My mum is in a care home and we, as her kids, have power of attorney. Her pensions and the rental of her house just about cover the care home bills but she keeps going into her bank and taking money out, even though my brother has taken her bank card and cheque book off her. It seems the only way to stop this is through the solicitors which will incur yet another fee, not to mention then having to deal with a very angry mum.
How to stop mum taking money out of the bank?
- Thread starter annad
- Start date
How much capacity does she still have? You could change the pin and slow her down.
You don't need solicitors for this, if you decide she doesn't have the capacity to manage her own finances you can do it yourself, if she doesn't have much money the Office of the Public Guardian and/or The Court of Protection waive the fees. If you have to pay an application is £400.
First of all we need to find out where you are is it the old EPA or the newer LPA (hope I've got those the right way around) and if an EPA is it registered?
if you have power of attorney, surely you could set up a second account that she doesn't know about, and transfer her pension into this new account, and change the care home payments to come out of the new account, put a pittance of pocket money in for her, and if she goes to the bank, she'll soon realise she hasn't got much money to actually take out. if she questions it, tell her that the care home take their money out, and the chemist (or whatever else needs to be taken) take their money out, and there is not much left spare. or tell her that the pension people automatically pay the care home first, and only whats left is put into her account, and it's not much.
as her power of attorney, isn't it your job to make sure her care home fees are paid so that she actually has a roof over her head, food on her plate and the care that she needs? so even if she doesn't like it, you are doing what needs to be done to keep her alive with the basics covered.
as her power of attorney, isn't it your job to make sure her care home fees are paid so that she actually has a roof over her head, food on her plate and the care that she needs? so even if she doesn't like it, you are doing what needs to be done to keep her alive with the basics covered.
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Is this power of attorney registered with the OPG? And have you also registered it with her bank? How is she taking the money out if she no longer has a cheque book or bank card? If you've done the above, it appears to me that the bank is failing in its responsibilities. So assuming all of the above is true, the first thing I would do is ask the bank exactly why they are allowing a person with diminished mental capacity to operate this account. If you haven't taken the above steps, then take them.
This wouldn't be appropriate if there is a valid EPA or LPA - applying for deputyship is for people who have neither.
And while you've got those the right way round, it's the LPA that needs to be registered before it can be used. Many EPAs do not have to be, although it is wise to do so.
