power of attorney?

Question

My mother is mentally ill with alziemers and has all the symtoms but no one is listening to me and my wife about getting help for her.She moved nearer to us so we could look after her but my half brother has stuck his nose in and turned my mother againest me and the rest of my mothers family .He has already tried to accuse us of stealing all her money which simply isnt true and tried to get a solicitor to act for them againest us. All i want is my mother to be looked after properly as i love her very much .At present she has not spoken to me my wife and our children for over 3 months . And now my half brother who is not my mothers biological son (only by marriage has become her power of attorney !!) can i oppose this as i am not happy with him controlling all her affairs . what should i do ?????i am in uk

I am her only next of kin and have no other brother or sisters apart from my fathers son from first marriage .

alziemers is a disease of the brain which is a mental disorder .It can affect daily functions and memory !!!! Also my mother has no other relatives where i live and my half brother comes over once a week to see her so how can he be looking after her properly ! she is 76 and needs lots of care

Answer 1

It might be worth looking into applying to the Court for a guardianship order under the Mental Health Act. Here is some information. http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:9ifkpPJ__G0J:www.ic.nhs.uk/news/press/pr201206/view+england+guardianship+order&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2 The cost of the application is 500 pounds. As I understand it, you would be in a position to make such an application whereas your half brother would not. You don't say anything about your mother's living conditions, but I imagine that you would gain support from the local mental health geriatric team in making the application if you could explain the circumstances to them.

If your half brother is exerting undue influence upon your mother and involving a solicitor, there is a distinct danger that he will have persuaded her to make a will in his favour, which is another possible cause for concern. Of course, is there is no will then you would be her only heir. If he is aware of this, then he would have every incentive to do this. If your mother has the kind of Alzeheimers where she has lucid periods, then during those periods she might well be considered by the solicitor to have capacity to make a will.

You have my sympathy, as I have been in a not dissimilar situation myself.

Answer 2

I've just registered to be my disabled mothers power of attorney via our solicitors & should she become mentally incapable this would switch to enduring power of attorney which needs to be registered with Court Of Protection & my brothers & sisters would then be informed that I'd be looking after her finances & they can raise an objection to me doing this.

If your mother already has Alziemers diagnosed by her Dr then your half brother would have gone straight for Enduring Power Of Attorney.

As I'm writing this I have a copy self help kit for Power Of Attorney guidenance manual which states Attorney(step brother) must give notice to at least 3 relatives of the Donor(your mother) on form EP1 that they are registering for EPA & Public Guardianship Office Protection Divison will wait approx 5 wks before registering, you would then raise an objection by writing to Public Guardianship with your name & address, your mothers details & the reason why you object. Don't know how far down the line this has gone but hopefully this will help.

Finally heres the address & good luck

The Public Guardainship Office Protection Division
Archway Tower
2 Junction Rd
London
N19 5SZ

Answer 3

First of all, your mother is not mentally ill. Alziemers is a physical disease.

Since your mother has granted a power of attorney to your half-brother, there is nothing you can do unless you can prove that your mother didn't know what she was signing. That could be very difficult.

Also, since you only want your mother "looked after properly," can you prove that is not being taken care of? If not, you have nothing to go on and will only sound vindictive.

I would contact a solicitor and seek legal advise; just have facts, they don't care about the emotional factor.

Answer 4

Power of attorney means that the holder of the power can represent the person in legal matters, make medical decisions, and other important item or actions. Even if the person is 18, the person with the power of attorney can act for the adult, make medical decisions and financial matters.

Answer 5

andrea b is quite correct that you should have received notification that your half-brother was applying for power of attorney. At this stage, you need a solicitor to try to have it set aside. My mother, too has, Alzheimers. As has been said, she is not mental, the disease gives that impression but much research work is going on now to try to put the disease at least into remission.

Answer 6

Rachel there is a lot of American advice on here and i think your Brit Now my advice to you is get a lawyer who deals specifically in this kind of thing as I feel it has everything there to give you an advantage . Go ahead i think you will gain the advantage infact I'm sure of it as your half brother might have got her to give him power of attorney when she was unable to understand what she was singing that's why you want a really good Solicitor a family one if you have one who will connect you with a truly professional man who will determin why you didn't get notification of your half brother actions Good Luck (you go for it )

Answer 7

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother. I know how hard it can be to have a parent that is ill. You can obtain a Power of Attorney at any OfficeMax, Staples or similar store. Good luck to you. Post another message and let us know how things turn out. I will pray for you.

Answer 8

It may be time to hire your own attorney. I would maintain a daily activity log noting dates and times of events. Make sure witnesses do the same. These affairs often become "he said, she said" events. Unfortunately, Alzheimers may have stolen away your last chance to change your mothers will.

Answer 9

hire an attorney, try to get guardianship over your mother, but you will need to have her declared incompetent, protest the POA and attempt to have it revoked. If she was not in right state of mind when she signed the documents your brother can actually be charged with fraud/attempt to defraud.

Answer 10

Consult an attorney who specializes in elder law. There are established guidelines for such cases. There is no need to fret too much - protocol will lead you to where you need to go with this.