Mommy Bear Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 Speaking from experience here ! DB's aged auntie was a wiley old girl, a very independent spinster lady who was quite switched on - till the bad stuff set in. She had the sense, or advice, to set up an Enduring Power of Attourney. This was a document that named the people, in her case DB and his brother, who were to look after her affairs when she became incapacitated, in whatever manner - hospitalised, senile, in care etc - to be invoked when was deemed to be so by doctor and lawyer, whatever. By setting it up some years before her decline she had the peace of mind that whatever happened she would be looked after and her finances would be properly administered for her benefit and all necessary decisions would be made by family and in her best interest. The big advantage was that when it came time to take over her affairs the paperwork was already in place and invoked in a very short space of time. To set up a Power of Attourney takes months and in the meantime stuff can go to hell in a handbasket while you wait. There's lots of info on the net. Only last week DB and I got our letters from the Registrar saying that our POA's were now official. You do the necessary with a Lawyer and they notify the people you want to have the powers and obviously they have to give their agreement before it can go ahead. This is nothing to with and has no effect on a Will. Obviously it is a big responsibility but one you will probably get anyway but it is so much easier with the proper documents in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 I thought mother had done this, havent found it yet so, when the time comes for it to kick in, who will know where to contact to start it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui d Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 we (hubs and i) already have them in place, we also seperated our shares in our home to protect at least 50% of the value for the kids incase we need to go in to residential care (or even gets re married in the event of one of us dying), cost a bit, but worth it for peace of mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy Bear Posted June 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 I thought mother had done this, havent found it yet so, when the time comes for it to kick in, who will know where to contact to start it? The lawyer who drew it up should have all the paperwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 just got to find the lawer now ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spins4me Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 just got to find the lawer now ... Is this any help? There's a section on how to find out if someone has set up an Enduring Power of Attorney - you have to pay to find out. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Mentalcapacityandthelaw/Mentalcapacityandplanningahead/DG_185924 (((( )))) Thinking of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safneo Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 we (hubs and i) already have them in place, we also seperated our shares in our home to protect at least 50% of the value for the kids incase we need to go in to residential care (or even gets re married in the event of one of us dying), cost a bit, but worth it for peace of mind Can you explain a bit more jacqui? Sounds like a good idea if its what I think it is? As we are not in our first marraiges, we both have step-children from each other and I want to ensure that the other is taken care of should anything happen to both or either of us without having arguments later. just got to find the lawer now ... Maybe there is some paperwork at your mothers house? Would your brother know her solicitor? I think the older generation often tend to stick with the same ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindere528 Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 I, too am going through this process at the moment. I did an EPA for my mother a few years ago and I am now awaiting notification of registration from the Court of Protection. My mother is now in residential care as she has dementia. My sister is coming next week and we are going to clear Mum's bungalow - not a thing I am looking forward to doing, it feels so wrong to be disposing of her stuff when she's still alive For those of you who haven't yet done a Power of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney have now been replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney. They are a lot more complicated to set up and as a result, the solicitor's fee for doing so will be higher. It's still worth doing though to save a lot of arguments if/when your relative becomes incapacitated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 A good reminder, thank you. I started reading about this last year for my parents, there is some useful info about the Lasting Power of Attorney and links to the forms here There is also advice about wills and what to do after someone has died here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui d Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Safneo, in short we wrote our will some years ago and have them stored with a will company, we update them every couple of years, we have 5 children aged from 28 - 14 so it was important to us to make sure custody of the youngest was accounted for in the event of losing both of us. (at the last update she made it clear what she wanted to happen) we also made a clause that nothing gets sold or shared until she reaches 21 (usally 18 but we felt that was a little young) and that should anything (god forbid) happen to any of the children, their partners get nothing, but their share goes to their own children when they reach 21. We then changed our "tennancy" to tennants in common (as opposed to shared tennancy) on our mortgage (whcih gets registered with the land registary) this means we each have a half share in the house, in the event of first death, 50% of the house goes to the children BUT the remaining person is protected and can life at the house until they die or shose to sell, if they do sell, the kids share can go to them, or be passed on (in the right financial amount)tot he next house, so always protected (also means the government cant grab it for any nursing fees). Power of attorney was then given in the fist account to my hubs for me (and to me for him) and after him (in my case) to my daughter BUT we even protected that, by naming a family friend with whom they check details with before haning power over (in effect means if my daughter initiated the POA they will check her reasons with the friend) honestly not as confusing as it sounds. What we wanted to make sure of, was that we protected as much of the value of the house as possible if we needed nursing care/ that our youngest had a home until a reasonable age / that our kids could get their hands on our cash (if we had any) in the event of needing to/ that if one of us remarries and doesnt update their will, 2nd wife or husband wont get a penny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safneo Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 That all sounds great Jacqui and very sensible. Right along the lines of what I was thinking for our kids. Thank you for explaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murtle Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Wow, that is incredibly well thought through Jacqui. I need to write a will, and get my OH to write a will. What do people do if they don't have kids. Who do they leave it to? No one would want my crap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanrossscot Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Wow, that is incredibly well thought through Jacqui. I need to write a will, and get my OH to write a will. What do people do if they don't have kids. Who do they leave it to? No one would want my crap My OH and I did 'mirror wills' so basically the same. 50% divided between nieces/nephews the other either goes to my Mum to look after any dogs we have or, if she is no longer with us, the Cinnamon Trust to look after the dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owl Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 There are it seems 2 kinds of power of attorney. One is for finances etc and the other covers major decisions such as healthcare. My mum set up an enduring power which my sister and I may well need to claim but I have to see solicitor next week to make sure everything is up to date and get it sorted if it isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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