LPA - Solicitors say it can't be used

[Lougle]

I have LPA for both my parents for health and finances. My parents are entering into equity release and they want me to be present/deal with the solicitor. The solicitor refused because they have capacity, so they will only speak to them. My father challenged this and said 'but my daughter has LPA, so why can't you speak to her because I want her to deal with it' and they said they absolutely couldn't, even if he wanted to. For clarity, he was willing to pass security, he just wanted me to explain his query to them rather than him having to do it. Are they correct?

I think its a grey area, but if they are taking out equity release, they should deal with the solicitor independently. However, I can’t see why you cannot attend an appointment with them.
BTW, I’m currently dealing with my mother’s estate. She had equity release, its now at 1/3 the value of her property. As her DH is in a care home with no capacity and no POA, the house can’t be sold and the interest is racking up hugely. Its an absolute nightmare!

Is your parents Financial LPA registered and did they tick the box that enables you to act immediately? If it is then it seems odd...

Is the solicitor suggesting you are benefiting in some way which might be unethical? Would the solicitor meet with your parents and you go along?

Who is setting up this equity release? Is it a bank, standard finance or a specific firm? Is the solicitor being paid by the release firm? My heckles are raised...

Financial LPA does not require the donor to be incapacitated for the appointee to act on their behalf, as long as the LPA has been registered with the OPG. The LPA is the legal document giving authority to the appointee to act.
I would check with the OPG that it is registered, and ask if there could be any reason a solicitor won't accept it.

It's all legit. @Soontobe60 I'm sorry to hear that, what a nightmare. The ER has a clause that the house gets sold when the last of them goes into care or dies, so that shouldn't happen to my parents.

@LittleOwl153 it's all properly going through - they had independent financial advice from a specialist broker who surveyed the field of offers.

I think there is an element of making sure they're not being coerced, which I completely understand, so I knew that I would be asked to leave at the point that they are asked if they want to go ahead. However, I did expect that a query such as 'Mum and Dad were worried that they haven't heard from you yet' would have been fairly straight forward and usually Dad is able to pass security with a financial institution and then pass the phone to me.

It's definitely registered. I have the LPA document with the perforated stamps. We didn't even get to the point where they checked the LPA and refused, they just refused on principle. It's not a massive deal, but it left Dad asking me what the point of LPA was if we couldn't use it.

It might be a conflict concern. Are they releasing equity to give you funds?

I believe all equity release joint mortgages have this clause in, but sadly we dont have LPA so cant sell it on his behalf. The fact that you have LPA should override this issue. Their house was owned as tenants in common too, with mum’s 80% share left to her children and her DHs 20% also left to us. So he owns 20%, but could live in the property for life - except he had to go into care!
The LA don’t know how to assess him financially - we’ve been waiting since March for them to sort out his financial assessment!

I think it might be a conflict concern, in the sense of making sure it's their decision. No, I'm not getting, nor would I accept, a penny. Not interested in the slightest.

That's really messy. I'm so sorry.

Does the financial lpa state that you can make any decisions while they still have capacity

@Lougle
Why are they doing equity release? It’s ridiculously expensive to repay the debt. With current mortgages going skywards, can they not downsize? I would never ever suggest anyone did equity release. DH’s aunt Dix it to boost her savings. Of course paying it back was more than the savings, by multiples. Why do it if they can sell to release money?

I forgot. There are two options on a LPA for finance. Did they tick the option that it only comes into effect when they no longer have mental capacity? This would limit its usefulness and would explain why you could t be there.

They ticked the option that allows me to act at any time.

Ordinarily I'd agree. For their circumstances this is the best decision.

It is allowed. My brother has just worked with estate agents and solicitors to sell our Mum’s house. She still very much has capacity, she is just useless at that type of stuff and doesn’t realise dithering can mean the sale would fall through. She has already moved out of the house as it no longer met her needs.

Biggest hurdle we faced was the solicitor insisting on holding the original copy of the PoA, despite the online authorisation being perfectly sufficient. You’ve reminded me I must ask for it back.

I know is now 3 years out of date but I've just gone through the same thing. To use LPA your parents, or whoevers affairs you want deal with, must have lost mental capacity before it can be used. Even if they want you to act for them im affatiad you cannot. You will need and a diagnosis and a doctors letter stating they have lost capacity to deal with their financial affairs to back it up. My mum has advanced vascular dementia so I can now use the LPA. They're is lots of information online that will also state this

You will need and a diagnosis and a doctors letter stating they have lost capacity to deal with their financial affairs to back it up

This is not correct.

A health and welfare LPA can only be used when the donor no longer has the capacity to make their own decisions.

A property and financial LPA can be used as soon as it is registered with the permission of the donor, even if they still have capacity. If you have a properly registered property and financial LPA along with a letter from the donor showing that you have permission to use it, you should be able to act on their behalf. Any institution demanding proof that the donor no longer has capacity is wrong.