appointee or power of attorney

[sammmo]

my brother has just been moved into a care home he is 65 yrs old and has been in institutions for most his life. he is deaf and was diagnosed as having schizophrenia..
the care home he has just moved to prefers to have a member of his family to do his finances etc.. I have said i would do this ... can i just become an appointee or will i have to become a power of attorney..

[dzug]

Is he capable of understanding and signing forms? If so SOME banks will allow him to make you a signatory on his accounts. Others will insist he grants you power of attorney - again he has to be capable.

If not, then you have to apply to the Office of the Public Guardian to become a Deputy - a long and expensive process.

[tamborine]

His GP & solicitor can draw up POA to you on his behalf if he is unable to comprehend.

[dzug]

It's not called Power of Attorney if he can't comprehend - it's called deputyship. The Court of Protection would appoint you (or a solicitor if you wish) as his deputy after much delay and hefty fees.

[sammmo]

i've got someone from the social services coming to see me next week.. the previous home he was in acted as appointees and were able to draw money out each month to pay his bills..so basically thats what i'm going to be doing.. if the home was able to do this i would have thought it would be easy enough to have this authority passed on to me?

[Rosetta]

Contact the Benefits Office about becoming appointee, if there is no capital this should be sufficient.
If the Social Worker is coming to see you, you could discuss it with him/her. Alternatively you could get further advice via your local CAB

[sammmo]

it was quite easy in the end,, the man who came to see me filled out a form of appointment which i signed and all of my brothers money is then paid into my bank account.. i then use this to pay for his keep etc.. i am going to open an account to keep all this money in its own place to make things easier