Helping elderly relative during lockdown - power of attorney

[Dunlurking]

I've been doing the shopping for an elderly aunt and she's written me a cheque each time for the food. Every so often she transfers money from a savings account into her bank account by physically going into the building society. So a lockdown is going to create problems.Also she's likely to need home care setting up and its payment organising quite soon. A power of attorney set-up is long overdue, not least as she's hard of hearing and needs me to talk on the phone to officialdom for pretty much everything, despite an amplifying phone and hearing aids. Could anyone explain how I go about it in the simplest quickest cheapest possible way please. Can I just use the forms on the gov.uk website? Will banks accept them? Do banks have their own forms as well? Does my aunt have to attend the bank in person? Complete novice to this. My parents were very efficient and set theirs up for me to act on their behalf years ago.

You can print off forms and get them signed and then it needs to be registered before it is able to be used. You then take them.in to bank. Think you may need doctor to.sign?

Thanks @TARSCOUT - have printed forms. So don’t need to pay expensive solicitor fees then, looks like (which is how my parents did it).

That's how I did it as well (the expensive route), colleague did it the cheap way!!

I did wills and LPAs for me, partner, and sorted out my parents (in their 70s) and my great grandma's (93). Also did a civil partnership with my long term parter. So, sorted! Did this a couple of weeks ago and there were many forms that needed to be signed!
As for the LPA, go here and it is cheap and easy - £41 for your relative. Once the Office of the Public Guardian receive your application, they:

'send the correspondent a letter 2 to 3 weeks after we receive the signed LPA. We’ll also tell the donor and attorney(s) that the LPA is going to be registered.
The law requires a 4-week wait. If there are no objections, the correspondent will receive the registered LPA 8 to 10 weeks after OPG receives it. The LPA will then be valid and ready for use when needed.'

@TARSCOUT how frustrating. Well we know now. Just told my parents and they looked annoyed at all those hundreds spent!

@TheGodWorm thanks for that. Must have taken you hours doing that lot. Didn't realise the whole process would take so long. I guess it's not going to be useful for at least half the supposedly 4 month over 70s lockdown then!