Power of Attorney in Practice

inisfree0504

My mother is quite elderly and wants me to act on her behalf in relation to a property she owns (she is still competent, she simply does not want the hassle of the administrative stuff and finds dealing with solicitors/legal stuff very stressful). The functions she wants me to perform include leasing the property to a third party, applying for an agricultural grant, insuring it, and potentially (i) selling a portion of it to the local authority via CPO and (ii) resolving an issue in relation to the boundary of the property.

I was looking into creating an ordinary power of attorney and it seems very straightforward in theory to create, and is something that does not require a solicitor. (She is very keen to avoid instructing a solicitor on this as she was quoted almost €1k for creating an enduring power of attorney in the past. With the pandemic she is also anxious to avoid having to go into their office.)

However, I'm wondering how acting in pursuance of this power would work in practice? Say a portion of the land had to be sold to the council, would the local solicitor simply accept my producing the document creating the power (validly constituted and in the format specified by the Power of Attorney Act 1996) and allow me to sign documents in relation to title or interest in the property?

Similarly, in relation to renewing the insurance, would it be legal for me to sign her name on the documents, or would I be able to enter into the contract in my own name if I furnished them with a copy of the instrument creating the power?

Many thanks

whippet

You will need a solicitor to assist with this - along with a doctor to confirm that your mother is capable of making the decision.

Power of Attorney is a very significant deal and as such should be treated as such

inisfree0504

whippet wrote: »

You will need a solicitor to assist with this - along with a doctor to confirm that your mother is capable of making the decision.

Power of Attorney is a very significant deal and as such should be treated as such

I think you're confusing the specific power of attorney I'm proposing to have, for the duration of time my mother has full capacity, with an enduring power of attorney, which would only kick in if she ceases to have capacity. I am confident that the execution of the former power does not require solicitor's nor medical approval -- it is not half as significant as an enduring power and can be revoked by her at any time (and would be automatically revoked if she ceased to have capacity.) There is a clear distinction set out in the Act, between the respective requirements for validly creating both types of powers of attorney. The type I'm proposing is the same you would give a solicitor or estate agent to buy a house on your behalf.

My question is only whether this would likely be respected by other parties and how this works in practice.

Peregrinus

Nobody's obliged to respect it and, the more amateurish it looks, and the more it appears to have been knocked up without professional input, the more reluctant people will be to accept it. You know your mother has all her wits about her and knows exactly what she wants, but they mostly don't, and they've all heard stories about elder abuse, and they don't want to find themselves featuring in such a story, even as a wholly innocent party.

Dealing with neighbours who know your mother socially will probably be fine; they can satisfy themselves about the state of affairs fairly easily. Better still if they know you too. Your mother's bank and other service providers will probably be easy enough to satisfy, though your mother may need to speak to them early on to assure them that yes, this is all fine, it's what she wants, and she's getting you do to it for her. But dealing with strangers or with institutions that don't have an existing relationship with your mother may not go smoothly.