Power of Attorney

[almostfriday]

Hi

I've got some information about POA. It seems a form can be signed and sent to the Office of the Public Guardian. Does that mean that you don't need a solicitor?

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

You definitely don't need a solicitor if you don't want one.

Are you applying for both Health and Finance? When we took them out for our DPs they wanted to use a Solicitor and he only wanted to do finance and kept, oddly, trying to talk us out of the Health one.

When my DF was rather suddenly terminally ill it was the Health one that we found invaluable.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

You may also be eligible for help with the Court Fees

[almostfriday]

Thanks so much for the information. What difference would it make if you go through a solicitor? I would try to get both health and finance ones.

[MrPanks]

You definitely don't need a solicitor. You just need it signed by a person who carries out notional duties. My friend who was a bank official was able to sign my DFs.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Literally the only difference is that a Solicitor fills in the forms for you, at a cost.

They may be more used to filling them in so are unlikely to have them sent back but as long as you are literate you should be fine doing it yourself

[WanderingMilly]

Solicitor fills in the forms, takes ages and ages, charges you anything from £700 to £1000 to do it.
We did it ourselves for my mother, there were a lot of forms to do as we were Deputies rather than POA, but just worked through them. You can also ring up the Office of Public Guardian directly, they are very kind and helpful and will lead you through it all.
I'm pleased we didn't spend money for a solicitor to do what we could just sort out ourselves.

[almostfriday]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to read up about it at the weekend. My parent has a medical appointment coming up and I'm hoping the practitioner would talk to him about POA then.

[Imtoooldforallthis]

I've just done both for my mum, solicitors wanted over £1000, cost me £65 each to do myself. Not complicated at all. Taken a while had one returned as I'd missed a signature. But easier than I expected.

[Aurorie11]

I did them for my parents v straightforward.
My PILs have just done there's insisted on using a solicitor. Seemed money for old rope from what my DH was sent to sign as one of the attorneys. My PILs are much more highly educated than my parents but were adamant they need a solicitor, no idea why!

[flygirl767]

Do them yourself, just take your time and make sure everything is signed in the right place. NO need to use a solicitor.

[RaininSummer]

I did both of my own just so that they are in place for the future or any unforseen accidents as I am not married and would want my daughters to be able to move money and make decisions if needed. It's not that hard but do read the info carefully especially about the signatures needed. I think it is more complicated and expensive if your person no longer has capacity.

[movingonup20]

You don't need a solicitor, if you are someone who finds forms hard, there's people who can help you from voluntary places to independent people for a modest fee. I've been doing this for extra income for years and charge £50, if someone quotes you much more find someone cheaper!

Remember the person must have full capacity at the time they sign, if not the process is more complicated and expensive, you might need advice for that but the helpline is very good

[Shineonyoucrazy]

LPofA is the decision of the person giving it. People her are talking as if it's their business. If you don't have an LPofA Property and Finance you are in an almost instant mess if you become incapacitated. If my DP and I don't have them if either of us had an accident etc we don't have access to each other's money to pay joint bills. If you don't have LPofA Health and Welfare there are health and social care professionals who, in consultation with family and friends, will take these decisions in the person's Best Interest.