Lasting Power of Attorney

It is fairly easy to do on line and you can save your changes and go back to it. It is loads cheaper and you can contact the Office of The Public Guardian for help if you have any problems.

I’m doing mine online I just save the bits I’ve done and then can go back when I need to and do some more. It seems easy.

I've just completed mine and my Mums online.
Its so easy I 'forced' my husband to do his too (he's totally averse to any form filling or sorting anything important)!

The certificate provider can be a friend or acquaintance that has known you for at least two years. All you need to do is ask them if they are happy to sign to say you are fully compos mentis then fill in their name and full address on the application. They just witness your signature on the printed copy after the LPA has been registered.

You can also ask your doctor to sign it but there will be a cost - mine wanted £50 per application!

Online. It's pretty simple as others have said

Thank you all for your advice. I will go on the Government website and have a look.

We have just had two packs of forms ,received yesterday, from the OPG and we are going to sit down this afternoon and have a look through them before filling them in. DD offered to do it online with us, but we don’t have a computer, and by the time she has time to sit down at hers with us, hell will have frozen over, bless her!

Easy to d-i-y - you just need to follow the rules and do it systematically. I drew a flow diagram!

My mother in Law is 103, widowed and has a daughter who has lived in Spain for the past 35 years. She also has a granddaughter (in her 50’s) plus my husband and I, 74 and 77 respectively. She has only one living sibling who is 101!

A few years ago my DH and I suggested that MIL appoint one of us as Power of Attorney but SIL said that as MIL was compis mentis she didn’t need one (wrong!) and persuaded her she shouldn’t do it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It should have been done then because in the ensuing years I have become very ill and have a terminal diagnosis. I can be treated but sooner or later my options will run out (myeloma).
My DH has been caring for me since I was discharged after nine months in hospital and has been run ragged. His sister is aware of our situation but today she rang DH and said she is in the Uk and wants my DH to apply for POA as she ‘lives in Spain and can’t do it,’ DH is not happy because if this had been sorted a few years ago we wouldn’t have arrived at this situation. DH asked sister if her daughter (MIL,s granddaughter) could involved and apparently she doesn’t want the responsibility.
DH is very stressed about all this. Since our marriage I have sorted all the home finances and admin and, frankly, he is not capable of taking on a POA and possibly being responsible for selling his mothers house.
Should we advise sister in law to put it in the hands of a solicitor. MIL has the means to pay - although I can’t see her wanting to. According to sister in law her mum is almost blind and very frail. I haven’t been able to see MIL for several months due to my ill health but my son went to see her just yesterday and says she is a bit frail (who wouldn’t be at 103.!) but she doesn’t want to go in a home - which I think sister in law wants her to do. She has carers come in every day, meals on wheels and wonderful neighbours who constantly check on her plus quite a few visitors.
Sorry for all the personal details but I am very worried about all this. I had a brain tumour last year and my thinking is not as sharp and maybe not as rational as it was before my illness.

In the circumstances would it be advisable to involve a solicitor if MIL agrees?

Thank you for reading my missive

In retrospect I feel I might have hijacked this thread as the OP was asking for specific advice on how to proceed but my DH doesn’t want the responsibility in view of our situation.

Fairy doll
It looks like this can be done on line so no reason why your SIL (And daughter ) can’t do it even if she does live in Spain. You have enough going on and need to look after yourself.

I have done mine using the on-line forms. I found it quite easy, and would suggest that anyone in a straightforward situation should do that and save the money. I just took my time over it.
Fairydoll - in your situation I would use a solicitor for all the reasons you have given. Good luck.

I think something important to bear in mind if you have more than one person granted POA . You must state if a decision has to be agreed by all parties or if one person can take it upon themself to take charge. We have appointed each other first of all then our two DC if needed. We were worried that the solicitor did not ask the children to sign anything to say they agreed so we contacted the authority overseeing this and were told this was a common state of affairs. We paid five hundred pounds for two of us in Scotland ( called lasting power of attorney ) though our son in law did his mum's himself .It does give you peace of mind to do it .
On another subject we made sure all bills , accounts etc were as far as possible in joint names . However if one of us knew that we would not outlive the other we would put everything in the survivors name . As we will not pay inheritance tax this seemed a good idea .

Sadly, I have become, rather late in the day ,something of an expert in this area.

Be very very careful either as the donor or the POA, there are pitfalls. Do you want it to be joint? One person? One and a deputy? Who will make the decisions?

I have now done POA twice. Recently for my daughters financial affairs and did it all online. It was very easy and straight forward and so much cheaper.

For my daughter there are two of us, my son and I and we have opted that we can act independently. I run all the bank accounts and deal with most of it. But I usually talked things over with my son to get his point of view and advice if needed. The whole thing runs very well, if for some reason I can't do any of the online banking then a quick phone call and my son does it. We are lucky that we get on well together.

Has anyone actually used an online poa? Wondering if there's any problems that come to light, any challenges?

Me & DH are pretty savvy and do loads ourselves BUT for things that are important it's a solicitor every time. We did power of attorney & wills with a solicitor.
The last thing we want if we lose our marbles is the Court of Protection. They take ages (and even more so with all the legal cuts) and you need prior permission to sneeze and they aren't cheap at all.

I’ve just done this for myself, using printed forms, not on-line. It was surprisingly easy using the bulky idiot’s guide provided. You can’t go wrong if you follow the step by step instructions and advice.
My own advice is to keep it simple. Choose the recommended options and make your choices short and clear.

I did an online EPA when my husband was alive but decided to do a formal LPA through my solicitor today, same time as I updated my will. Belt and braces for me with no mistakes
Cost was £475 plus vat

I opted to have 2 attorneys, one dd and my ds as the spare in case anything happens to dd

Look out for " jointly and severally"....it can be a nightmare.

crafty, may I ask how you decided who would be the main one?

she lives much closer to me, both are willing and able. I have another dd but I think she is a bit narcissistic and we don`t hear from her very often, sadly I had to leave her out of the main jobs but she is fully and equally in the will. It was important that the main trustee who is also an executor has someone she can easily communicate with and that is her brother

I will think again when grandchildren become responsible adults, one of them could take it on from ds, who is hundreds of miles away.

thanks crafty, I have been sidelined for no good reason and it hurts a lot.

" fully and equally", you must be a decent, honourable person.

grapefruitpip. have a look at the estrangement thread` narcissistic adult children`

thanks crafty.