Power Of Attorney Situation Arising. Your Advice Please.

[dgs]

There are 3 of us, myself eldest son aged 60, my younger brother aged 57 and our younger sister aged 54 ish.
Our parents are still around, mum and dad aged 90 and 91 respectively. Living in their own home for the last 60 years.
The house had money raised as a lump sump about 10 years ago with someone like Norwich Union or somebody to the tune of
about £60000 and they owe them around £120000 including the original borrowing and the house is worth around £350000
and they have savings and isas of around £43000.
My dad has always been in fairly good health and our mum as well, but recently my dad has been in a bit of a decline and our mother
has the onset of dementia.
My brother has always taken it upon himself to look after our parents affairs of monetary or health nature and our dad has always let him
do it. So he has been able in the past to move things like isas etc between accounts for him and set up this and set up that for him.
He knows the ins and outs of all their affairs and myself and my sister dont and have never dealt with any of their stuff before.
The thing is, myself and my sister dont really trust him as far as we could throw him and we dont really get on with him a there is a bit of history,
Also my sister has a police order against him for harassment (basically he was a pain in the arse towards her, bombarding her with nasty texts,also saying that he would see to it that she wouldn't see a penny of our mum and dad's money).
He is pushing for someone to be power of attorney while our dad is still compus mentus but will not share the duty with either of us of one of us can do it on our own as far as he is concerned. I personally am worried about the involvement that he has with our parents accounts and the amount of input there would be from him (welcome or not). If he had power of attorney, what safeguards could we ask for?
If i or my sister had it, how much s*** would we have to put up with from him or his legal friends?
Your help and advice would be appreciated.

[stevemLS]

Re: Power Of Attorney Situation Arising. Your Advice Please.

What are your parents views on the matter? It is they who should be making decisions at this stage.

It is far cheaper to put the necessary arrangements in place whilst a person still has capacity rather than after it is lost.

I don't quite understand why your brother would be pushing for you to take an LPA which would remove him from management of your parents financial affairs?

Have you any actual evidence of financial mismanagement?

[ostell]

Re: Power Of Attorney Situation Arising. Your Advice Please.

If you don't trust him then now is the time for you to get an LPA for your parents, with your sister as deputy. Then you will have access to your parent's financial matters.

[dgs]

Re: Power Of Attorney Situation Arising. Your Advice Please.

Hi SteveMLS thanks for your reply. Our mother is away with the fairies a little bit so thats a non starter but our dad is kind of ok but is under pressure with his health in one way or another at the moment and is in and out of hospital, but we keep hearing from him that our brother gives him things to sign and that worries myself and my sister. But he does seem to be the one that organises all the entitlements that he is in receipt of, and has the time to be around them whenever the need arises as his wife has a nusing home and he works for her now.
He (our brother) says he doesn't care who does it but he wont share it with anybody.
If it was a clean slate and he knew nothing of bank account numbers and figures to do with their accounts and isas etc etc i wouldn't mind attempting it, but he is in too deep with inside knowledge of all their affairs. And my sister doesn't want to do it she says she is too forgetful,
If it was left to our brother what safeguards could there be put in place so that we would feel that there would be no wrong doing on his part?
The only thing i could think of was being linked online to my dad's current account without our brother's knowledge so that i could monitor any transactions that took place. (this would be with our father's consent) and if there was what i thought was some wrong doing where does one complain to? Thanks for any help and advice ............................... DGS

[stevemLS]

Re: Power Of Attorney Situation Arising. Your Advice Please.

Google search for COP3 Assessment of Capacity and ask GP to complete.

It does strike me, however, that your parents would be better off asking you to act as Attorney.

If they both lack capacity, you are in different territory and would be asking the court to appoint you as Deputy, this will be expensive.

[stevemLS]

Re: Power Of Attorney Situation Arising. Your Advice Please.

I ask again, however, whether you have any evidence of financial misuse?

[des8]

Re: Power Of Attorney Situation Arising. Your Advice Please.

This extract from "http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/programmes/money_box/transcripts/10_09_22_extra.pdf" might help:

If there are three siblings and a couple need Powers Of Attorney, is it betterto use all siblings or does it make it more complicated because you need 3signatures etc?
This really depends on how you would like the LPA to operate. The two choices areto have the LPA operate ‘jointly’ or to operate ‘jointly and severally. If it is to operate‘jointly and severally’ this means any one of your Attorneys can act individually or inconcert with the other Attorneys – you would not need all three to agree to each andevery decision. If, however, you wish the LPA to operate jointly, this means that allthe Attorneys must make all decisions together. It is important to note that if youchoose this option, the LPA is no longer valid if one of the Attorneys should die or beunable to act, unless a replacement Attorney has been specified to take over in suchcircumstances. If you wish the LPA to operate jointly and severally, this means thatany of the named Attorneys can still make decisions even if one of the Attorneysdies, or is unable to act.It is also possible for you to specify that your Attorneys have to act jointly whenmaking some decisions and jointly and severally for making other decisions. Asabove, if one of your Attorneys is unable to act, for example, were they to die, anydecisions you asked to be made jointly could not then be made after that point.