Power of Attorney - necessary??

[TobikkoRoll]

My father is mid 70s and on his own. I've been advised that he should make a will and a financial PoA. In general good health for his age.

The will I can understand, but is the PoA really necessary? I have access to his bank account (jointly held) and am an appointee for his state pension. He has few assets, so I'm not sure he / I will need a PoA.

Also, the cost of the PoA is putting him off (cheapest quote is £350 + VAT just for the PoA, the will is priced separately). Any experience and advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

No one would be able to guess whether it would be worthwhile or not; that is always the difficulty with things like an LPA as it may not ever be needed.

I would say however that LPAs are useful not just to gain access to a person's finances, but also to give third parties the authority to speak to you rather than your father.

The forms have recently been made much simpler and if you Google them you can find them all online with guidance notes. Then, the only few you will have to pay is the registration fee of £110.

LPAs are like insurance; a waste of money until you need it and then you're so glad you got it.

Thanks SmokeFree, I'll definitely take a look at online forms.

And think about whether you might need LPA for health and welfare as well as financial affairs, as they are completely separate.

And it will be MUCH cheaper to sort whilst he has capacity, given that if it is needed but you don't do it before any loss of capacity the only way to get authority to deal with his affairs is to become a court appointed Deputy.