Did you fill in your parents’ legal power of attorney application with them?

[Shinyandnew1]

I would really appreciate any feedback! Is it easy to do or should it really be something to do with a solicitor? I did the AA forms with them online which were fairly straightforward.

If I do it, what information do we need to think about?

Also, do we need a printer or can you get it printed somewhere (I was told it needed to be signed and witnessed in person not a digital signature?)

Thank you so much in advance!

It does look easy @Shinyandnew1

This is a step-by-step for you and your parents

I printed the forms and we filled them in by hand. No solicitor involvement so the cost was significantly less. The process was very easy, it just took a while for us to get them signed as my sister lives overseas. She has joint POA but in realitly it's all been down to me. I just didn't want her to feel excluded.

With hindsight I think we should had each of my parents listed for the other one. I've had to do lots of little things that my mum could have done if she's had POA instead of only being next of kin. I guess it depends what stage your parents are at.

Thank you all, it sounds like it should be doable.

We need to do it for both parents-should they then have POA for each other as well as having us adult children?

Read the instructions carefully. It's not a difficult form but there are some bits where it's not immediately clear who needs to sign where.

It is easy enough to do, but you need to set aside a good bit of time to do it. My mum got her solicitor to do it for her because she didn't want the responsibility, which is fair enough. I don't think it cost a huge amount, but it was an avoidable cost and we would definitely have been able to do it without assistance.

I filled them both in online and printed them for mum and the witness and me to sign. Dead easy.
Just make sure you register them when you get them back from the Office of the Public Guardian

I think it’s do able yourself if all parties are in agreement. I did my DMs probate and it was straight forward. With regards to POA my DF, now aged 92, didn’t seem to understand the importance of getting it done. When he got a solicitor to write a new Will for him she mentioned POA and the reasons why he should have it. He was much more open to her suggesting it than me, so he agreed and she went ahead and arranged everything. It wasn't cheap, but as I am the next of kin I am relieved that everything is in order and ready if we need it.

We've just done ours via Which. Good service but I do think we could have done it ourselves. OH wanted the service. Cheaper than a solicitor, approx £360 for 4 documents (2x finance, 2x health) with step by step advice and further advice after we submitted them to Which. It doesn't include the registration fees.

I have done it for my parents. Really easy to do yourself and far cheaper. Just read all the instructions carefully.

You can ask for paper version to be sent to you. I did this as there is a lot of paperwork and I didn't want to download it all.

You can do it yourself. There's a checker that you can use to make sure you've done it right, and lots of guidance on the gov.uk website.

We had DF and me as attorney for DM, with my brother and husband as back up.

DM can't be attorney for DF, so DH and I are, with my brother as back up.

Oh really-I can’t see an option for that?!

It’s great that you’re on hand to support but it’s really important to remember that your parents must be the ones to make all decisions about their attorneys and what decision-making powers they want their attorneys to have.
If you’re in England or Wales, I’d recommend contacting OPG for advice about whether the online service or the paper forms are best for your circumstances.

Dh and I - who are fairly ancient! - did both our Ps of A ourselves. If people are still reasonably with it, you don’t need to pay a solicitor. It’s quite straightforward - only you do need to read the instructions very carefully, particularly IIRC as regards signing and dating (yourself and witnesses). Any mistake means that it’ll be rejected and you’ll have to start - and pay! - again.

So anyone inclined to be slapdash may need supervision.

So easy, did them with my parents a month ago and I use to have a side business helping people complete them (for a far lower fee than solicitors). As long as you have access to a computer and a printer you can do them yourself

And top tip with the sign ing and dating, there’s a set order they need to be signed in so it’s easier to sign them and add the date later, all the same date so you can’t mess up eg I saw my parents on a different day to my brother but his box was first

If there is any doubt about their capacity to make these decisions, make sure that there is a clear record kept of the capacity assessment and that this decision is made by someone with experience in this area. In my area of work we’ve had some that are very dubious and have had to challenge them in the Court of Protection

It’s the printer that’s the issue-neither of us have one currently!

Local libraries usually have printing services available

Your local library will be able to print them for you. The important thing is the order everybody signs, and there are restrictions on who can be "the certificate provider", it has to be somebody who is not a relative and who knows the person well, so not a casual acquaintance, or certain professionals like doctors or solicitors as they are certifying you understand what you are doing and aren't being coerced. When I did mine, a friend from my time at university was the provider and his wife witnessed our signatures, I then posted the forms to one of my nieces who signed and then posted them on to the next niece, using the sae's I provided. It's best to tick the box for attorneys to act "jointly and severally" and to allow the financial one to be used immediately. It's a slow process as the OPG check all the details.

I have just signed one for my DM, she got a solicitor to do hers as she is a worrier. I do have to wet sign and have it witnessed, but I think they did it digitally for my brother who lives abroad.

Call OPG, they can send you a pack of the paper forms

@Shinyandnew1

I phoned them and requested the paper versions. I also think if you scroll enough on their webpage there is an option there to ask for it. But phoning is probably easier.

Both PIL and my parents have granted POA to each other, then failing that, to their children (jointly and severally).

It’s fine as long as the person who ends up acts attorney is actually capable of it. FIL is, unfortunately, not the clearest thinker nor the most rational of people. He became MILs attorney when she lost capacity due to Parkinson’s and wow he was hard work. He was unable to get his head around the financial side of things despite DH and SIL explaining it to him over and over. And medical decisions were difficult because he just couldn’t understand or remember what drs were telling him. I suppose DH and SIL could have pressured him to resign it, but even just trying to explain that to him was a struggle - he just got furious as he thought they were trying to cut him out or saying he was not doing a good job (he wasn’t). No cognitive decline - just a person who’d never had to do any admin or make any big decisions, as MIL did it all for him all their lives 🤷‍♀️. In the end they just work round him, but it was really frustrating and definitely caused both DH and SIL to resent him more than they might have.

It’s a really simple procedure and a solicitor will charge you a bloody fortune! We did ours recently and thy wanted £600 per form! When I did my dads I discussed it with him, filled in the forms he read them and chose his certificate provider who had a private word with him m to make sure we weren’t trying to fleece him. We all signs and sent it off. £83 per form. ( we did both health and finance ) You really don’t need a solicitor!

I did my own (I'm 74) and just paid the gov charge. I read it v carefully and made notes of who signed where and in what order but, apart from that, quite straightforward. The most irritating bit was them taking 18 weeks to approve it - you can track your application but they managed to get my cheque cleared b4 they'd even received the application!