Lasting Power of Attorney: Get It Sorted

[tamthebam]

5 minutes ago, alta-pete said:

And where is @tamthebam please?

sitting on my fat arse in the living room. 

Tbh POA is not my area of expertise. 

[alta-pete]

35 minutes ago, tamthebam said:

sitting on my fat arse in the living room. 

Tbh POA is not my area of expertise. 

Ffs man. You’ll be better qualified than most on here! 

[Busta Nut]

POA end when the person dies.

[Distant Doonhamer]

Totally agree with the initial post saying get this done. We did this at my dad’s behest a good number of years ago and it made the trauma and practicalities  of dealing with his decline through dementia and recent passing so much easier than it would have been without it.  Still been a very tough time but no question being on a position of having POA was a godsend. 

[RH33]

7 hours ago, parsforlife said:

I think you can both hold it?   Certainly my dad has said if he ever loses his shit he's set things up so any of us can step in and take control.

Yeah we could but my sister is based in the Highlands and would always be first on the scene if say medical emergency and health decisions needed so easier if it's her. Not like folks are minted and have £50k like the other posters situation.

Dad has it for my Granny but took her a long time to allow it. My grandfather on my mum's side refused and in the end in had dinentia. Was fine when his wife was alive but after that was a bit more complicated. 

[djchapsticks]

9 hours ago, ICTChris said:

As stated previously, when I die I want all my possessions sold and the proceeds used to buy gold and jewels which will be placed inside my coffin. Then, when archeologists dig me up in 2000 years there will think I was a powerful chief or war lord.

Bit awkward when you get cremated.

[Moomintroll]

Honestly, get it done. I worked in banking for 2  looong months & the shite I had to endure because people do not know passwords etc is heartbreaking. There are specialist teams who eventually deal with it but I am not built to be an arsehole towards people who are suffering because I am not allowed to deviate from the script.

[Fullerene]

43 minutes ago, Moomintroll said:

Honestly, get it done. I worked in banking for 2  looong months & the shite I had to endure because people do not know passwords etc is heartbreaking. There are specialist teams who eventually deal with it but I am not built to be an arsehole towards people who are suffering because I am not allowed to deviate from the script.

Only got themselves to blame.  You want a good password.

PASSWORD

I use it all the time.  Never let's me down.

[Moomintroll]

1 minute ago, Fullerene said:

Only got themselves to blame.  You want a good password.

PASSWORD

I use it all the time.  Never let's me down.

You forgot the exclamatian mark, you wouldn't steal a car, would you?

[Sergeant Wilson]

4 hours ago, Madame RH33 said:

My grandfather on my mum's side refused and in the end in had dinentia. Was fine when his wife was alive but after that was a bit more complicated. 

That's worse than dementia.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Moomintroll said:

There are specialist teams who eventually deal with it but I am not built to be an arsehole towards people who are suffering because I am not allowed to deviate from the script.

I' haven't ruled out writing a stage play based upon the phone calls and emails between me, the Post Office, and their bailiffs about paying his last phone bill. I'd have to edit them heavily to get it down to a two hour show.  Sadly, I always wanted Sidney Poitier to star as me......... 
  

[Moomintroll]

3 minutes ago, IncomingExile said:

I' haven't ruled out writing a stage play based upon the phone calls and emails between me, the Post Office, and their bailiffs about paying his last phone bill. I'd have to edit them heavily to get it down to a two hour show.  Sadly, I always wanted Sidney Poitier to star as me......... 
  

Now there is a man who can be relied upon in the Deadpool, unlike that b*****d Belafonte.

[CityDave94]

On 07/01/2023 at 18:59, IncomingExile said:

Without writing an epic post, just thought it was worth highlighting how important it is to sit down with your family and talk about arranging a Lasting Power of Attorney. I'm now into my third year of stress and hassle because an elderly relative refused to agree to an LPA arrangement before his health deteriorated and he went into a dementia nursing home.

Once he'd been discharged from hospital lacking mental capacity, it was too late for an LPA to be formalised.

Instead, I had to apply to the Court of Protection for Deputyship (Guardianship in Scotland, but it seems to be equally as onerous upon the applicant). It's obviously set up to protect the afflicted individual but places various liabilities upon the applicant, which in my case I could not afford to take on.

With an LPA in place I could have arranged settlement of his outstanding debts, and sold his house to secure his finances and pay for the £50,000 plus in care-home fees that he's run up. .Instead, it's three years down the line, bailiffs have been involved and I've had to get a solicitor to be appointed by the Court instead. 

People think nothing of making a Will for when they snuff it, but not an LPA in case they become incapacitated, temporarily or permanently. It really is worth the extra couple of hundred quid, you can get it all agreed now when you're all fit and well, then keep it in a drawer just in case it's ever needed. 

I'm not savvy enough to post links but there's plenty of information online. I'd recommend anyone to spend a few minutes reading up, then having a conversation with their family. 

  

Hi, you must be going through a real tough time, I have had shared guardianship over my mother for six years under similar circumstances but though I've found the guardianship (Scottish) one of the easiest part of caring and taking responsibility, the only difference being its the court rather than the relative that awards you those powers.

I'm a bit confused about your experience with applying for guardianship, did the court award you guardianship or did you decide not to go through with it after applying?

Was it through the Scottish court?

And if you have guardianship why do you not have the authority to sell the house and sort out his finances, with guardianship you should have exactly the same power to look after your relative as with POA?

[Nowhereman]

On 07/01/2023 at 21:15, TxRover said:

Different country, similar issues. A neighbor died suddenly just before he got married, with no will or power of attorney. His fiancée was in the situation where she legally couldn’t make the house or auto payments, and had to work with the banks to ensure a smooth repossession of both and would have been left with nothing if his family hadn’t been kind enough to give her his estate…of course, she got taxed on it as a gift too! He was 32.

You need both a will and a LPA/PoA!

What tax would she have paid on a gift? There isn’t tax on gifts

[Jacksgranda]

4 minutes ago, Nowhereman said:

What tax would she have paid on a gift? There isn’t tax on gifts

Maybe in the USA?

[Nowhereman]

Just now, Jacksgranda said:

Maybe in the USA?

Ah thought he was talking about uk

[Guest]

2 hours ago, approximately dave said:

Hi, you must be going through a real tough time, I have had shared guardianship over my mother for six years under similar circumstances but though I've found the guardianship (Scottish) one of the easiest part of caring and taking responsibility, the only difference being its the court rather than the relative that awards you those powers.

I'm a bit confused about your experience with applying for guardianship, did the court award you guardianship or did you decide not to go through with it after applying?

Was it through the Scottish court?

And if you have guardianship why do you not have the authority to sell the house and sort out his finances, with guardianship you should have exactly the same power to look after your relative as with POA?

Hi, thanks for your reply. Have actually typed out two responses but the internet keeps crashing, so this one is a short answer in the vain hope it gets through:
I decided to contact a local solicitor instead to apply for Professional Deputyship (it's an English case), A number of complications related to the leasehold property/dilapidations meant I could have been left holding a very poisoned chalice. 
All happened just before the first lockdown and only now is the property near to going on the market. 
The original post was more to highlight the importance of agreeing a Lasting/Continuous Power of Attorney within your family before it reaches the stage where it is needed, so as to make things easier to deal with compared to the Deputyship/Guardianship role.
Let's hope this version makes it past the internet gods......

Edited January 10, 2023 by IncomingExile

[TxRover]

13 minutes ago, Nowhereman said:

What tax would she have paid on a gift? There isn’t tax on gifts

Yes, there is above a certain amount over a lifetime. The IRS has a motto…

”If we’ve not made someone, somewhere unhappy today, we’ve failed”

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/gift-tax

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Nowhereman said:

Ah thought he was talking about uk

There's also inheritance tax issues in the UK if you die within seven years of making a substantial gift to your kids/family. We need a local Andy du Fresne to work this out on a prison rooftop, could even get a few beers out of it. 

[welshbairn]

1 hour ago, Nowhereman said:

What tax would she have paid on a gift? There isn’t tax on gifts

Any gifts that total more than £3000 in any of the seven years before you die are taxable in Scotland. Something like that anyway.. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by welshbairn