The story of Mr and Mrs Wilson
Mr and Mrs Wilson have a joint bank account that all of the bills are paid out of, it has a balance of £20,000. They also each have savings of £10,000 in separate bank accounts. The household bills are also in the name of Mr Wilson.
Mr Wilson falls and bangs his head, leaving him with a serious head injury. He is no longer able to manage his own affairs. Unfortunately, Mr and Mrs Wilson did not have any Lasting Powers of Attorney.
Sadly, due to the nature of his injuries, his family has decided it would be best if Mr Wilson goes into care.
As there are no Lasting Powers of Attorney in place, a local authority social worker decides which home Mr Wilson will go to- it is not the one his family would have chosen.
Mrs Wilson does not want to stay in the house on her own and want to move somewhere smaller. However, as the property is owned jointly, Mrs Wilson can not move with Mr Wilson agreeing- which he is unable to do.
Mrs Wilson also wanted to move their gas and electric bills to a cheaper supplier, however, her current supplier will not speak to her as she is not the account holder.
Mrs Wilson is stuck. The only way she can move house, access essential bank accounts or sort out the household bills is to obtain a Deputyship Order, an expensive and lenghty process.
Mr Wilson’s health deteriorates and he gets an infection. The doctors want to give him life saving antibiotics but his family know that Mr Jones would not want this. As there is no Lasting Power of Attorney in place, the doctors make the final decision on Mr Wilson’s care. Mr Wilson was not afforded the dignified death he deserved.
If Mr Wilson had set up a Lasting Power of Attorney his family would have been able to make sure that his wishes were followed. Mrs Wilson could have saved money on their bills and moved to the smaller property she wanted.
Cost
For a couple wanting to set up Property and Finance and Health and Welfare Powers of Attorney, the cost is £800, plus the court registration fee, which will be a maximum of £328. A total of £1,128.
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