Solicitor recommendations, please - Alzheimer's, Power of Attorney and the Court of Protection

[Pedro Rey]

Hello, can anybody recommend a solicitor who offers advice on Power of Attorney/Court of Protection with regard to Alzheimer's sufferers? We're currently dealing with a situation where the Enduring POA in place doesn't provide sufficient authority for us to take some fairly urgent decisions about our parent's welfare, and would like some legal advice on the best way to proceed. Ideally this would be local but, realistically, anywhere across Greater London would be fine. We're currently talking to the Alzheimer's Society and Age UK but it would be great if someone who's been through something similar knows of a solicitor who could advise us.

I know it's a long shot but it's worth a try! Please drop me a PM if you know of anyone who could help.

Cheers,

Pedro

[Pugwash]

William Baileys in East Dulwich Road. Should be able to give you advice.

I had a LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney) for my father for his financial and property affairs only. The reason for this initially was my father was becoming blind and unable to deal with his affairs. He was also in the early stages of dementia but able at that time to go along to his local solicitor in Sussex with me to get all the paperwork done. He was already a self funder in a care home so there was no need to have the Welfare Section applied for. At the time of his death, he was blind, deaf, had end stage dementia and was physically frail.

Was your Enduring Power of Attorney registered with the Courts of Protection? I am assuming from your post that you may have had the property and finance authorisation only and not the welfare. LPAs superseded Enduring Powers so I do not think you can request the welfare section to be considered on this EPA.

If your relative lacks mental capacity and this can be verified by an appropriate professional i.e. social worker,

doctor who can legally complete the necessary statement in the Court of Protection paperwork. you will need to submit to the Public Guardianship Office. From experience, new applications can take several weeks and you will need to submit a fee when sending up papers.

The Alzheimer's Society and Age UK are both very knowledgeable and their fact sheets are very informative and can be read on line.