POA and replacement attorneys if one joint attorney dies - is there a way round this?

Clare39

Registered User
Jul 24, 2014
3
0
London
Hi. I wonder if anyone has sorted out this issue sensibly. My mother has dementia. My father, myself and my brother will be attorneys for her, and my brother and I for my father.

We had thought to have attorneys and replacement attorneys, and have some decisions joint and some several, depending on importance. As far as I understand it though, if you have attorneys who have joint decision making power and one ceases to be an attorney, thro death etc the entire group of attorneys are nullified and the replacement attorneys take over completely.

Is our best choice really to have no replacement attorneys, thereby leaving the remaining attorneys as joint attorneys in the case eg that my father dies? Or to have nothing as a joint decision so that any replacement becomes another equal voice?

I have looked at all the guidance I can find inc Law Society and Alzheimer's Soc and Govt but while it states the fact it doesn't help work through the consequences. I will be trying to contact the Office of the Guardian this week too.

Many thanks for any advice you have!
 

Clare39

Registered User
Jul 24, 2014
3
0
London
Thanks very much Nitram for replying. The guidance confirms what I thought was the situation but I want to find a way by which if one joint attorney goes then the others can continue to make joint decisions, not be superseded by a replacement and taken out of the picture. Ah well maybe it is impossible but it does seem strange.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,081
0
Bury
Joint can only be all the attorneys originally appointed acting together as instructed by the donor.

Why the insistence on joint, the donor should only choose attorneys that they trust.

There is nothing to stop joint and several attorneys informally agreeing that they will act jointly in certain predefined cases, but this would not be legally binding - back to trust again.