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Power of Attorney Disclosure of Financial Information.

(11 Posts)
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Nanagee57 Fri 20-Nov-20 20:48:15

Hi, I wonder if anyone has experience/knowledge of the extent of a power of attorney?

My mother (my father's dead) appointed a solicitor as power of attorney for her financial affairs and her health and welfare.

She now has dementia, is in a nursing home and she has lost capacity. I have 3 siblings, 1 who is estranged, 1 who lives quite far away and one who lives between different parts of the country. The property she lived in has been empty for some six months and myself and my husband have been looking after it and tending to the garden on a regular basis. The solicitor has not arranged for any house maintenance or gardening help in fact he has shown little interest in the property.

Last week there was an attempted break in. My husband and myself have since secured the property. We are obviously concerned as to what is going to happen to the property over the winter. We live half an hour away.

My question is, how much legally does/can the solicitor disclose, if anything, to me and my siblings re mom's financial affairs? I ask this because Mom is having to pay her own care home fees and we are obviously very concerned.

We also believe mom may have left the property to my estranged sibling who has not helped in any way. I appreciate that usually a will is a confidential document but in the circumstances is there any way I can confirm this?

I have checked the government website and internet for answers but info is usually just about setting up the POA.

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Jaxjacky Fri 20-Nov-20 20:56:03

I think you need to discuss the issues concerning the house with the solicitor who has the POA, if not satisfied, you can contact the office of the public guardian. I believe this is correct, maybe wrong.

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Nanagee57 Fri 20-Nov-20 21:23:58

Many thanks I've already set up a meeting but wanted to know what information I'm entitled to have legally so that I'm forearmed.

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Cressida Fri 20-Nov-20 21:36:40

The Office of the Public Guardian have a helpline. They should be able to tell you what information you are allowed to have,

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Nanagee57 Fri 20-Nov-20 21:48:05

Cressida thank you.

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Kamiso Fri 20-Nov-20 21:58:24

www.gov.uk/search/all?keywords=Power+of+attorney&order=relevance

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Kamiso Fri 20-Nov-20 22:03:32

www.lawsociety.org.uk/public/for-public-visitors/using-a-solicitor/complain-about-a-solicitor

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NotSpaghetti Sat 21-Nov-20 01:04:36

I think the OP is maybe American -I expect the law is different there.
Are you in America Nanagee57?

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Teacheranne Sat 21-Nov-20 01:14:27

One of the questions I would ask is has he arranged for extra insurance cover for an empty house. We did this when my mum went into a care home as we plan to rent out her house and wanted to do a few things first to get a premium rent. The week everything was finished and we were ready to advertise, there was a massive water leak and mains water flooded from the loft into most of the rooms! Luckily I had informed the insurance company that they house was empty and paid an extra premium and so far the bill by the company appointed as loss adjusters is over £23,000 and there are still more costs to be added! I am so relieved that we made the right decision re the insurance but many people either forget or just don't bother.

At almost £1000 a week in care home fees, my mums needs all the money we can get from the house!

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Nanagee57 Sat 21-Nov-20 19:46:22

NotSpaghetti Hi, no I'm resident here in England.

Kamiso Hi, thank you for the links.

Teacheranne many thanks for the info, that's really useful. I did not realise that you had to inform the insurance company if the property was empty. I'll ask the solicitor if he has sorted this out.

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Smileless2012 Sat 21-Nov-20 19:54:21

As far as I'm aware, as your mum's solicitor has POA Nanagee he/she is not legally obliged to give out any information with regard to your mum's financial circumstances.

Your mum's will is confidential until the time of her death so there's no way you can made aware of its contents until that time. If your estranged sibling is the benefactor of her property and you have an objection, you would need to contest her will.

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