| Help needed, power of attorney 16:53 - Feb 21 with 1104 views | RangersDave |
Alas my partners mother has been showing the signs of dementia for the last 2 years and it has gotten to the stage where she doesn't know if it's Wednesday or Lewisham (Courtesy Ms. P. Scales).
My partner has got power of attorney, and has started going through her mothers accounts as her mother hasn't got any money each month as her pension seems to disappear from her mothers account.
she has found almost £16,000.00 missing / unaccounted for with no real paper trail over the last 2 years. All DD's have been cancelled, and mortgage is sorted, so is her poxy time share, but...........
However we are thinking that as her mother knows nothing of these transactions we can claim under the chargeback scheme as apparently they went out by someone using her debit cards purporting to be a company in Spain. (We know that she owns her part of her time share and that this property has a maintenance order for payment every year...fair enough), but there is no paper trail at all here, and for some reason the Halifax isn't recognising my partner has power of attorney despite my partner going to the bank along with her mother.
So this is an old lady who has 'lost' 16k in cash from an account she hasn't got paperwork, receipts etc for.
What i'm after is advice please, legal or otherwise to guide both hers and my next moves.
Cheers guys and girls
Dave |  |
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| Help needed, power of attorney on 17:26 - Feb 21 with 1010 views | gazza1 |
'and for some reason the Halifax isn't recognising my partner has power of attorney'.
Your wife should have signed paperwork, normally via a solicitor, regarding PofA that has her name on it. This is a legal document and should be acceptable as proof that you can deal with her estate. |  | | |
| Help needed, power of attorney on 19:25 - Feb 21 with 913 views | stevec |
There’s two types of POA, one for health and another for property and money. Your partner may only have health one if Halifax won’t accept it.
Probably needs all relevant parties to go see a solicitor together and sort out POA situation and a will. Obviously that all depends on your partners mothers consent and despite her illness a solicitor will advise if she is still able to supply consent or, failing that, a way forward.
Sorry that’s not direct help but my mother also has advanced dementia and I’d advise anyone to bite the bullet at the first signs of dementia in parents and get stuff done however emotionally difficult that seems. I didn’t have that discussion, with hindsight I wish I had done. |  | | |
| Help needed, power of attorney on 19:35 - Feb 21 with 898 views | RangersDave |
she has POA over her mothers finances.
Its all been done correctly, with everything signed and approved by 'the office of the public guardian'.
I'm wondering if Halifax are being obtuse to stall so they dont have to refund under chargeback? | |
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| Help needed, power of attorney on 19:53 - Feb 21 with 873 views | kensalriser |
Yes, to reiterate some of the above, you need a POA over finance which needs to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. A solicitor will give you a certified copy that you can register with the financial institution. Once you've done that you can grill them on the account history. You have to be persistent as banks/building societies hate dealing with attorneys and will make everything as difficult as possible and like to make up the rules as they go. One bank told me my mother needed to sign a document after I'd registered the POA with them when the entire point of having the POA is that you can sign on their behalf!
Sadly, it sounds likely that fraud is involved here. Elderly people are sitting ducks for both straight up fraud and sharp practice. There's an entire industry dedicated to extracting money from vulnerable people and I've had a fair amount of experience of it dealing with my parents' affairs over the last couple of years. I discovered my Dad had been done for nearly 5k on a garage door that shouldn't have been more than half that, and my mother was 'persuaded' to sign a fresh 3 year contract for an alarm, the salesman helpfully filled out the cheque for her. The latter I was able to cancel after calling the company and telling them what they'd done was essentially fraud.
I'd advise anyone with parents over 70 to get all their POAs sorted as soon as possible. If you wait until they start to lose capacity it all gets very difficult. |  |
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| Help needed, power of attorney on 19:54 - Feb 21 with 869 views | stevec |
| Help needed, power of attorney on 19:35 - Feb 21 by RangersDave |
she has POA over her mothers finances.
Its all been done correctly, with everything signed and approved by 'the office of the public guardian'.
I'm wondering if Halifax are being obtuse to stall so they dont have to refund under chargeback? |
Hard to say what’s going on with the Halifax. At this stage maybe just get in contact with them again and ask them to put in writing what they require so your partner and the bank can begin discussions in detail.
If they say they can’t answer directly to your partner then ask them to address the matter directly to her mother. I know it sounds ridiculous but data protection rules have you banging your head on the wall in situations like this. | | | |
| Help needed, power of attorney on 20:07 - Feb 21 with 835 views | Lblock |
Going through this at the moment..... you have my sympathy.
I have to say Santander have been fantastic and very organised.
Sainsbury's Bank less so.
They certainly don't make it easy.
Once PoA for Finance is lodged you are in effect the account holder. There is ALWAYS a trail for money leaving an account. You will probably have to pay for the info but the bank(s) will be duty bound to give you full info and help you investigate.
We have left the access to the account as before but put in internet and Apps so we know when money goes in and out.
Good luck fella |  |
| Cherish and enjoy life.... this ain't no dress rehearsal |
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| Help needed, power of attorney on 23:12 - Feb 21 with 710 views | stowmarketrange |
| Help needed, power of attorney on 19:53 - Feb 21 by kensalriser |
Yes, to reiterate some of the above, you need a POA over finance which needs to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. A solicitor will give you a certified copy that you can register with the financial institution. Once you've done that you can grill them on the account history. You have to be persistent as banks/building societies hate dealing with attorneys and will make everything as difficult as possible and like to make up the rules as they go. One bank told me my mother needed to sign a document after I'd registered the POA with them when the entire point of having the POA is that you can sign on their behalf!
Sadly, it sounds likely that fraud is involved here. Elderly people are sitting ducks for both straight up fraud and sharp practice. There's an entire industry dedicated to extracting money from vulnerable people and I've had a fair amount of experience of it dealing with my parents' affairs over the last couple of years. I discovered my Dad had been done for nearly 5k on a garage door that shouldn't have been more than half that, and my mother was 'persuaded' to sign a fresh 3 year contract for an alarm, the salesman helpfully filled out the cheque for her. The latter I was able to cancel after calling the company and telling them what they'd done was essentially fraud.
I'd advise anyone with parents over 70 to get all their POAs sorted as soon as possible. If you wait until they start to lose capacity it all gets very difficult. |
My in-laws are 82 and 86,and they want my wife to get POA for them.I’ve read a leaflet that they were given and it says that you don’t always need a solicitor to get one,but I’d prefer if it was done properly by them rather than us,but how much would a solicitor charge for setting one up? |  | | |
| Help needed, power of attorney on 01:06 - Feb 22 with 663 views | qpr1976 |
PoA via Solicitor, upwards towards 4 figures (ish)
DIY, around £120 when I did it, 8 years (ish) ago.
Obviously useful, but I was told by Bank & Building Society Branch Managers, they are not always the best solution, as the PoA dies with the Parent, Relative, etc.
A better & easier solution to many issues is to simply add yourself to your parents/relative accounts as a joint account. You would then have full access & accountability.
Worked for me.
Good luck. | | | |
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| Help needed, power of attorney on 07:30 - Feb 22 with 592 views | ozranger |
While I cannot say how things are done here, back in Oz it is rather similar. My sister did most of the organising but we have/had PoA over both our parents such that if they are a vegetable they would wish their life support cut - that being the health side. We also made sure that upon my father's death and learning that my mother was in the beginning stages of dementia, we organised PoA over her finances immediately. Fortunately, my brother-in-law had some experience with his parents so we knew what to do. My mother is now 88 and there is absolutely no way she could look after any finances or similar. She has trouble finding the bathroom and sometimes doesn't do that. Fortunately, she is in a nursing home where these sort of low scum who fleece the elderly have extreme trouble getting to her.
So, I re-iterate what the others have said above that it is extremely important to look after your parents' funds when they, or the one who is still alive if the other has passed away, are starting to show signs of parkinsons, dementia or similar. |  | | |
| Help needed, power of attorney on 08:01 - Feb 22 with 568 views | RamseyR |
If ever a system was in need of overhaul it's POA (finance).
When you get the authority from the Office of the Public Guardian, your problems should be over, but you then have to contact every organisation individually and jump through whatever hoops they put up, and get it all agreed, just to be refused when you try to use it for the first time.
They seem to think you are asking their permission....no I'm not...I've already been granted the authority and wish to exercise my legal right to use it, and you need to update your records accordingly..
Why you can't just be on a register at the OotPG, and you then inform an organisation, who then cross reference your request to ensure you're on the register, before agreeing what access would be appropriate to cover your needs. Would save an awful lot of pain/admin/cost/time for all involved.
Medical POA seems to work ok, but then the NHS is useless.
Should this be in the random irritations thread? |  | | |
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