P.O.A. Power of Attorney

charry

charry

Well-known Member
Location
UK
I’m now told I should ,start sorting out forms of POA …..for hubby
not that hubby is going senile , but the fact , that it might be needed to speak for him when he cannot communicate

I found all this stressful ,when I moved and had to change all our addresses on important paperwork ………
and still trying to sort things out ………😞

I don’t want to do it online ….as I’m not very good at this sort of thing ,
and been told to call, citizen advise bureau , age concern, or a solicitor ….
any information about this ,would be very helpful …… thanks
 

As you said, there is quite a few online places to make a living will/family trust. But, you can google for an attorney in your area to help you create one.

I had mine done and it cost me $1500 about 15 years ago.
 

Hubby and I saw a solicitor several years ago and drew up our wills, POA documents and medical guardianship papers. We also checked the status of the deed to our house.

Hubby has since suffered a decline and is now a permanent resident in a nursing home. I am operating as his POA, managing his financial affairs and the household expenses. Our daughter, who is a nurse, is taking care of matters to do with his health and welfare and dealing with bureaucracy much more easily than I can.

It is important to nominate trustworthy people who have the appropriate knowledge and skills.
It is also important to sort out your paperwork in folders now so that the future transfer of responsibility is made as easy as possible.
 
It’s a good idea to consult an attorney, particularly if you’re unsure. I suspect your laws in the UK are different than ours so I’d be reluctant to suggest much. I usually do these things myself using online forms and I like. I have occasionally asked lawyer to review what I’ve done, always been all right so far. Best of luck to you I know it’s a hard time, no fun to do but you’re wise to take it on
 
Warrigal said:
Hubby and I saw a solicitor several years ago and drew up our wills, POA documents and medical guardianship papers. We also checked the status of the deed to our house.

Hubby has since suffered a decline and is now a permanent resident in a nursing home. I am operating as his POA, managing his financial affairs and the household expenses. Our daughter, who is a nurse, is taking care of matters to do with his health and welfare and dealing with bureaucracy much more easily than I can.

It is important to nominate trustworthy people who have the appropriate knowledge and skills.
It is also important to sort out your paperwork in folders now so that the future transfer of responsibility is made as easy as possible.
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thankyou for your advise warrigal x
luckily I have always been very organised with the filing cabinet…🙂
 
Hardly anyone in my family, uncles, aunts and cousins will contact me and seldom will I get a Christmas card from any of them, either on Dad’s or Mom’s side. I have one niece who spends time with me, going on vacations with me and continuously contacts me. It’s a 2-way street. I do the same with her. They are still upset because my grandparents left me the farm and most of their assets. They even took me to court to try to sway the judge to split everything.

I have my niece as my POA and she handles all my financial stuff. My uncle wrote me a note one time telling me I should be careful giving her my POA and allowing her to sign my checks to pay my bills. I kept a close watch on my checkbook and other items, but she never gave me any reason why not to trust her. She is my rock. I get lonely, I can call her 24/7. I become I’ll, I can call her for help if necessary. I still check up on things occasionally, but I haven’t found anything as to why I shouldn’t trust her.
 
An attentive niece is a wonderful gift from God.

I had two childless aunts. I served as POA for one and it was easy because she had no property and very little money in the bank, but I fought the battles with an unco-operative bank that was taking annual fees from her credit card when the account was inactive. Getting that account closed required a lot of persistence.

The other aunt was living in a country town and was taken care of by one of my cousins. Her situation was very different. She and her husband owned their house and had quite a lot of savings. Auntie was rather hard to get on with but my cousin was patient and served them very well. Auntie and Uncle wanted to leave her the property but had made no provision in their wills.

I talked to them and persuaded them to make the necessary changes and explained to the solicitors what was wanted. I then left the house and let the solicitors assess them to make sure that they were not being pressured in any way. My cousin and I were named joint executors of their wills and my cousin became their sole heir. If she died before them both then the estate went to various charities that they chose. My uncle died first and when Auntie died the whole estate passed to her.

I think it is a good thing to have someone you can trust as POA and it is even better if that person has someone they can trust to advise and help them.
 
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All things have been done, will, POA, advance health directive. All accounts set up to POD. Instructions, no funeral, no embalming, just straight to cremation, all done.

The family knows how important my dogs are, they will make sure they are taken care of. The dogs may not be able to stay together but will go to a home within the family.
 
charry said:
I’m now told I should ,start sorting out forms of POA …..for hubby
not that hubby is going senile , but the fact , that it might be needed to speak for him when he cannot communicate

I found all this stressful ,when I moved and had to change all our addresses on important paperwork ………
and still trying to sort things out ………😞

I don’t want to do it online ….as I’m not very good at this sort of thing ,
and been told to call, citizen advise bureau , age concern, or a solicitor ….
any information about this ,would be very helpful …… thanks
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May I suggest your first port of call should be this one:

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/informatio...tting up an ordinary power,wording that must
 
Timewise 60+ said:
Wife and I had them done for both of us, just in case! Had a lawyer do it for us and it did not cost very much...
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From our discussions with a lawyer, being married works to some degree, as long as other 'blood relatives' don't interfere. As an example, if I am on life support with no chance of recovery, my wife, can have the machines turned off allowing me to pass. If she has no POA any of my kids could object and the hospital would not let them turn off my support. If my wife has a POA, they cannot legally stop her she has complete control over my life and any of our assets. A POA is important, if you totally trust each other...
 
Charry, you sound like me, I'm not sure what Power of Attorney really means. You mentioned that your change of address kind of stumped you, so maybe you need a professional to guide you through the legal stuff. I'd consult an attorney.
 
Timewise 60+ said:
From our discussions with a lawyer, being married works to some degree, as long as other 'blood relatives' don't interfere. As an example, if I am on life support with no chance of recovery, my wife, can have the machines turned off allowing me to pass. If she has no POA any of my kids could object and the hospital would not let them turn off my support. If my wife has a POA, they cannot legally stop her she has complete control over my life and any of our assets. A POA is important, if you totally trust each other...
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I'm not sure where you are located but where I live a POA only covers managing a person's finances and related matters. For the kind of decisions you have mentioned a different document is required. Here it is sometimes called Enduring Medical Guardianship. Hubby and I have had both drawn up and have updated our wills at the same time.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Charry, you sound like me, I'm not sure what Power of Attorney really means. You mentioned that your change of address kind of stumped you, so maybe you need a professional to guide you through the legal stuff. I'd consult an attorney.
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It's assigning someone the authority to conduct all of your affairs for you.. and can totally rip you off if you choose the wrong person.
 
NorthernLight said:
In Canda and the US we have a default "next of kin" (usually the spouse, if married). I read that in the UK they don't have the same concept. So you are wise not to offer advice if not in the UK.
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Admittedly I wasn't paying much attention at the time, but if this is accurate throughout the U.S., might you or anyone else here have any ideas why a married couple (with no intention of splitting up) would assign someone other than each other to be their POA?
 
JaniceM said:
Admittedly I wasn't paying much attention at the time, but if this is accurate throughout the U.S., might you or anyone else here have any ideas why a married couple (with no intention of splitting up) would assign someone other than each other to be their POA?
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Just talking off the top of my head here.... The spouse might be incapable or unwilling. Some people freak out about paperwork, etc. Some might not agree with what the other person wants.

There could be other reasons.
 
DH & I have been considering getting contingent legal and medical power of attorney documents drawn up. They'd only kick in if/when we were unable to conduct our own affairs or make decisions for ourselves.
 
JaniceM said:
Admittedly I wasn't paying much attention at the time, but if this is accurate throughout the U.S., might you or anyone else here have any ideas why a married couple (with no intention of splitting up) would assign someone other than each other to be their POA?
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They might want to name a successive POA in case both of them were able to conduct business or make medical decisions.
 
JaniceM said:
Admittedly I wasn't paying much attention at the time, but if this is accurate throughout the U.S., might you or anyone else here have any ideas why a married couple (with no intention of splitting up) would assign someone other than each other to be their POA?
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I will be in full control of my finances………and my husbands …
 
Chet said:
I'm no lawyer, but because you are legally married, POA may not be completely necessary. Check it out.
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That is not correct. If either party has any account in their name only, you need a POA to access it. Same with health care. We have POA's for both finances and health care.
 

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