Joint account?

[DustyLee123]

DM is unable to sort her own money on the iPad now. I’m NOK and have both POA’s. She wants us to have a joint bank account so that I can sort her money for her, we’d open one and I’d transfer money as necessary from her own account. Is this allowed? If so, which banks will do it?

If you have POA you can activate that at her bank and they will give you POA access and a card. That’s the whole point of POA.

It may be easier to have a card in your name for access to her account. It keeps your money separate and if set up well you can also use internet banking.

But she’s asking for a joint account. If we can’t have one, then that solves that, I’m just wondering if it’s yes or no.

I looked at this with my late dad. In the end it was easier for me to be named as someone to manage his account.. I had internet access, a card etc

The money remained his. For lists of reasons I didn't want his money to be jointly my money.. tax being one of them

I don't think I'd be comfortable with that tbh. Would it not get messy when the time comes to pay for care?

I would talk to her bank about the implications, you can refuse if she’s being difficult - you don’t need a joint account.
There are checks on money transfers. My husband found the police ready to meet him at the branch when his mum tried to transfer money to him as they suspected coercion.

But does she understand that she will get all the benefits that she’s looking for by activating the POA?

It's going to get messy. The whole idea of the POA if it's been registered is to say look this person is looking after my finances now. Why does she want it joint?

i Don’t know, perhaps it’s the old way, the way she remembers.
I think that she thinks POA is for when you’re mentally unable, and she’s not. She’s just not confident using the iPad to move money any more, it’s all too confusing with pop-ups and things. She’s frightened of pressing the wrong thing.

Ah I see. No, POA is your mum’s way of giving you the authority to be her financial personal assistant. This is what I did for my mum - she had capacity til the day she died.

Sounds like it wasn't explained to her well enough when she signed

I became a joint account holder on my Mum's account when she became very susceptible to fraudsters - she was very gullible at the beginning of her Dementia diagnosis, and despite having a POA I couldn't stop her writing cheques and going into the branch to try and make CHAPS payments etc, so adding a 'both to sign over X amount' gave us both peace of mind.

Could you explain to her that the POA means you can jointly manage her money but it isn't owned jointly.. it remains hers?

You can get cards that allow limited carer access- there’s various ones, one an app, one a thing promoted by the bank.

The problem with her suggestion is that when she dies the money in that joint account becomes yours, and doesn’t form part of her estate. That could cause problems if you have siblings.

It could be seen as deprivation of assets, if she needs care. There could be charges of elder abuse.

I know it Seems like the obvious way. I wonder whether it actually is, but they don’t publicise it because of the complications!

If you are married or long term ch habituating or have someone other than your mum listed as a beneficiary in your will do not get a JA as if you do her money becomes part of the divorce or death pot

Could she just give you the login details for her online banking account?

Disclaimer: DM has always refused to have online banking and direct debits (bar one) so I've never had to deal with this. But I know someone else who works it this way.

My DH and FIL have a joint account at Santander

If she’s able to get out and about , could you both go to her bank and explain ( I’m sure they’ve heard it before ) and you could be added for the internet banking ( DH did that at Santander , he was already joint bank account holder , but FIL doesn’t believe in internet banking , at least now DH can keep an eye on what’s going on )

I'm on my Dads current accounts and one of his savings. His others with the main chunks of cash in are purely in his name. Me and my brother also have POA in place. Being on his accounts means when he dies whatever money is in those accounts becomes mine and I can pay for a funeral and any other expenses (eg his house bills) without either having to stump up myself or wait for probate. There will be no issue with giving my brother his share, we trust each other and he will absolutely get what's rightly his, Dad only chose me as I'm local and brother is 200 miles away and it will be me who sorts the practicalities anyway.

Mum and Dad both did this for their parents (on the advice of a solicitor following the first parent death) and it works well.

I did something similar (converted parent's account into a joint account) as the solicitor was sitting on the POA paperwork and being difficult about releasing it. The bank staff seemed uneasy with this, but did actually convert the account to a joint account so it is possible. I did not investigate the tax implications but probably should have.

We held my mother’s bank card and got her cash out as needed. I paid her bills and she paid me back in cash. We never told the bank.

My DH has a joint account with his Mum. She is housebound and doesn't do anything online. My DH does her shopping etc. No problem setting it up.
I have a joint account with my brother to manage joint financial matters again no problem setting it ip

If you are on any means tested benefits they would be affected if there is ever a lot of money in the joint account which added to your own savings puts you over the savings threshold.

I guess what a lot of us are saying is you can't have a joint account but decide it's not really joint when it suits.

You would be better to ask the bank how you can access your parents account as you have power of attorney.

Shes in hospital at the moment, I’m spending all day there, plus trying to sort out/clean while she’s not there, so can I be lazy and ask how I start the POA ?

@DustyLee123 to activate the POA with her bank just go in with the POA documents and your ID they will be able to set it up for you. My husband "runs" my FILs bank accounts and deals with broadband/phone etc as FIL is 96 and although fully alert and independent has visual and hearing problems so it's been a life saver for us. Husband keeps spreadsheet of any expenditure he authorises through the account eg paying bills good luck.

Don't get a joint account. I'm pretty sure there'd be tax implications, issues if either of you need to claim benefits and could lead to inheritance complications eventually too.