Advice on lasting power of attornys

[Bernie259]

Hi, I have an elderly relative who has had dementia since 2008, he is quiet wealthy, he never married and has no children, his next to kin are nieces and nephews of which I am one.

Another relative took over and I was told they had power of attorney and my uncle was going into a nursing home. I had concerns as the person was telling other relatives that my uncle had made no will and they would be sharing his estate out when he died.

I was later told that “someone” had cleaned my uncle’s bank account out but nothing was being done about it because of his dementia. (Others have verified this as bills were not being paid)

I had heard in 2012 he had gone down hill badly, was not eating or taking medication, having falls broken bones, some relatives were starting to raise question about those looking after him.

I did some research and assumed that due to his severe dementia an application had been made to the Court of Protection and a Deputy had been appointed, so I done a search, to my surprise my uncle had apparently given a Lasting Power of Attorney in late 2013 when he was not in a sound mind, and it had been registered some 12 weeks later the same time relatives were joining forces with their concerns, you cannot act on a LPA until the person has completely lost their mind and it has been registered, it was another 10 months before he was placed in a nursing home and his property was emptied of personal effects and it was put up for sale, since then more allegations have been made.

I need some advice please, can I asked the court to confirm who witnessed the application for the LPA to confirm he was of sound mind and he fully understood, and who witnessed some 12 weeks later that he had lost his mind when the LPA was registered. Any advice on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

[honeybee13]

Hello there, I'm sorry to hear about your problems.

 

I'm an attorney for my mother who has dementia. I'm not completely clear how the Office of the Public Guardian check if someone has capacity but would be interested to understand for other reasons. In our case, my mother had seen a psychiatrist who had confirmed the dementia.

 

Here's a link from the Alzheimer's Society that you might find helpful.

 

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=154

 

HB

[Bernie259]

Hi, thank you for your input and link. I think its all covered by a "Mental Health Act" the OPG and COP are guided by that, having dementia does not mean you automatically cannot grant an LPA from what I have read, it all depends on the stage of the dementia, I believe you have to be able to read the guidance notes, understand them and remember them long enough to make an informed decision. We have concerns as a year before the LPA was signed by the Donor we were advised he had gone downhill badly, could not remember things, could not feed or medicate and was having falls, so were very surprised a Donor LPA for both was in place, we thought it would have come under the Court of Protection who appointed a Deputy and the court had full control, it was also highly questionable that just 12 weeks later he had lost his mind and it was Registered, only a select few relatives were involved in all this when we could all have been informed. thanks again