Power of attorney, person already has dementia can you get po

[Inthesummertimewhen]

Can you get pow over them?.. Strange situation, house is in fil name but he has dementia and no pow over him.. Mil is fine but sil has pow over her

Sil and mil want to sell the house but apparently a conveyor needs fil to say yes and if they know he has dementia it won't sell... Can pow be obtained please, does any one know?

Always read the small print and the contract, the service charges need to be paid by someone unless the scheme allows deferred payments.

Assessing capacity for a LPOA would not be NHS work and there are very few GPs who are prepared to do it as the outcomes are so contentious.
It's likely you would need a private psychiatrist assessment.

Also your MIL doesn't seem to really understand the flat she has set her heart on. What are the service charges? Does it have a resale value? Is she realistic about what is provided - a warden doesn't do most of the things you have listed. It's unlikely to suitable accommodation for FIL for long.

@Sugartreemumma

I dont understand how they (the family) can be liable for a debt incurred by someone else. If either of my parents owes money I cant be held liable for the debt, surely the same applies in this situation?

There are two things here @Sugartreemumma .

One is that these flats are leasehold. If the service charge isn't paid then the flat is liable to be reposessed by the freeholder.

Parents typically leave their estate to their children and for most average people their flat/home will be their biggest asset.

So say the flat was bought for £250k even if the resale value is £70k that is still a substantial sum so (thinking that they will sell 'soon') there is a motive for the executors/children to keep paying the service charge so the asset isn't lost by reposession.

The second is that the estate (ie. the cash /bank account) of the deceased can be used to fund this for a while.

So it isn't a case of the parent's debt being something the child is legally 'liable' for; it's more a case of lets try to realised some money out of our parents whole life's work and savings.

But basically @Inthesummertimewhen STOP THEM FROM BUYING A RETIREMENT FLAT IF YOU CAN.

@SirQuintusAureliusMaximus
Thank you for your reply. As I thought, they'd have been paying out of a desperate attempt to recoup some of the value of the property, and not because they were liable for the debt.
However, I wouldn't be surprised if the leaseholder had given them the impression that they WERE liable, ime many people do think/feel that one can inherit a debt.

@Ingens yes, I was wrong. My Dad had dementia and did not know who I was or who my Mum was, and they had been married for over 60 years. Everyone involved with his care and sourcing a care home said how fortunate it was that I had POA as I would not have been able to get it when he was diagnosed. That was probably why I thought you could not get it after diagnosis. He was really bad and definitely would not have understood, it is a dreadful disease and very tough on families.