Lasting POA question

[PaperbackWrighter]

My question is this: If two of you are the Lasting Power of Attorney (both health and finance), can one of you make decisions without the other? Or do you both need to agree on a course of action together, I was going to be LPOA for my mother alone, with my sister replacement in the event anything happened to me. However she says she feels sidelined, so my mum wonders if we should re-do the forms/application and have us jointly. Issue though is sister has major alcohol dependency and we worry that this could at times hamper decisions, also would not like her to make decisions alone.

I think they can be set up either way, but in your case it really doesn't sound like a good idea.

Jointly and severally is much better in practical terms.

Jointly means that both have to sign everything - and nothing can be done if one is away or unable to sign.

You need to tick the box where decisions can be made jointly and severally i.e separately. Read through all the accompanying notes on the website first before filling the forms in. Doesn't sound a good idea to have your sister though.

It's not about your sister though is it? It's about your mother. If she's already making it about her, it's not the ideal attitude for an attorney. Acting as attorney is a huge responsibility and you must have the donor front and centre in your actions and decision making.

Having joint attorneyship in your situation, may well be detrimental to your mother's wellbeing. If there are any concerns that your sister would act inappropriately or irresponsibly, she should not be appointed.

Thank you all. It sounds as if jointly and severally is more practical in terms of if someone isn't available to make a decision, but my mum and my concern is that we don't want Dsis making decisions alone (hopefully in the future she will overcome her problem but as she is now is all we can currently go on and she can't be making any potential important decisions alone). And yes her attitude isn't ideal.

If jointly and one dies or becomes unavailable, unless there's a replacement attorney to take their place, the LPA becomes null and can't be used any more.

So in your situation it sounds as if your choice is between 1) jointly and severally 2) you as attorney and Dsis as replacement 3) you as attorney and someone else as replacement. 3) would mean you didn't have to tell DSis. But if your mum could get a replacement attorney, then you could do jointly with a replacement attorney.