Is Power of Attorney necessary if parent doesn’t own property?

[sunshinehappydays]

My DM is 75 and in great physical and mental health at the moment. I’m aware all of that can change quickly and she has expressed that she’d like to set up PoA with me (and probably my brother) on it.
My question is-she lives in a council house so I’m not sure what good it will do. As far as I’m aware she doesn’t have any savings either. She’s never worked and only gets pensions credit every month. In terms of health decisions she has expressed her wishes to me (would prefer to be in a NH if her health fails and would never want to stay with me or my brother).
I called around some legal practices near her and they quoted around £4/500 to set up PoA. My DM couldn’t afford this and I guess I could pay but I’m just wondering if it is worth it. My online search on this is a bit fruitless so thought I’d ask here. Thanks

We did it without a solicitor. Found online template that suited our needs. Printed off, got signed by GO that my mum has an opacity and then got it checked at Office of Public Guardian. Had to pay a small fee to get it all registered.

Not in Scotland so don't know the system, but on the assumption that it grants similar rights and responsibilities as in England then I would say yes, it is worth doing. My DH has LPA for his Dad who has now been diagnosed with dementia and it just makes every day management of his affairs so much easier. And getting it done early whilst there is no doubt that the donor still has capacity makes it much more straightforward. We have done ours and I'm not even 60 yet so don't envisage it being used any time soon, but if something unexpected happens and I lose capacity suddenly that's one less thing for my loved ones to have to deal with. I had a serious car crash some years ago and at the time had no will or LPA because in my mind that was something that I had plenty of time for, but it made me realise how life can change in a matter of seconds and that I needed to get my affairs in order.

Nowadays I think POA is essential
We charge 250 + VAT and the OPG fee is 99
If there is no POA and the person loses capacity a guardian may require to be appointed which costs £1000s
You can do it yourself although I understand the rejection rate for home made POAs is fairly high
You will need someone to sign the certificate of capacity if you do it yourself and where we are GPs charge £200 so most people prefer to pay solicitor a bit more to get it done

You can get financial PoA and welfare PoA. The welfare part is very helpful. For example if your mum ever needs to go into care but refuses to do so it will be a very difficult situation to manage. And you may know her wishes re medical treatment but if she becomes incapable of making those decisions herself you will have no legal authority to do that for her without PoA. The PoA means that medical staff will be obliged to give you information and involve you in treatment plans ( in an ideal world this would happen anyway but practice varies) .
And the financial part will make it much easier to deal with day to day financial issues such as paying bills etc.
If you don’t have PoA and there is a difficult situation in the future and she lacks capacity, a guardianship order might be required - which is much more involved than PoA.

You definitely don’t need a solicitor to draw up the forms for you and they don’t have to be signed by a solicitor. You can do it all yourself easily. Your mum will need to sign it, you will need others who know her to confirm she knows what she is agreeing to and isn’t being coerced (these do not need to be professionals, just people who know your mum and aren’t related to her - in my parents’ case, we used their friends) and then witnesses to the signatures ( also not relatives). It’s dead simple, just read all the instructions carefully. You have to do separate applications for finance/property and health/welfare and each application costs around £80.

https://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/meta1/fee-exemption

https://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/forms-publications

https://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/docs/librariesprovider3/poa/pdf-documents/ssi-2008-no-56-(schedule-1).pdf?sfvrsn=e1a7a5d3_2

If her income is state benefits and pensions you can apply to the Department of Work and Pensions to become her Appointee, which would mean her money is paid to you on her behalf. What that won’t help with is giving up her tenancy if she moves to a care home and lacks capacity to sign to give it up. Technically you have no authority to do this if you have no LPoA . If your Mum has mental capacity to give you LPoA then she can sign can sign the forms herself - she has to find someone who knows her to provide a certificate to say she has capacity - our neighbour friend did it for us. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lasting-power-of-attorney-forms.

It registering an LPoA is free if you are on Pension Credit. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69e6434584ac36aaf2cc9307/20260420-lpa120-get-help-with-paying-lpa-fees.pdf
You can help your Mum with this admin as log as she is able to understand (capacity) and of course agrees.

Without a PoA you don’t have the right to act for her.

that means health decisions, where she lives, dealing with the council, bank, pensions - you will be locked out of it all

You need power of attorney to deals with bills banks and benefits. If your mother has clear wishes you can only advocate for her if you hold PA. Decisions can and will be made without you other wise. Form is not very complicated. You can skip parts of it. Mothers details. PA details and someone to sign certified provider to say she is of sound mind. Can be friend neighbour. Who can also witness other signatures. As previously mentioned there will be no cost as on PC. Housing benefit or council tax benefit means there is no charge. If it is needed at any point you will regret not taking the time now to just sign a few documents.

Thanks everyone for input and also for linking forms. I’ll spend a bit of time trying to get my head round things. Although the system is different in Scotland so the English system replies are confusing me even more!

In Scotland, one of the reasons older people can have a delayed discharge from hospital is because if someone has a loss of mental capacity and no-one has a legal mandate to make decisions for them (eg agreeing to move into a care home) then they stay in hospital until this can be put in place. And if no POA, this may need to be guardianship which is expensive and has to go through the courts. So a good reason to set up poa, as well as help to manage accounts.

Yes and yes. I worked as a dementia adviser and Power of Attorney is one thing you better have and not need than need and not have. It has nothing to do with owning a house but managing all finances. There is a separate power of attorney for health decisions and end of life care. You may not need the later if the person sets up advance statement and advanced decision which can be done without a lawyer and with doctors consultation but they are useful to have. If it is needed and no one has it then a deputy will be appointed and court process for that is dreadful. I have seen families not being able to access the person’s money to buy them clothes and food!

It’s not just managing a house sale - it means you can take over and manage her money and financial issues if needed. I had PoA for my mum because she had dementia, but I also hold PoA for my aunt, who has all her marbles still, but can’t manage technology so I can move her money around, pay bills online etc. I can also speak to people like the tax office or the GP on her behalf as PoA. In terms of health, it means you can be her voice if necessary in terms of treatment or final wishes. It makes everything so much easier.

A POA is essential imho and I couldn’t have looked after my elderly parents without one.
They are easy and cheap to do online - there’s a very good tick box instruction list to follow.

The registration now costs £92 per document, but is free for those on means-tested benefits. They are so easy to do yourself online. I have done them for six people now.

@BooneyBeautiful I’m in Scotland so the process is more complex, more expensive and requires a solicitor. Unfortunately.

That's a shame. It's relatively easy to do down here in England.

If you google you can do an online POA in Scotland. But it can be better to do it through a solicitor if you are seeking welfare powers as they should ( hopefully) be clearer about relevant wording to avoid some of the problems that can arise.