Caring for mother - power of attorney

[asilverraindrop]

I posted this question on chat a while ago, but got no replies; I'm hoping that the knowledgeable people on here might be able to help. I am caring for my 89 year old mother, who has moved in with us. She is entirely lucid mentally but quite frail physically. We both think it is time to activate a power of attorney, because she finds it too tiring to handle her financial affairs now (dealing with automated phone lines and so forth) and in case of future medical issues - she would want a DNR and would want me to support it, for example. Also, I have been emptying her house and will shortly either be renting it out or selling it, so will have lots of legal stuff to do there either way.
We have the option of using either an EPA or a LPA, because she signed an EPA back in 2007 before the law changed, and so we could activate this, or we could start afresh and do an LPA. Which would better suit our needs, given the situation above, please? Thanks in advance for any advice. :)

[madsaz76]

EPA is still binding but it only covers financial type stuff.

If your Mum also wants you to be her advocate for health and welfare you would need an LPA for health and welfare. You would at least save yourself the pain of getting 2 LPA's but since you have mentions health issues it could be worth getting this done.

Having said that if your Mum was to put together a hospital passport or statement of her wishes and you not do anything thats contrary to that you shouldn't need it. For a frail elder with sensible wishes i.e. look after me well, treat the treatable but don't do anything horrible/ degrading/ unlikely to work Doctors would be likely to make decisions in keeping ith Mums wishes without needed an LPA

[asilverraindrop]

Thank you :) Is it possible to get an EPA and a health and welfare LPA concurrently, then, if we wanted to? Thanks for your help.

[Ternet]

You can also download the documents yourself, have your Mum sign and send them away saving your Mum alot of costs. There is a helpline number if you need assistance. Alternatively, you can ask the Bank for a home visit where they'll complete everything for you, however this is unnecessary expense.

[Ternet]

You can download the LPA forms from The Office of Public Guardian and complete the forms yourself. Alternatively you can complete everything before printing the forms off so you can go back and correct mistakes; then print off for signatures. The cost will be £120 once sent away and processed. Alternatively you can ask for a home visit from your Parents Bank who will then go through the necessary forms, have them signed at home. This can be unnecessarily expensive

[Helenluvsrob]

Do both forms of POA on line asap. It's easy really and includes a bit to put the DNAR if you wish too.

THe killer is the 12 weeks or ewhat ever you have to wait before they can be activated so maybe activate what you have whilst waiting foir the others to come through?

[RightKindOfSun]

Can I butt in and ask about the online PoA process? I'm confused on how to get from the 'Review your PoA' pdf to a version that can be printed for signing. I've edited and reviewed. So in theory I'm at the stage where I can press 'register your LPA now'. But what happens when I press the magic button? I'm scared I might have to start again if I get it wrong. NOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I expected (maybe stupidly) that I would end up with a version without all the 'you haven't finished yet' warnings, that I can print out, take to my mum, so she can sign, then everyone else in the right order, and finally she writes a cheque and posts it off. But the page says
"When you click the button below, we'll ask you some questions about registering your LPA, such as whether you're entitled to a fee reduction and who we should send the registered document to. You'll then be taken to an online payment page – or you can pay the fee by cheque."
HELP! I just want to print the final thing (don't I?)

[whataboutbob]

Right kind I did the form manually a few years ago so can't advise, but I would think it might help if you ring the Office of the Public Guardian and ask them. I found them very helpful when i was filling the form in.

[Livelifefortoday]

I wouldn't use a bank for a Power of Attorney or a Will as they are known to be expensive, as are some national law firms. You can find a specialist local solicitor on the Solicitors for the Elderly website, or STEP (Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners) websites if you have difficulty using the online forms.

[Livelifefortoday]

Btw the simplest way to proceed would be to use the existing EPA to manage finances ( this must be registered with the OPG if your Mum becomes mentally incapable of managing her affairs), and suggest that she also makes an advance directive (also known as a 'living will') in relation to her health care. The difference between an Advance Directive and an LPA for Health and welfare is that an AD does not appoint anyone to make decisions in relation to her health care, it is evidence of her wishes only. The LPA would appoint someone (you,the Attorney) to make decisions about her health care when she is not mentally capable of doing so herself.

[25aylmer]

I think Livelifefortoday is right - you need the EPA plus the Advance Decision (what they now call Advance Directive) plus Health and Welfare LPA. You can do it all yourself. Sounds like you know what you are doing, but there is lots of useful info on this site www.agespace.org/finance-legal/legal-stuff/advance-directive-and-living-wills/
We were really glad we had the AD and H&W LPA when my father was clearly going downhill fast. It still meant a distressing argument with duty GP late on a Sat night when the paramedics wanted to take him to hospital. But we were able to show them the forms dad had signed, and let him slip away without any more horrible intervention, and without being in hospital. We should all put these in place for ourselves, not just our elderly parents. I haven't yet but it is on my to do list this year - you just never know when something may happen and it makes everything so much easier for everyone else at a terribly distressing time.

[RightKindOfSun]

PoA online: I thought it might help some if I updated. Yes, if you press the button to register it, you can fill in the final pages online and end up with a pdf to print out and sign. It was never likely to be different, but I feel it would help if the button said 'finalize for print' or something like that as you can't register until you've printed and signed, so it doesn't need to say register at that point. But all in all a very simple system, can recommend it. And the Helpdesk.