Power of Attourney

[Hietzing]

Our father, 94 yrs old, is in a care home as he has Alzheimers, this is costing £3,700 per month in fees.
Up until recently my sister and I have been able to transfer funds from his Building Soc. savings account to his current Bank Account to cover the standing order payment due to the Care Home.
We have now been told that we need to obtain a Power of Attourny to be able to continue to do this.
Firstly, we have been told by a Solicitor this could cost us £4,000 and could take 8 months.
Secondly, my father has only enough funds in his current account to cover about 8/9 months rent.
I appreciate that there has to be safeguards in place to protect relatives with this illness,
but my sister and I are both pensioners ourselves and can ill afford to pay this sort of money.
Has anyone any advice......

 

[Beate]

That solicitor is talking rot!

£4,000 may be his fees but that's daylight robbery. You don't even need a solicitor, you can fill in the forms online yourself with the help of the guidance notes, or you can ask a charity like Age UK to help you for free. The only money payable is the registration fee of £110. That reduces to half if your father has less than £12,000 a year coming in, and it's free if he is on certain benefits.

As for time frame, best ask the OPG for the current waiting times - I think we waited a couple of months.

LPA can only be obtained if your father still has mental capacity to grant it though. If he can't or wont, you'd have to apply for deputyship. That is more complicated and costly, but you will have to do something to legally operate your father's finances.

 

[animallover]

Our father, 94 yrs old, is in a care home as he has Alzheimers, this is costing £3,700 per month in fees.
Up until recently my sister and I have been able to transfer funds from his Building Soc. savings account to his current Bank Account to cover the standing order payment due to the Care Home.
We have now been told that we need to obtain a Power of Attourny to be able to continue to do this.
Firstly, we have been told by a Solicitor this could cost us £4,000 and could take 8 months.
Secondly, my father has only enough funds in his current account to cover about 8/9 months rent.
I appreciate that there has to be safeguards in place to protect relatives with this illness,
but my sister and I are both pensioners ourselves and can ill afford to pay this sort of money.
Has anyone any advice......

Did you're father sign a POA when he was well if so you only need to pay £115 to have this signed of by the court of protection (if you do it yourself) but I paid £350 last November as my solicitor dealt with everything as she had the original enduring POA my father had signed 3 years previously .If your father did not set up an enduring POA it is too late now as he would be mentally incapable so you really need legal advice

 

[Beate]

Firstly, it's £110, and secondly, how do you know his father hasn't still got mental capacity? If he has, it's not too late yet. Btw, the enduring power of attorney was replaced by the lasting power of attorney in 2007. Existing ones are of course still valid.

 

[canary]

Please remember that to be able to sign a POA he only has to understand and agree at that moment. Even if he forgets after 5 mins it is OK.

Even if he has lost capacity and you have to go for court of protection deputyship it wont cost £4,000 if you sort it out yourself - it is £400 for the court hearing plus anything you have to pay to the person who signs to say that he has lost capacity (I didnt have to pay anything). You can ask the court to fast track the proceedings if you need the order quickly. Do remember that anything you have to pay for POA or deputyship comes out of his money, not yours.

 

[fortune]

If there is any likelihood of other family members becoming critical of setting up a PoA I would suggest that you approach the capacity issue with some care. There is more to it than one might think. A person needs to understand what they are doing but also to understand the consequences longer term - which may be difficult with short-term memory loss. If you are in any doubt perhaps the GP could give advice, failing that a solicitor might be advisable - but not at that cost!

 

[Pickles53]

Just to add, that whatever it costs the fees should come out of your father's savings not your own. It may be that you have to pay them upfront, but once the LPA is in place you can and should reclaim them. You should not be out of pocket in any way.

If you do feel you want to use a solicitor, shop around; that's the highest figure by some margin that I've ever heard for a relatively straightforward task.

 

[Shedrech]

hello Hietzing
welcome to TP
would be worth talking with one of the AS helpline operators as they have a lot of knowledge and contacts to refer you on to

0300 222 1122 or by email at helpline@alzheimers.org.uk.
•Helpline opening hours:
•Monday to Wednesday 9am – 8pm
•Thursday and Friday 9am – 5pm
•Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4pm

I just wonder whether the solicitor is thinking that you are asking for him/her to become deputy - I agree that the fee suggested is much more than I'd have expected
maybe look for a local solicitor who specialises in work for elders who would be much more knowledgeable and up to date
I believe that there is some temporary measure that could be put in place for you to deal with the care home payments - check that with the helpline
maybe contact the OPG themselves to ask for guidance
if your father's funds are likely to run out soon, probably best to contact his Local Authority Adult Services to discuss what will happen when his savings go below the £23000 and then the £14000 thresholds

link to the Gov site re Deputyship
https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy/overview
OPG general page
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-public-guardian

best wishes

 

[DeputyshipL.A]

Deputyship

Good Afternoon,

If you father is in a care facility for Alzheimer’s that will already highlight the risk that he does in fact lack the mental capacity to manage his finances long term.

PoA is not the way for you go. Hopefully your father had already completed an EPA or LPA.
If not, then Deputyship will be the only way forward for someone else to legally make financial decisions on his behalf.

You will need to have him assessed by a care/health professional and have them complete a COP3. The Court of Protection Mental Capacity Assessment Form.

DO NOT hire a Solicitor unless:

A) You feel you cannot perform as your fathers Deputy by keeping records of his financials and making decisions in his best interest. Honestly, you need a decent scanner/printer and Excel.
B) You are not interest in your Local Authority performing the duty. Their/Our costs are far less and are strictly laid out by the OPG. Please note not all Local Authorities have a Deputyship office.

I have no doubt that there are many fine Solicitors who perform this duty with the upmost and complete professionalism, it just seems that their charges are unwarranted when there are other persons who can perform those duties.

Hope that helps you. I might also add that if you do try to act has his deputy, and find that you are simply out of your depth. You can contact the OPG and they will assign a Deputyship officer closest to your fathers place of accommodation. You can even ask that you remain involved as joint deputies.