LPA-Health Certificate Provider

[Krilos]

Hello All

Background
My mother is 83 and was diagnosed Alzheimer's officially last November 2022 and is also insulin dependant diabetic. My father who lives with her and main carer administers her insulin and medications.

Mother is not at the very advanced stages but she has very short memory retention but does know who we all are and holds a reasonable conversation but cannot be left alone obviously. She used to take care of all their finances and day to day tasks but now my father has had to take that main role. He is Italian and though understands and speaks English well can have difficulties understanding procedures like direct debits, using debit cards and technology in general so relies heavily on me and my sister.

Question and Advise from this Community
I am looking to apply for LPA-Health for my mother. I've can complete most of the sections and know who is to become attorney and backup and witnesses.

My problem is the Certificate Holder. My mothers GP Surgery do not have Certificate Holders and I am at a loss as to who to turn to to fulfil this role especially as my mother can probably not have a technical discussion with someone asking if she understands what the attorney role would entail and whether she fully understands the implications. This is for Health let alone Financial at this stage.

Has anyone been in the same situation? I know this should have probably been sorted out well before she has reached this stage but it is what it is.

As the sole Attorney it is my intention to fully involve my father and sister in any decision making which is how we function currently.

Any advise, guidance or comments greatly appreciated.

Krilos

 

[kettie]

Hallo, I have been through this with my father some years ago and we went through a solicitor, who on completion of the documents lodged it with the Office of the Public Guardian. Points to note are (I speak from experience with this), the original document(s) that the solicitor will send after he/she has lodged the LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian have to be countersigned by the donor, which in this case I think is your mother. These documents have a perforated number at the bottom and each and every page must be signed and dated. If you are in doubt about capacity, get your GP to assess this and confirm it in writing – my father's GP was brilliant and sat with him while he countersigned and at every stage made sure that my father knew what he was signing. Regarding your duties as the attorney - it is very much a helping duty – basically you are there to help the donor make decisions - even if you think they maybe foolish. As long as decisions do not harm anyone (including themselves), the capacity to make a foolish decision is just that - capacity. Hope this helps, I am including a link to the government website on it - don't panic - its very clear.

Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney

How to make a lasting power of attorney (LPA): starting an application online, choosing an attorney, certifying a copy, changing an LPA.

www.gov.uk

hope this helps
p.s. you can share being an attorney with someone, possibly with your sister????

 

[Jessbow]

Health POA is a lot less useful than the Financial one. If she dosnt understand the implictions- even at a basic level, you shuld be applying for deputyship rather than POA

 

[jugglingmum]

When I got POA for mum the GP was the certificate provider for a fee - mum had to understand in the instant what the poa was for - and she did.

You can also get someone who has known her for 2 years to be the certificate provider.

As Jessbow says the Health one is less useful as they will normally refer to next of kin, and they can override you in best interests.

If you apply for deputyship you should only apply for finance as the Health one is only granted on a decision by decision basis so you will still have to pay the fee but not get it.

Very shortly after signing it my mum no longer understood anything financial and I just got on with managing everything without asking her - it was at the point she said she didn't understand what insurance was and had never heard of it that I gave up.

 

[sdmhred]

As the others have said do focus on financial one first - much more helpful.

we used a friend of mum’s for the financial one and then a friend of mine - who had also known mum for the health. I have to say neither took to testing capacity in Depth - but there were no concerns regarding her decision making.

 

[extoyboy]

We asked a trusted neighbour (who we'd known for 20+ years) and he was happy to help. He came round and me and the other attorneys (her daughters) left the room whilst he had a chat with her to the extent that he was happy that the LPAs (Health + Finance) were in her best interests.

I then submitted the completed paperwork and after the usual processing delays it came back without problems on the first go.

 

[Krilos]

These are all great comments and I thank you all.

I thought the certificate provider had to be a registered professional and not just be a friend of the donor (my mum)?

 

[sdmhred]

No - a friend is fine 😀😀 No problems registering ours
The certificate provider can also witness the attorney’s signature - so all signing can be done in one go if everyone is together

 

[Sue741215]

I wonder if it isn't worth putting your sister as POA as well as you - you can opt for decisions to be made by either of you rather than both. It could be helpful if anyone challenges your actions and/or if you are incapacitated/unavailable for a period. I included my husband's son as POA as well as me and although I do everything - if there are big decisions to make I will run them by him.

 

[Jan48]

These are all great comments and I thank you all.

I thought the certificate provider had to be a registered professional and not just be a friend of the donor (my mum)?

We asked our neighbours to be the certificate provider A friend or neighbour will do but must have know that person for 2 yrs. If your mum has capacity and can understand what she is signing,,no need for solicitor. They are easy to complete.