Looking for some help on Power of Attorney

[PoAQuery]

Both my parents are in their 70s & are arranging PoA with me being the one taking on that role.

I found them a solicitor who has initiated things & they've got the draft forms to read through & complete if all agreed.

There's a bit of a snag which I'm not sure how to resolve & looking for some clarification etc.

When this started, I assumed that this meant I'd be the only person named to be given PoA. The process is obviously something both parents have discussed with the solicitor (I wasn't present, or involved, as obviously this is their decision etc.) and I'm not quite sure if the snag is standard or something that's come out of the discussions with the solicitor.

The paperwork has me plus the other parent name on the paperwork i.e. I'm (I think) joint PoA for each parent. On one side, that's not a problem. On the other side, it could be.

My mum only wants me as PoA. There's a complicated back story to this (the actions of my dad a few years ago when she was extremely vulnerable for health reasons & my dad didn't act in a way that was in my mum's best interests). I don't know if the reciprocal PoA is a standard 'thing' or if the solicitor has made assumptions, or whether my mum hasn't been able to speak as freely as she should have when the original discussions took place.

The reasons this has now come up and needs to be addressed is that my dad isn't really able to deal with a lot of things himself (he's not got dementia etc. - he's been tested frequently) but atm he's got some mental health issues which makes him reluctant to deal with things like finances or paperwork or companies on the phone etc. So, he's not really in a good position to take on the PoA role either, and it's his more recent difficulties that have prompted the move to get things sorted (CPN monitoring dad asked about PoA & suggested we should get this arranged as soon as possible).

Mum doesn't know how to address this. I don't know if this is standard & expected when arranging PoA, or whether I can ask the solicitor to speak to my Mum separately to get her wishes cleared up.

I've not done this before so I'm unsure to what extent I can intervene. I don't want to get involved in disagreements but I know my mum is anxious about this but is the sort to 'not want to make a fuss' so will go along with it even if it's not what she wanted.

Is there a straightforward way to deal with this? Would they need to be dealt with as separate individuals instead of a couple, to allow them both to express their own preferences?

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

You can't really intervene. It has to be her decision who to give her LPA to.
There's no reason at all for them to make 'mirror' ones. She should do exactly as she chooses and so should he.
I'd suggest she just goes back to the solicitor on her own and makes it how she wants it. He doesn't even have to know what hers says.

I’m no lawyer or legal expert, but the solicitor should not automatically assume mirror- it’s just easier and cheaper. Some people don’t want to think too hard about it so solicitors go with a generic wording leaving it very open but just defining who will be the attornies.

Imho having mirror wills makes sense. POA not. I was insistent with mine that a female relative was an additional joint attorney as quite frankly I didn’t want my husband and sons making decisions on my care details if I was in say a nursing home. Not that I don’t trust them, but they just don’t ask the right questions or think about stuff in the way my more distant female relative would
We also made a expression of wishes each and said the attorney needed to take that into account, rather than putting a ton of detail into the POA itself. I then wrote a ton of detail into my expression of wishes on very thing from how I wanted my finances to be managed, care provision, funeral and burial. And I mean a lot of detail.
I can change that expression of wishes at any time, just sign and date and keep in the fire safe with the will and POA.
You do know you don’t actually need a solicitor for a POA? It’s actually a simple process and form...the most painful piece is getting all the signatures together. You can pay a small fee on top of standard charges by the Gov office to have someone check it before you submit for errors. And there’s lots of help on line.
It’s a form, not like a will, so much easier to do it yourselves,

They have to each make separate LPAs btw. There is no such things as a couples one.

And if either of them does choose 2 people to give it to it should be done 'jointly and severally' so each can act separately rather than 'jointly' because then both have to agree.

Thanks for the replies.

It's an odd position to be in, my mum leaning on me a bit to help her but me not wanting to get involved for reasons stated i.e. it's her decision etc.

I'll suggest she speaks to the solicitor & and explains what she wants & asks her to amend of that's her choice.

They are separate - there's 2 documents but each of them has me + the other parent & I know that that's not what my mum said she wanted when we discussed this. My dad wasn't keen & hasn't been for years but my mum was wanting to arrange it for her whether he wanted it or not, and said she wanted me named. I'm not sure where the suggestion that my dad be named too came from as I wasn't involved in the discussion but the impression I got was that she felt she couldn't speak freely in front of my dad.

I'll tell her to speak to the solicitor & make sure she's clear on what she wants if the draft forms sent don't reflect her wishes.

it should be done 'jointly and severally' so each can act separately rather than 'jointly' because then both have to agree.

Thanks for this - that's helpful too.

Look on the gov website and save them a tonne of money - can all be self applied, giving your mum the safety net of filling it in herself or with your help and knowing she isnt pushed into anything.. think it costs about £85 per form per person

Definitely worth getting both health and finance done for them both if they agree

And as PP said, severally is a good way as opposed to joint

the more she talks to solicitor, the more she'll have to pay.
you don't need a solicitor at all for this.
see advice above.
obviously she'll have to pay for having already seen the solicitor, and any work done, but don't encourage her to incur any more unnecessary costs.

@alexdgr8

the more she talks to solicitor, the more she'll have to pay. you don't need a solicitor at all for this. see advice above. obviously she'll have to pay for having already seen the solicitor, and any work done, but don't encourage her to incur any more unnecessary costs.

Not necessarily. We charge a flat fee for LPA's.