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1.
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It is very, very upsetting to watch a parent, once so strong and reliable, gradually disintegrate, from the first serious loss of memory, to the last days when life holds no pleasure at all. It is rather like the reverse of the wonderful times when your small child shows signs of better talking or moving or understanding almost every day. In this case, every day brings another tiny task she can no longer do for herself or a simple fact she can no longer remember.
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2.
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I have two brothers. Our mother was 85 when she first started to deteriorate seriously. We thought we had escaped the worst. One day my Brother Tom mentioned Alzheimers. I though he was imagining it. It soon became clear that he was not.
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3.
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My mother was still sufficiently “operational” to know all about money, her investments, the value of her house and where she wanted to live next, to tell us exactly what she thought of an LPA; Needless to say, her views were different from ours.
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4.
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We allocated the duty to speak to her firmly to my other brother, Peter. Eventually, she took it from him and off we went to find the papers.
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5.
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So my first lesson / advice is to try to get the form completed while your parent is still “young”. Far better to do it when she is 75 than 85. By all means let her place conditions in the power or specify whatever precautions she wishes. But trying to explain to a determined person who is “losing it” why you want to control her bank account and her house, is time consuming and upsetting.
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6.
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Get the form right! It is quite long and could be complicated. This seems obvious. The trouble is that you do not know whether you have completed it properly until you come to register it. If at that time, some correction needs to be signed by the donor, you may be too late!
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7.
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Next, note that the “form” you have to complete to effect the appointment also contains a very full explanation for the donor. It is essential that the explanation is retained in full, as part of the form. If you submit for registration only the part of the document that looks like the form, it will be rejected. The instructions tell you this, but it is easy to overlook because it does not seem right to submit the form with a ten page instruction book. Of course the reason is to make sure that the donor has had every opportunity to “read all about it” before he signs away his financial life.
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8.
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Some issues must be resolved first with the donor - your parent. You will have to consider how many attorneys he will want and who they will be. Do they act together, or can they act alone? Is the power to cover everything, or is it limited in some way? Do not leave these things to be discussed only when he has lost his cheque book and you are stuck buying his daily bread (or his expensive hip operation) from your own pocket.
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9.
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Be methodical and precise. Choose one of you to be “in charge” of getting the document completed and (possibly later) registered. If you have time, errors matter less.
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10.
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Registration takes some weeks. Do not wait until you need to make an urgent payment for him, before submitting them.
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11.
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When the document comes back, the government stamp may be very faint. So, since some organisations accept copies, it may be worth sending it back with a sharp letter for a stronger mark.
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12.
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Get the document copied and the copies certified as “true” by a solicitor. While you are at it, get 10.
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13.
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Now everyone with whom you will deal on his behalf will want to see this document before they will “perform”. Most will want to see the original. This calls for careful management of the submissions, so that you know who to chase if you suddenly find you do not have it. Start with the bank. If you have money, most other things can wait at least a few days. Send a certified copy to non-financial places. Some will accept. The beauty of this is that you do not have to wait a week for each registration. You can send out ten at once.
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14.
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Be prepared for organisation to lose the fact that you have registered with them! There is little you can do to prevent that, but at least avoid being reliant on someone performing in circumstances where time is not flexible.
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15
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So as to be quite safe on the day to day cash, consider opening an account in the name of one of you personally and paying into that for day to day requirements. For that account there can be no question of any problem with the LPA.
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