Lasting Power Of Attorney

[VPetiteMiss]

My mother wants to create a Power of Attorney and thinks probably a LPA.
Can this be shared between 3 people?
My brother, myself (mums daughter) and mums eldest grandson now aged30.
Ideally, what we would like to put in place is a condition - that if something were to happen to me then mums grandson acts in my place; sharing the LPA then with my brother.
Is it possible to set this up now?
Thanks in advance

[murraymints]

yes ! can do it on line much cheaper than through a lawyer

[murraymints]

https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/overview

[woofgang]

do you mean that anyone of the people can make decisions? or that all three have to agree or that two out of three can overrule the other one? Or do you mean that there should be an order in which the holders are applied to so something like “Ask my brother first, if you can’t get him then ask me, if you can’t get me then ask her grandson” Each option has its pros and cons and you need to decide what will work for you.

[murraymints]

not sure about the me first then that one bit ..but 3 attorneys can be appointed

[DTCwordfan]

yep, it can be done and structured like that - what happens if your bro is taken out? - plus, make sure that it covers both financial and health.....the paperwork gets filed and then when it is needed to be enacted, the local magistrates court will endorse it. My mother's cost about £120 for that filing, through a lawyer.....

[dzug2]

You need to keep it simple , particularly if you are DIY. Too many complications can render the thing ambiguous and useless.

And too many attorneys leads to strife.

I'd want to seek professional help. My instinct says you shouldn't do it even if you can

[sddsddean]

I did the LPA for my late mother in law and for my Mum. It is dead easy to do yourself if you sit and take your time. It took me about 3 hours to do both forms. A LPA can be set up at any time, but as long as your Mum is 'OK', it can just sit there gathering dust. If something happened to her (lets say a stroke...heaven forbid) you have got the LPA and can immediately sort things out for her. If you waited until the day after the stroke, you could be waiting 10 weeks to be able to handle your Mums affairs. There is actually a good argument that everyone should have an LPA 'just in case'.
On the link on murraymints post, contact the Office of the Public Guardian and ask for the froms for LPA for 'Health and Welfare' and 'Property and Finance'. Do them both...its cheaper and they are nearly identical forms. I found it was easier to do real forms than filling it all in on line. The OPG send an excellent how to do it booklet and it is much easier to understand with all the forms in front of you. You can have as many attorneys as you like (we had 5 for my mother in law)...its the same price. You just need to download an extra sheet for each person. They all have equal standing, but you can put a proviso in about who is number 1 etc. You will need an independant witness to witness signatures and a 'person to be told'. This is usually a friend of your Mum who is told what is going on. This is a safeguard so that they can blow the whistle on you if they think you are trying to nick all your Mums money or something.
Send the forms off and about a month later they should all come back stamped and registered. Thats it. One extra thing, if you Mum is on any sort of government benefit (except for state pension I think) she can have it for free...form included in the pack. Good luck!

[Barmaid]

All the above advice is sound. But beware of the jointly v jointly and severally trap. Google "avoiding invalid provisions in your LPA" and you get a link to a gov.uk note that gives further information. This is particularly relevant in this case where it looks as if you want replacement attorneys.