POA - how do I use it?

[LadySchmuck]

I've been googling for hours and I still don't know what I'm meant to do.

I have the letters to say I hold POA for my mum for health and welfare and finances. My mum has been in a dementia care home since February with DOLS in place.

I need to access my mum's bank account to get her a few things and to pay the care home when social services eventually do a financial assessment. I've asked my SIL who works for a bank what I need to do and she asked if the POA is activated, I don't think it is and I don't know how to do it?

Can anyone tell me what I need to do?

Go into the bank - you may need to make an appointment with a customer service person. It takes around a maximum of 30mins as a rough guide. Take your proof of identity and the original paperwork sent to you, ie your power of attorney paperwork. A certified copy of the paperwork is something I also took with me. I had around a dozen done - but was also dealing with utilities etc. Some banks will photocopy your POA, some will ask to retain a certified copy. Make sure if they do photocopy it, that you get ALL the sheets back. DO NOT LET THE ORIGINAL PAPERWORK OUT OF YOUR SIGHT.
The bank should then update all relevant accounts and you will receive paperwork/bank card/statements etc which will have you name on as POA + your name. You can then access the accounts as if you were the primary account holder.
Just make sure you keep clear records of what you do with any monies in the account - what you spend it on, if you move it to another place for a better rate of interest etc. You never know if may need asked to prove what you did at some point in the future. (Rare but can happen. Social services/court of protection) You must act in the best interest of the person who you hold the POA.
Its been a good few years since I had to this, but that’s what I did. The bank will happily answer any question you have.

This is how you register your PofA: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/245550/LPA110_Guidance_apply_register_LPA.pdf

When my late OH and I set up ours, we registered them straight away. You may in fact find that you have already done so.

When he became seriously ill I was able to deal with all the finances (not complicated for us because we had a joint account) and to make decisions about his well-being. In fact it was accepted by all the medics when I made the decision that he should not be treated when pneumonia hit him, and they followed my wishes that he should be allowed to slip away in peace without going into hospital again.

Having a P of A for a parent or spouse is very important and needs sorting sooner rather than later.

Ok this is really helpful. It's registered as I've had a letter with a code on it. I didn't know if I needed something to say my mum isn't able to make her own decisions or if it's just ok to go and sort it out with the bank?

Good point on the certified copies, would I need to see a solicitor to do this.

Apologies for being absolutely clueless, I'm in my 30s so wasn't really expecting to be dealing with this for a while yet and I don't have any friends who have been through the same thing.

As it is registered, you can just go ahead and take the papers to the bank. I did not involve a solicitor at any point.

Also, the bank will sometimes certify a copy for you. My Mother’s did it for free, as they were quiet that day, but may charge.

@LadySchmuck i didn’t have to prove my mil was no longer capable. The POA was in itself enough. But this may have changed in the intervening years, or it may even vary from bank to bank. So I would have a quick google of the banks own website or email the head office. Someone may have more recent knowledge.

I haven’t had to prove my father lacks capacity, but his PoA has the box ticked saying it (the Finance one, the Health doesn’t have this option) can-be used before he has lost capacity.

If you take the PoA into the bank, they will copy it for their records and give it back to you. But if you are having to deal at a distance and send it by post, you’ll need a certified copy. Don’t risk the original in-the post. But nowadays people can operate via the code, don’t know how that works, our PoA is too old for that.

Depending on the bank, some have an online process for adding an attorney for property and affairs to the bank account. Often they require you to call them or make an appointment to attend a branch - very few let you rock up unannounced. Whichever route you use, you will need to let the bank know if you want online banking and/or debit card and/or cheque book and you will need to provide your own ID eg passport or photo driving licence plus council tax or utility bill showing your current address.

Also, you do t have to get certified copies anymore if the POA was made post-2016. You just go online if solicitor’s registered it and get a key number. Very useful instead of multiple certified copies and saves all the palava.

PS. I also read everything online and still found it very confusing indeed. Somehow I have managed to pursue the right process and have access to my mothers back account now, but honestly it’s a mystery how it all worked. My mother’s Solicitors did not make it easy retrieving the originals either. If it had been an actual eg medical emergency it would have been an even worse nightmare. Good its activated now (whatever that means I’m still not 100% clear, it’s like the crystal maze for some of us).

Hi OP

Does this help? When was the letter dated?

Which is your mother’s bank - I believe some still want to see the paper

https://www.gov.uk/use-lasting-power-of-attorney

As everyone says you can just take the form to the bank. You shouldn’t need to prove loss of capacity unless the form says it can only be used in that situation.

in case in future anyone DOES want proof of loss of capacity (I needed it when selling my Mum’s house) find or ask for a copy of the DOLS assessment. There should have been an assessment by a psychiatrist of her mental capacity as part of that. Capacity is situational, but that probably has enough in it to demonstrate her cognitive capabilities.

Bank aside, in general you just contact the organisation you need to deal with, say you’re doing it on behalf of your mum and you hold power of attorney. Each organisation will have its own procedures, some good, some not so good. Eg one of the utilities said I had to take over mums account in order to talk to them, which she didn’t want, she just wanted me to make the calls as she couldn’t cope with them.

if your poa is relatively recent, I would recommend activating online. When I applied on mums behalf for her attendance allowance, the DWP rang me up and I gave them a code from the online POA site to prove my identity. Took 5 minutes and a lot easier than getting certified paper copies. Only downside is not many organisations are set up yet to do the online verification.

I have POA for my Dad. The Bank set up a TEAMS meeting with me, and after that I had full access to everything. This was well after covid, btw.

Thank you all so much for help an advice it's really a minefield! It's a recent POA so I have an activation key and I have a copy of the DOLs assessment too since I'm my mum's representative. Still haven't actually managed to get to the bank - they're not keen on a weekend appointment to sort it out!

I believe that if the PoA is registered you do not have to prove loss of capacity - I was not asked to do this at any point.

For finance that is true. When I activated it with mums bank it was mainly because her sight is very poor and she wanted me to deal with her paperwork and make payments on her behalf. She still had capacity at the time.

Hit post too soon. Because she had capacity, I had to make sure that I was following her instructions, now she’s sliding into dementia I still consult and inform her but sometimes she’s unable to understand so that’s when I have to make sure I’m acting in her best interests.

For finance that is true provided the box has been ticked saying it can be used when the person still has capacity. If the box has been ticked saying but can be used only after loss if capacity, everyone would have to be happy that capacity has been list, just as for the health one.

I have PoA for my dad and on a visit in April, we popped into the local branch of his bank with my certified copy and asked if I could be added as an attorney to his accounts. As others say, it took 30-45 minutes, but we were chatting all the time. My dad was showing the lady photos of his car... I received cards for his accounts within about 10 days. That was Barclays. They aren't my favourite bank but I was impressed how easy they made it.

A couple of weeks ago I moved his landline & broadband to Plusnet. I needed to speak to their customer service and they were unbelievably kind & helpful. They have me registered on their system. I think I need to upload photos of the PoA to them, but they have acted as though they have them already, which is great.

We also went to his GP's. Whilst he does have capacity, he has requested that my sister and I are to be kept informed of his medical condition and they asked him to write this in a letter. He delivered that and they have acknowledged it. So far, so good.

I did this in March this year for my father

First off you have to activate the POA - go to https://www.gov.uk/use-lasting-power-of-attorney register for an account and enter the number you got in the letters - you will then get a code which you quote to the financial institutions

You then have to contact each bank - my father's main accounts were with Santander and Halifax.

Halifax was very easy - if you look on their website there is a number to call and they will talk you through the process. As I am a Halifax customer myself it was added to my electronic banking page shortly after the phone call. I received cheque book, bank card etc within a week.

Santander was able all to be done on the website but I had to upload proof of identity (photo of driving licence etc) and then I received bank card and online banking codes within a few days. It was all very painless - I presume other banks are as efficient. You will then receive all the correspondence for the account. Make sure you keep the statements etc and record of spending so that can justify all the spending.