40RTY reasons to...have power or attorney #2

Hi there.

40RTY reasons to have power of attorney #2 - avoid unnecessary stress caring for elderly parents.

I know from experience how difficult, frustrating and exhausting it is be looking after elderly parents, especially when they are unwell. That said, my wife and I are proud and were honoured to have cared for them all four of ours, over many many years, all until their final breath. As an aside, it's strange that I am in my mid-fifties, have my own family, but still feel orpahaned. Do any of you who have lost all their parents also feel that way?

With three of our parents, everything was in place; no adminsitrative worries at all. The other had a stroke before we could arrange lasting power of attorney (LPA). In hindsight, we knew it should have happened years beforehand.

This meant having to make a court application to become a deputy (an attorney of sorts). Over the coming months, I will discuss the differences between an attorney and deputy, but suffice to say, I would in no way recommend you take the latter route in order to obtain the right to act on your parents' or loved one's behalf. It's a long, drawn out process, costs significantly more than an application to become an attorney and is administratively demanding and this demand is unrelenting on an annual basis.

Too often, people reach out to me for help with making an application when the donor is losing capacity at a rate of knots or when they are in hospital (again) and not very responsive. At the same time, banks and other financial institutions start to insist that an LPA is required as evidence for them to be able to process transactions they were happy to do previously.

Try not to get to this point people. Sit with your parents, siblings and other family members, have a constructive conversation about what needs to be in place for the future and then give me a call to discuss in more detail so I can guide you.

One last thing, making an application is not a speedy process. It is currently taking up to four months to register an LPA and that's if there are no mistakes in the application.

Peace and blessings.

01727 576 117 - julesj@40rty.co.uk - www.40rty.co.uk

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