POA : Opening Bank Accounts etc

[monkeygirl15]

Hi All

I have Deputyship for Property & Affairs for my mum. Her house is on the verge of selling and, having looked on various websites, it seems advised to split the lump sum between different accounts and things like Premium Bonds so she can earn something. I'm not really wanting to go down the route of properly investing in anything that involves any kind of risk etc.

The other thing is, I'm self employed and so have to provide an account of all my moneys to the Inland Revenue each year.

So, my question is, can I open bank accounts or getting premium bonds in my mum's name to put the proceeds of the house into to gain a bit of interest? I don't really want to do these things in my name as it looks then to the tax man like it's my money when it's not. However, I equally don't want to be doing anything in her name if it's not allowed.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[nitram]

Your personal finances are not affected.

You can open bank accounts on behalf of your mum, they will be in her name with the signatory being monkeygirl15 (COP deputy) or something similar.

Don't forget FSCS for temporary high balances when deciding where to invest proceeds of house sale.
https://www.fscs.org.uk/what-we-cover/questions-and-answers/qas-about-temporary-high-balances/

 

[monkeygirl15]

Thanks Nitram

That's really helpful

 

[Beate]

I wouldn't go for Premium Bonds. The amount of forms I had to fill in to get £1 (ONE POUND!) back for OH was unreal.

 

[marionq]

I like Premium Bonds too if you have a large chunk to put away that you might want access to fairly quickly. It can all be done online too if you establish a NS & I account. If it is a large amount then the returns average as good as the current bank rates eg 1.5% to 2%.. For lesser amounts it is much more unreliable.

 

[nitram]

advised to split the lump sum between different accounts and things like Premium Bonds so she can earn something. I'm not really wanting to go down the route of properly investing in anything that involves any kind of risk etc.

Consider a judicious mix of:-
Fixed term
https://savingschampion.co.uk/best-buys/personal/fixed-rate-bond/#table

Notice
https://savingschampion.co.uk/best-buys/personal/notice-accounts/#table

Easy access
https://savingschampion.co.uk/best-buys/personal/easy-access/#table

There are other comparison sites.
Not all financial institutions will accept COP deputies.

 

[Fullticket]

Just a note that when and if the inevitable happens and you are dealing with your mum's estate, having a bank account that names you as at least third party access means that it is more straightforward getting at least current account and savings account monies released. A joint account would be even easier. I would have a word with your bank about this aspect. I can't advise on savings/ premium bonds as not been there.

 

[DeMartin]

Just a note that when and if the inevitable happens and you are dealing with your mum's estate, having a bank account that names you as at least third party access means that it is more straightforward getting at least current account and savings account monies released. A joint account would be even easier. I would have a word with your bank about this aspect. I can't advise on savings/ premium bonds as not been there.

C of Protection frowns on joint accounts. I have full access to my mum’s accounts as I am listed as deputy.

 

[lemonjuice]

A joint account would be even easier.

Probably too late to now set up a joint account, as both parties would need to be 'corpus mentis' having capacity and some agencies don't like joint accounts unless it's between husband & wife. Certainly well before she developed symptoms, after the death of my father, my mother set up a joint account with me, so I could help her with the accounts, but the bank manager was cautioning against it as we would then each be liable for each other's debts. I think the bank manager was thinking if there should be a divorce in the future, that half the account would technically form part of 'my money' and be part of any settlement. Which would have been totally unfair.

EDIT Just seen above post and that's exactly my point CoP don't like joint accounts, probably for the very reason I quote and you'd need to provide a paper trail to show that your mother's monies have only ever been used for her.

 

[love.dad.but..]

I opened quite a few accounts for dad as attorney in his name following his house sale. He was a tax payer on his interest so I put max away in premium bonds as I knew it was very unlikely that we would need to touch it. Returns weren't that great but that was ok because remaining considerable amounts were split between easy access BS account so I could supplement his pensions to pay NH fees each month then the remainder split between higher interest 1 and 2 year fixed bonds . Topped up his ISA to max for that year...60 day notice accounts. At the time 2 years ago higher interest online accounts I looked at would not accept attorneys.I kept to within the FSA protection limit at each institution.

 

[monkeygirl15]

Can I ask, did you go and see a Financial Advisor or just work out what was best to do yourself? I've looked on things like Money Saving Expert etc. I don't feel comfortable investing it in anything that involves any kind of risk - just in case the risk goes the wrong way.

 

[nitram]

Risk is a neutral concept, there is a risk of making money and a risk of loosing money.

If you are not happy with that have a look at the links to instant access, notice, and term acounts that I posted earlier.

Don't forget to factor in the FSCS limit for temporary high balances.
If you are able to make a spreadsheet you could use one to make a trial forecast.
If using fixed term spread the investment over the year or include 18 month ones, this prevents everything maturing at the same time.

 

[love.dad.but..]

Can I ask, did you go and see a Financial Advisor or just work out what was best to do yourself? I've looked on things like Money Saving Expert etc. I don't feel comfortable investing it in anything that involves any kind of risk - just in case the risk goes the wrong way.

For me...whilst I am risk averse in nature with my own money...I felt even more so with Dad's funds and only deposited in risk free building society accounts keeping in mind the protection limit which was £75k when I opened them but now £85k but check 2 institutions aren't linked however as Nitram has said for something like a house sale I think you get 6 months with £1 million protection limit. I did it myself as I was not interested in investing and just got the best interest rates I could across 6 varied accounts giving me flexibility but knowing I could justify my sound reasoning to the OPG if ever required to do so. .I knew roughly taking into account annual NH fee increases and tax liability how much of it I would need easy access...medium term and long term access or never and in fact some of the B.S. better interest investment accounts were not open to dad due to his age at the time...84, so straightforward but a lot of footwork. Nitram had given you some very good tips if you felt able to research and decide yourself.

 

[love.dad.but..]

On the back of Normaleila's good point...we all know sometimes this illness length to end of life is an unknown but for dad I had a feeling when I sold his house it would not be years so that also influenced my decisions as I thought probably long term earning interest wasn't that much of a criteria. As it happened he died 10 months after the house sale. Advice from an IFA for what may be long term interest need could give you safe options which I did not need to consider.