POA for finances - 17 y.o. with ASD

[FauxFox]

Hi, my son was 17 in March, he has a bank account and debit card but has not ever used it independently and I would like to set up and have access to online banking for his account so I can start teaching him how to use contactless etc. The bank says I will need POA to do that but I thought you could not get POA until someone was 18? Any advice appreciated :)

You, or rather DS, can’t apply for a LPA until 18.

Does DS have capacity? If not, it is deputyship you want, not LPA.

I am sons appointee but not POA as I went him to try earn and understand finances. I just do it on line with him.i set it all up and he sits next to me when we do finances. He does have an account that he can't go overdrawn ,if the money's not in account the purchase will be declined. These accounts are easier to find now than they used to be.

A LPA doesn’t mean DC can’t earn or understand money. A deputyship or LPA isn’t usually necessary when the only income is benefits and there aren’t any assets as often an appointee suffices.

You can apply to be a deputy for financial affairs for him. However he would need to be judged as not having capacity which might not be the case here.