Power of attorney - Property and financial affairs

It’s not a copy you need - no organisation will accept that. You need the original. It’s yours and you paid for it. Each sheet is stamped and perforated.

I agree with you, it is so easy to do from the Gov website and each of the two parts costs about £85 so massively cheaper too.

You can and should insist on having the originals. You have paid the solicitor’s bill I expect, so they have no right to keep them.

Btw they are probably offering you certified copies - that means copies which are certified on each page as being true copies of the original document. Your attorneys may need certified copies in the future so my advice would be to pay for
that to be done now to save time and hassle in the future.

Very good point GSM but wouldn’t you think they would tell clients this. I only ever used the original copies.

Yes, I would expect them to say that - and not to bully a client into keeping her documents.

Thank you GSM and Primrose53 for your comments. I do now have certified copies of both the Health and Welfare and Property and Finance POA. (Provided without charge!)
I have now informed the solicitor that I want the original documents, and have set a date for them to be available for me to collect. They can then be put into my safe to be available to my two sons, if and when they are required.

This is why I did ours by myself - no solicitors' fees and all documents sent straight to me.

To anyone else thinking of setting up Powers of Attorney you truly do not need a solicitor. Everything you need to do this is available on www.gov.uk - the forms to download, detailed information as to how to complete the etc. etc. You just need to be methodical as things need to be signed and dated in the correct order.

I had reason to use my late OH's Heath and welfare PofA at the end of his life, and the documents were accepted with no problem.

There is even a very generous discount scheme on the PofA fee which only takes income into account - we only paid a small amount.

Despite being a retired solicitor I used a solicitor. I value an objective view and ‘what if’ questions which prompt thought and perhaps reconsideration.

I had no problem doing it myself - I rang them now and again and they were able to answer my questions and set me on the right path - and they did not charge!

It’s not hard to do online, but what you don’t get is someone giving you an unbiased comment on what you propose and asking ‘what if?’. You might be surprised at how many people say ‘I hadn’t thought of that’.

Germanshepherdsmum

It’s not hard to do online, but what you don’t get is someone giving you an unbiased comment on what you propose and asking ‘what if?’. You might be surprised at how many people say ‘I hadn’t thought of that’.

Can you give us an example please of what you mean GSM because I agree with Luckygirl13.

I had no problems whatsoever completing the forms, they are so straightforward with notes at each stage. No more difficult than completing a passport application, just take your time.

As you know POA is only valid whilst the person is alive and I used both the Health & Welfare and the Finance and Property parts several times without a hitch. My Mum chose me to be her POA as she trusted me to make all decisions in her best interests. She knew me well enough that I would do this and would not have people telling me what I could and couldn’t do regarding her care and finances.

I could imagine there must be many “what ifs” with Wills but can’t imagine any with POA to be honest. I thought the forms covered everything we needed to know.

Just to say that the rules concerning what the attorney is permitted to do change if the donor loses mental capacity. For example you cannot pay a family member for services they provide to the donor without first applying to the Court of Protection - which apparently takes ages and is expensive. Also auditable accounts must be kept for any money leaving the donor's bank account . OH recently had to consult a specialist solicitor for guidance about this which was very helpful. (Attorneys are permitted to charge the donor for legal fees like this)

eddiecat78

Just to say that the rules concerning what the attorney is permitted to do change if the donor loses mental capacity. For example you cannot pay a family member for services they provide to the donor without first applying to the Court of Protection - which apparently takes ages and is expensive. Also auditable accounts must be kept for any money leaving the donor's bank account . OH recently had to consult a specialist solicitor for guidance about this which was very helpful. (Attorneys are permitted to charge the donor for legal fees like this)

Wouldn’t even occur to me to charge a loved one for my services as POA.

All our paperwork is up in the loft, otherwise I would check up but I am certain there was a section where the donor could give permission to the attorney BEFORE they lost capacity if they so wished. This was explained to Mum by myself and also by her witness and she agreed this was what she wanted. She actually said “ you do all my paperwork, pay all my bills and sort everything out for me already so I am happy for you to carry on as you are before I lose capacity.”

To clarify - OH did not want to pay himself for acting as attorney but one of his sisters who is not an attorney ,asked to be paid as she is doing some of the actual caring for their mother-in-law and looking after her garden. The rules are very clear that family members cannot be paid for things like this after mental capacity is lost - unless you apply to the Court of Protection

I mean mother not mother-in-law

eddiecat78

To clarify - OH did not want to pay himself for acting as attorney but one of his sisters who is not an attorney ,asked to be paid as she is doing some of the actual caring for their mother-in-law and looking after her garden. The rules are very clear that family members cannot be paid for things like this after mental capacity is lost - unless you apply to the Court of Protection

I think I know what you mean. I will give this some thought. Cooker alarm going off!

We were asked what we wanted to do with the POA’s. We requested a certified copy for each Attorney and for the return of the originals which are now lodged with a different solicitor along with our Wills. Our family of course have the details. Works for us.

eddiecat78

To clarify - OH did not want to pay himself for acting as attorney but one of his sisters who is not an attorney ,asked to be paid as she is doing some of the actual caring for their mother-in-law and looking after her garden. The rules are very clear that family members cannot be paid for things like this after mental capacity is lost - unless you apply to the Court of Protection

If people don’t have a POA in place then it has to go to the Court of Protection anyway. That’s why it is recommended you get POA sorted to avoid the expense and long delay.

Gosh, can’t imagine your SIL wanting to be paid for caring for her own Mum. I am assuming she gets State Pension or she could have investigated Carers Allowance.

Can you provide a link to the info about family members not being paid after capacity is lost please.

We did ours (naming dds jointly and severally) ourselves. You do have to follow the instructions very carefully - any mistake e.g. re signing/dating, and it will be rejected and you’ll have to start (and pay) again.

We both added a paragraph to the Health and Welfare one, stating our wishes re life-saving/life-prolonging treatment, should we become unable both to care for ourselves, and speak - with full mental capacity - for ourselves.

DD's know what we’d want (and wouldn’t want) but best to have it in writing.