have the account reopened, which might cost £1500. There was a lot more to the story about the bank's poor service and the woman's problems in paying bills. And her husband died a few days after the freezing of the account.
But the lesson I draw from this is NOT to let my partner's bank know that he has any mental problem - I can quite truthfully tell them that he has had a couple of strokes which have affected his right side and ability to sign, and his speech.
My partner is now in a Local Authority care home. His fees will be largely funded by the LA, but his income (pension) naturally has to be paid to the LA. At present it goes into his bank account and I do not know how to get it paid over to the LA. Because of the above story I am hoping to get some independent advice before I take on the bank. Or the LA, who may well be helpful - I'm just being cautious.
At the moment I can make some payments out of his account because a few months ago he handed over his debit card to me with his new PIN - well one of us had to be able to remember it! This works fine for clothing and toiletries but I'm not sure about the much larger amounts for his care. My own bank assured me there is nothing illegal in using someone else's debit card and PIN if they have asked you to do so.
A document I got from the CAB mentions a "Third Party Mandate", a carefully worded letter in a set form to the person's bank, signed by the person, authorising a third party (e.g. me) to make payments, draw cheques, etc.
I am reluctant to get a solicitor involved just yet as the total amount of money is very small - assets of about £2000.
Sorry about the long post, but to summarise:
Do be cautious about how soon you mention mental problems to the bank (I don't know how it would work with a joint account);
Does anybody have any experience of the Third Party Mandate?
Best regards to all. I read your posts with great interest and sympathy.
Love, Rhoda
PS: Nothing at all to do with AD, but when my sister's husband died his bank immediately froze his account. All very well, but his Will was stored for safety with the bank, under his name, so also frozen! No Will, no Probate. No Probate, no access to bank account...... Fortunately this was in a small country town and what had been a permanent impasse was solved by rural common sense and a slight bending of the rules.
But the lesson I draw from this is NOT to let my partner's bank know that he has any mental problem - I can quite truthfully tell them that he has had a couple of strokes which have affected his right side and ability to sign, and his speech.
My partner is now in a Local Authority care home. His fees will be largely funded by the LA, but his income (pension) naturally has to be paid to the LA. At present it goes into his bank account and I do not know how to get it paid over to the LA. Because of the above story I am hoping to get some independent advice before I take on the bank. Or the LA, who may well be helpful - I'm just being cautious.
At the moment I can make some payments out of his account because a few months ago he handed over his debit card to me with his new PIN - well one of us had to be able to remember it! This works fine for clothing and toiletries but I'm not sure about the much larger amounts for his care. My own bank assured me there is nothing illegal in using someone else's debit card and PIN if they have asked you to do so.
A document I got from the CAB mentions a "Third Party Mandate", a carefully worded letter in a set form to the person's bank, signed by the person, authorising a third party (e.g. me) to make payments, draw cheques, etc.
I am reluctant to get a solicitor involved just yet as the total amount of money is very small - assets of about £2000.
Sorry about the long post, but to summarise:
Do be cautious about how soon you mention mental problems to the bank (I don't know how it would work with a joint account);
Does anybody have any experience of the Third Party Mandate?
Best regards to all. I read your posts with great interest and sympathy.
Love, Rhoda
PS: Nothing at all to do with AD, but when my sister's husband died his bank immediately froze his account. All very well, but his Will was stored for safety with the bank, under his name, so also frozen! No Will, no Probate. No Probate, no access to bank account...... Fortunately this was in a small country town and what had been a permanent impasse was solved by rural common sense and a slight bending of the rules.