How to use the POA’s

[DustyLee123]

I have had POA for my father for several years, but now he has been given a short prognosis. How or when do I start to use them? And do I need to keep a record and receipts when I use his money?

Sorry about your dad.

Depending on when the LPS were issued, he may have received activation keys from the OPG which he could use to make the LPAs visible to banks, etc.

if not, you’ll need to get some copies certified by a local solicitor. This can get quite expensive so only get as many as you need, eg for each bank etc.

you do need to keep a record of what you’re using the money for, as you may have to show evidence one day.

I have been to his banks and registered them, did that last year when he asked me to.
I’ll start a book with any cash or online payments I make.

I never kept any receipts but everything i paid for was by debit card or standing order (care home fees) so the bank statement showed all transactions anyway.

Right, so I don’t need to keep a record there then, just if I’m taking out cash and using it?
Ive got a card from one of his banks so I’ll look at starting to use that.
I just wondered if I needed to keep all receipts and a long list of purchases!

Unless there is. another attorney who is likely to challenge you, you you don’t need to have a book.it is easier to make as many payments as possible using the debit card. That way the bank statement becomes the record.

I kept a record, just for my own peace of mind.
I do love a spreadsheet, so made a simple one with just a couple of columns, one for any direct debits and standing orders that went out and one for any money I had spent on the card I was given to use as PoA.

It worked well.

sorry to hear that your parent is so very poorly

I wouldn’t say not to keep records, but I really didn’t . When we were in that situation it didn’t even cross my mind tbh. I used the bank account very rarely though.

I'm also interested in this as going to need to use a POA soon.

I think it depends partly on when the PoA was first set up and the particular institution as to how easy the process is. If the PoA was created fairly recently then you get an online activation code and can use this to create a reference number for each institution that you share with them so that they can see PoA online.

I found Lloyds very helpful once you get to the right people - they have a dedicated team dealing with PoAs who set me up with online banking and a debit card for the account.

I had to take the paper copy into the local doctors so that they could take a copy before I could talk to them about mum.

I have LPOA for finance for my DM. It's registered at the bank, I have internet banking and a debit card for her account.

And that's it, I just do anything she needs in a few seconds from home,

I haven't kept any records because 1: it's all on her bank account 2: no-one else cares and 3: she can see it all herself and I pretty much only do stuff she asks for

If you also have LPOA for health - you can only use it if the person has lost capacity, health care staff will expect to see the physical document not just take your word for it. If your relative still has capacity then the GP surgery will want a separate signed letter to say you can have your relatives information as the LPOA does not apply.

From what I remember there should be a perforated code at the bottom of the top page. If you take the whole thing to the bank (etc) they will take a copy of the top page.
For medical POA… this is very useful if your father needs hospitalisation…. It means you can easily advocate for him.

Right, so I don’t need to keep a record there then, just if I’m taking out cash and using it?
Ive got a card from one of his banks so I’ll look at starting to use that.
I just wondered if I needed to keep all receipts and a long list of purchases!

If you are taking cash out you need to keep a record of what it is spent on. If you are audited ( it can happen ) you need to show how the cash was used. It is useful to keep a separate record as the bank statements will only show the vendor i.e. Marks & Spencer’s - was it food ? New PJs for your dad or did you buy yourself a new blouse ?! Having seen first hand problems when records weren’t kept / available personally I would always keep a note - just write it down in a specific notebook and then this can be referenced back to the bank statements.

I registered our Pof As with the Office of the Public Guardian at the time of signing and it was accepted by everyone when I needed to use it for my late OH.

The NHS accepted my decision about withdrawal of treatment with no question.

Financially it was simple as we had a joint account.

I used my mother’ POA for ten years. I started out by keeping receipts for everything, but after a while I only kept receipts for ‘bigger’ purchases like clothing. For everyday stuff like £20 for food or toiletries I stopped bothering. Her care agency/home of course sent me invoices which I kept.

I was POA for both parents. I started off for a few weeks listing out purchases but quite honestly it was a pain in the bottom. Do I log a car parking charge when I need to go and register POA’s or when I need to get them some things?

Siblings were just grateful I was doing it all and told me to spend what I needed. Money wasn’t an issue for either of them.

So the debit card was the record and a few years later after Probate all is fine.

Audited by whom? My siblings weren’t in the UK. Money was plentiful.

I would have gone ballistic if siblings had demanded that I kept the smallest of records. If that had been the case I would have divided up the tasks. But they didn’t. They trusted me to do the best I could.