Elderly Care / Power of Attorney / Private Testing

[Mr Redknapp]

First of all mate sorry you are going through a hard time and hope the fella is ok.

One of the contracts I work on at my graft is for Santander and we deal with POA quite a bit.. Just get in touch with his bank and let them know that you have POA and probably send them the proof (a photocopy is normally is fine) and explain how you want to handle his finances and it should be grand

 

[zippie]

How does PoA work? Do you apply online then your folks have to sign something to confirm they approve?

Download the forms from the gov website, your folks need to have capacity to sign and then you need a witness to verify that they have capacity. The fee is £82.00, more than one person can be named incase a replacement is needed from the main applicant. The POA enables you to act on their behalf, ie banking, utilities, pension and care packages.

 

[DaveI]

Download the forms from the gov website, your folks need to have capacity to sign and then you need a witness to verify that they have capacity. The fee is £82.00, more than one person can be named incase a replacement is needed from the main applicant. The POA enables you to act on their behalf, ie banking, utilities, pension and care packages.

Ah ok, thank you.

 

[zippie]

Dont forget pension services as well, guessing FIL has private pension they will need copies of POA as well. Take care it is awful dealing with all this when you are so far away.

 

[Deleted member 1358]

Dont forget pension services as well, guessing FIL has private pension they will need copies of POA as well. Take care it is awful dealing with all this when you are so far away.

Make sure you order enough certified copies from the Court. Photocopies won't suffice for POA

 

[Fletch]

Im Power attorney for mother in law mate as nobody else would step up to the plate , she’s in a care home unfortunately and been a pain at times mostly with sunland council .
Take the power attorney letter to bank so you can get full access to any statements online banking etc.
Check for any direct debits standing orders etc and contact those also
Check fir any old ones he no longer needs , it’s surprising how some companies take advantage of the elderly
Contact any state or private pension .
Good luck

 

[janey]

I’ve had POA since me dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2017. I had it for me mam and dad and I have it for me mam who still has full capacity and is not ill.

I’ve spoken to friends who have said they would wait until it was needed. In my opinion that’s the last thing you should do.

The last thing you need when things are bad is to be dealing with and coping with paperwork. And, if it becomes a capacity issue it becomes much more complicated.

You can get POA at anytime and it’s worth planning ahead, it can save a lot of unnecessary stress.

 

[zippie]

I’ve had POA since me dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2017. I had it for me mam and dad and I have it for me mam who still has full capacity and is not ill.

I’ve spoken to friends who have said they would wait until it was needed. In my opinion that’s the last thing you should do.

The last thing you need when things are bad is to be dealing with and coping with paperwork. And, if it becomes a capacity issue it becomes much more complicated.

You can get POA at anytime and it’s worth planning ahead, it can save a lot of unnecessary stress.

Totally agree with everything you say there Janey, Martin Lewis says that everyone should have one regardless of age and health.

 

[janey]

Totally agree with everything you say there Janey, Martin Lewis says that everyone should have one regardless of age and health.

It’s easy to say, everyone should have it, and I wouldn’t blame anyone for not realising/understanding/planning ahead, I’d have had no clue it was my mam and dad’s financial person and solicitor who advised them. But my friends I’ve spoken to and explained about why it’s best to do it now, have all understood and done it.

And, despite me mam being smart as a carrot and having full capacity and being more than fully aware of her finances it’s still been invaluable, for things you’d not really think about.

 

[zippie]

It’s easy to say, everyone should have it, and I wouldn’t blame anyone for not realising/understanding/planning ahead, I’d have had no clue it was my mam and dad’s financial person and solicitor who advised them. But my friends I’ve spoken to and explained about why it’s best to do it now, have all understood and done it.

And, despite me mam being smart as a carrot and having full capacity and being more than fully aware of her finances it’s still been invaluable, for things you’d not really think about.

I had it for my Mam and it was invaluable, with banks closing and more internet based it is a minefield for the elderly. I should have done if for my Dad too, but dementia hit fast and once they lose the capacity it now means it could cost anywhere between £500-£2000 to get Court of Protection. Im 58 and thinking of doing it, you never know what is around the corner.

 

[janey]

I had it for my Mam and it was invaluable, with banks closing and more internet based it is a minefield for the elderly. I should have done if for my Dad too, but dementia hit fast and once they lose the capacity it now means it could cost anywhere between £500-£2000 to get Court of Protection. Im 58 and thinking of doing it, you never know what is around the corner.

Yep dementia and the court of protection complication is huge, and costly, and is exactly what isn’t needed when people are coping with the illness of loved ones.
And, as awful as it is, having certain conversations with people you love, I know exactly what my mams wishes are, she’s got a DNR and having POA for health means, as hard as it would be, I can make sure her wishes are carried out.

 

[Blame Me]

I had it for my Mam and it was invaluable, with banks closing and more internet based it is a minefield for the elderly. I should have done if for my Dad too, but dementia hit fast and once they lose the capacity it now means it could cost anywhere between £500-£2000 to get Court of Protection. Im 58 and thinking of doing it, you never know what is around the corner.

I've just fallen in to this situation. We as a family were sorting out the POA via the government website, paper work all sorted as she is showing signs of dementia and them my mother gets a uti, is taken into hospital to sort it out, delirium sets in and now she's a bit fecked to say the least. She has no idea who we were, or where she was.

She was in hospital for 3 weeks, but because of how she is she needed one to one care, however they deemed her medically fit enough to be discharged to a care home. Two days later we are back in hospital with another infection and a broken kneecap and now needs more care than before, she's no better than the first hospital stay,
probably worse.

Its a shit show and that POA would of helped. I moved back from living overseas to start looking after her, but didn't think within 6 months I'd be where we are, its happened so quickly.

I'm now busy looking in to the Court of Protection route but that seems a daunting process.

 

[shields_supporter]

Dear all,

Sorry been a bit quiet

Has been some truly wonderful and informative replies.

Unfortunately, as we were on the plane to the UK, he fell off his toilet and smashed his face up.

We landed and drive straight to hospital only to find that they’d forgotten to give him any fluids or food since breakfast (this was 7pm)

They also had him plank flat on a bed.

Managed to get him sat up, able to see people, quickly bought some fluids and they brought him 2 yoghurts!!

Staying in a hotel near the hospital - he’s had a CT now, no bleeding, they did a full viral/bacterial check but still no results and he’s been moved out of the A&E ward.

Distressing as fuck - gone from making dirty jokes three weeks ago to sounding as if he’s been lobotomised.

Doctors ‘Not available’ and nursing staff can only tell so much.

Monday tomorrow so will start on the paperwork trail -

What a f***ing world we live in
Oh and the A&E ward was more mental than anything I’ve seen before. Screaming, effing and blinding, crying, cops all over - people asking me to help them escape

 

[zippie]

I've just fallen in to this situation. We as a family were sorting out the POA via the government website, paper work all sorted as she is showing signs of dementia and them my mother gets a uti, is taken into hospital to sort it out, delirium sets in and now she's a bit fecked to say the least. She has no idea who we were, or where she was.

She was in hospital for 3 weeks, but because of how she is she needed one to one care, however they deemed her medically fit enough to be discharged to a care home. Two days later we are back in hospital with another infection and a broken kneecap and now needs more care than before, she's no better than the first hospital stay,
probably worse.

Its a shit show and that POA would of helped. I moved back from living overseas to start looking after her, but didn't think within 6 months I'd be where we are, its happened so quickly.

I'm now busy looking in to the Court of Protection route but that seems a daunting process.

Sorry to hear that, could you still not submit the POA, especially if she has signed it before her hospital visits. It is the most heartbreaking illness.

COP sounds like a right clart on I only need it for the private pension once a year, I'm fighting Royal London as I have been appointed as his Appointee with the Government surely that counts for something.

 

[rudd]

One thing to remember, and I see people get this wrong on almost a daily basis at work, is that Power of Attorney only becomes valid when the person lacks the capacity to make the decision at hand.
It doesn’t allow you to overrule an unwise decision if they have capacity to make the decision.

 

[Blame Me]

Sorry to hear that, could you still not submit the POA, especially if she has signed it before her hospital visits. It is the most heartbreaking illness.

COP sounds like a right clart on I only need it for the private pension once a year, I'm fighting Royal London as I have been appointed as his Appointee with the Government surely that counts for something.

Thanks, as I said its a shot show and I think the majority of us are ill prepared for.

Unfortunately for us and her she hadn't signed the document we had prepared, we were probably a day or two too late as her mental decline was so rapid. It wouldn't of been fair on the witness we had arranged and they couldn't in all good faith sign something when they could see she didn't have a clue.

Because of all of this myself and the wife have both completed our POA pretty damn quickly.

 

[zippie]

One thing to remember, and I see people get this wrong on almost a daily basis at work, is that Power of Attorney only becomes valid when the person lacks the capacity to make the decision at hand.
It doesn’t allow you to overrule an unwise decision if they have capacity to make the decision.

The POA is not only for people who lack capacity, it also is for people with other disabilities such as mobility issues. For instance banking, withdrawing money for them and such. A lot of people also don't realise it ends on death of the person.

Thanks, as I said its a shot show and I think the majority of us are ill prepared for.

Unfortunately for us and her she hadn't signed the document we had prepared, we were probably a day or two too late as her mental decline was so rapid. It wouldn't of been fair on the witness we had arranged and they couldn't in all good faith sign something when they could see she didn't have a clue.

Because of all of this myself and the wife have both completed our POA pretty damn quickly.

I dont blame you for getting organised yourselves, what a shame it wasn't signed and I totally agree you couldn't put the witness in a compromising position.

 

[rudd]

The POA is not only for people who lack capacity, it also is for people with other disabilities such as mobility issues. For instance banking, withdrawing money for them and such. A lot of people also don't realise it ends on death of the person.

The Office of Public Guardian and Gov.uk disagrees and says it’s explicitly used when lacking mental capacity to make decisions.

Sounds like you’re on about third party mandates.

 

[zippie]

The Office of Public Guardian and Gov.uk disagrees and says it’s explicitly used when lacking mental capacity to make decisions.

Sounds like you’re on about third party mandates.

Lasting POA for Finance and Health, I had it for my Mam able to act on her behalf as she was housebound. She still had capacity till the end and made all her own decisions, I just carried them out for her.

 

[janey]

The Office of Public Guardian and Gov.uk disagrees and says it’s explicitly used when lacking mental capacity to make decisions.

Sounds like you’re on about third party mandates.

I have debit cards for me mam‘s bank accounts and on one I’m named on it as POA. She has full capacity but I do her shopping etc because of mobility issues.
When it comes to health decisions, because she has capacity I obviously couldn’t override her wishes. But as far as financial matters are concerned I can manage them.