This post is based on many threads on MN I have read. There are misconceptions I keep seeing repeated again and again.
- You can't make someone go into a care home unless they have no capacity. The judgement for capacity is high. I see so many people advising someone to put their elderly relative in a care home. In reality the person going into the care home usually has to agree to it, and often has to pay for it. If the local authority is going to pay, they will assess whether the person has to go into a care home or can manage with visiting carers. The threshold for a paid care home is high.
- Power of attorney - You can legally ask someone to grant you this. This means if they no longer have capacity, you can take over managing their financial affairs. But this has to be agreed by the court. If a capacity assessment has been carried out, and power of attorney was previously given by the person, then it is a formality.
But if the person has the capacity, and whether they have capacity has to be ascertained through a proper assessment, then you cant take over someone's financial affairs. If someone with capacity gives you power of attorney, it means you can help them with their financial affairs. This might mean paying bills for them, setting up direct debits for utility bills. But the person can still spend whatever money they want, however they want. You cant legally control or stop them.
Elderly people are adults like anyone else and are legally allowed to make decisions you may not agree with or think are foolish. The law rightly puts in legal safeguards to stop for example adult children controlling their parents money or deciding where they should live.