The LPA, banks and the big move to the care home

[4boding]

Greetings,

Lately I was reading some letters in a Sunday newspaper in which people ranted about the poor support they received when they tried to act on their LPA and use a sufferer's savings to pay bills or for a care home. Some banks were good, others were obstructive.

I'm approaching the stage when mum and I will need to move forward in our lives. We both need more company - she in a care home with similar people and things to do, me in...well, anywhere really. It's a wrench, but it must be done. Does anyone have any stories or advice on how to deal with banks, regarding the LPA? The LPA has been registered, so do I need to inform the bank as well, or give them a copy to be on the safe side?

Does anyone have any practical tips on how to manage the payments to the care home when a relative is moved in? Something like a joint account or a right to sign on behalf of someone with Alzheimer's?

Perhaps it all comes down to which branch of which bank. Any advice, so I don't have to get any lawyers involved or anything drastic like that, would be gratefully appreciated.

Take care, everyone.

 

[jenniferpa]

Every bank has their own procedures when it comes to this, but normally you make an appointment with the relevant person and turn up with either the original or a certified copy of the LPA (if the original do NOT leave it with them. Once the LPA has been registered with the bank, you will be able to access your mother's accounts as if they were your own, although some banks will issue you new cheques/new cards.

You will not be permitted to open a joint account (or at least you shouldn't be) because a person who has lost capacity is not, strictly speaking, permitted to operate a bank account. What happens in practice is sometimes different, particularly if the joint account is already in place.

I would suggest not placing much credence in stories you read in the papers. They tend to be worse case scenarios and often, it turns out the individuals involved didn't go about it in the correct way.

 

[cragmaid]

If Mum is able to project the image of capacity, I would take your ID and Mum and go to the bank and ask to have her account made into a joint account. Then when the time comes, they may be able to keep that account open.
I had a direct debit set up to her account for the Care Home Fees.

 

[looviloo]

Yes, you'll have to register your LPA with your mum's bank. I'd advise you to do this early, and hopefully it'll all go smoothly and then you won't have to worry about it when the time comes. In my own case, I had to register the LPA at a moment of crisis and I found the procedure complicated, requiring several trips to the bank with various forms of identification, and then there was a delay while access to the account was set up. I also had to wait for the debit card to arrive, but in the meantime was authorised to sign dad's cheques.

As for paying the care home, I was able to do this by cheque for the first few weeks, directly from dad's account (no need for a joint account). I have now set up a standing order that goes out to the home every two weeks. It's a small private care home, and this is the arrangement they asked for.

I should probably add that I now look after dad's financial affairs in their entirety - he no longer has the capacity to do this for himself, although he does understand that I handle his money and often asks me to buy certain things for him .

Your first step would be to talk to your mum's bank and find out what their procedures are for registering an LPA. Once it's done, you won't have to act on it immediately or anything, but it'll give you peace of mind to know that you can if you need to. Good luck!

 

[lin1]

Hi.
To register the LPA with mum's bank you need to make an appointment. You will need two types of ID. Ie An official letter , council. Tax bill ,utility bill addressed to you and something like a driving licence, passport that has your photograph. If you don't have these id's contact the bank to see what other things they will accept.

A word of warning , never ever send the original LPA by post anywhere, that's what the certified copies are for.
Things can get lost either in the post or at the firm and many firms have a tendency to shred things once they have dealt with them.

It's ok to take the original LPA to the bank as the will hand it straight back to you after copying it

Ps if the bank does not offer what you need to operate the LPA account , then do shop around

 

[4boding]

Yes, you'll have to register your LPA with your mum's bank. I'd advise you to do this early, and hopefully it'll all go smoothly and then you won't have to worry about it when the time comes. In my own case, I had to register the LPA at a moment of crisis and I found the procedure complicated, requiring several trips to the bank with various forms of identification, and then there was a delay while access to the account was set up. I also had to wait for the debit card to arrive, but in the meantime was authorised to sign dad's cheques.

As for paying the care home, I was able to do this by cheque for the first few weeks, directly from dad's account (no need for a joint account). I have now set up a standing order that goes out to the home every two weeks. It's a small private care home, and this is the arrangement they asked for.

I should probably add that I now look after dad's financial affairs in their entirety - he no longer has the capacity to do this for himself, although he does understand that I handle his money and often asks me to buy certain things for him .

Your first step would be to talk to your mum's bank and find out what their procedures are for registering an LPA. Once it's done, you won't have to act on it immediately or anything, but it'll give you peace of mind to know that you can if you need to. Good luck!

THANKS for the advice.

 

[4boding]

Hi.
To register the LPA with mum's bank you need to make an appointment. You will need two types of ID. Ie An official letter , council. Tax bill ,utility bill addressed to you and something like a driving licence, passport that has your photograph. If you don't have these id's contact the bank to see what other things they will accept.

A word of warning , never ever send the original LPA by post anywhere, that's what the certified copies are for.
Things can get lost either in the post or at the firm and many firms have a tendency to shred things once they have dealt with them.

It's ok to take the original LPA to the bank as the will hand it straight back to you after copying it

Ps if the bank does not offer what you need to operate the LPA account , then do shop around

Thanks for this. I feel more encouraged to go ahead and talk to them.

 

[Pickles53]

If Mum is able to project the image of capacity, I would take your ID and Mum and go to the bank and ask to have her account made into a joint account. Then when the time comes, they may be able to keep that account open.
I had a direct debit set up to her account for the Care Home Fees.

On another thread it was mentioned that converting into a joint account had caused problems with both DWP and LA. Once an account is joint, either signatory could legally withdraw the full amount so if all the money in the account is mum's the LA might see this as deprivation of assets. DWP would see 50% of the account as belonging to each signatory so this could affect other benefits.

Neither of these may be relevant concerns for the OP but if there is any likelihood of either LA financial assessment or income-related benefit claims I'd check out the implications before doing this.

http://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?86950-Help-Im-trapped-between-DWP-amp-Local-Authority-!!!