Bank account usage whilst in the process of registering an EPOA

J

JimmyB99

Registered User
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My brother has started the process of registering an EPOA in respect of my father. I understand that it will take c. 4 to 6 months for the EPOA to be registered.

Just wondering what access, if any, does my brother have to my dad's bank accounts whilst the registration process is pending. I'm specifically referring to paying required bills for my dad. Any guidance appreciated.
 
He does not have any right in relation to the bank account until he has the official paper. In reality though, families have to try and make things work during a difficult period. My brother had access to my father‘s account on an informal basis when he was getting to the point where he needed that sort of help. We trusted him, so it was all okay. I think it is a mature thing for a family to have an upfront conversation about how to help.
 
Thanks @DeeKie,

For avoidance of doubt, the brother is 100% trustworthy regarding managing the bank account. I'm trying to understand the risks/issues if we adopt such an approach!
 
JimmyB99 said:
what access, if any, does my brother have to my dad's bank accounts whilst the registration process
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None.

If there are important bills (medical / nursing home for example) the bank may pay them direct from the account if the invoice is sent to them.
 
JimmyB99 said:
For avoidance of doubt, the brother is 100% trustworthy regarding managing the bank account. I'm trying to understand the risks/issues if we adopt such an approach!
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When my mother was in a nursing home in her latter years and unable to manage her financial affairs I did this for her and both she and my siblings were happy for this arrangement to operate without any additional bureaucracy. It's probably not what most people would recommend and obviously involves certain risks, but it worked for us and I know of other families who have taken a similar approach.
 
DannyBoyD said:
If there are important bills (medical / nursing home for example) the bank may pay them direct from the account if the invoice is sent to them
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Thanks @DannyBoyD - on what legal basis do the bank do this?

ClubMan said:
It's probably not what most people would recommend
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Well most people I spoke with would agree with the "pragmatic" approach.

ClubMan said:
obviously involves certain risks
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Actually, this is what I'm really trying to understand. What precisely are the risks - then we can evaluate their significance!
 
JimmyB99 said:
Actually, this is what I'm really trying to understand. What precisely are the risks - then we can evaluate their significance!
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Well, in my family's case the main risk was presumably that I might compromise the security of my mother's accounts letting someone raid them. Or that I simply misappropriated funds myself. Or that one of my siblings changed their mind and decided not to trust me and this caused conflict.
 
Ok - so what I'm hearing is that a bank may take a pragmatic approach and a family may decide to take a pragmatic approach also.
 
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JimmyB99 said:
so what I'm hearing is that a bank may take a pragmatic approach
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Just to be clear, we never informed the bank about anything. I (with the agreement of my mother and the trust of my siblings) just took control of my mother's financial affairs. Many people would not recommend such an approach and there are obviously risks involved, but it worked for us and may work for some other families in similar circumstances.
 
ClubMan said:
I (with the agreement of my mother and the trust of my siblings) just took control of my mother's financial affairs.
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This is incredibly common.

There is research showing that 10%-15% or adults have someone else managing their financial affairs. This is due to infirmity, intellectual disability, or other illness.

Financial service providers and utilities officially can’t allow this but in practice it happens.
 
We help my parents. Mum is as sharp as ever but can’t do apps and online. She’d have to have written instructions and passwords and I’d prefer not to have that lying around the house with half a dozen carers in every week. Dad is too forgetful.
So we go to the ATM and help with cheques. We do stuff like renew house insurance online with their credit cards and share the information with them and each other. We have a family WhatsApp for their finances and admin so we keep track and keep it transparent.

Where the bank needs to be called, like recently when dad remembered that he had another bank account but we couldn’t find any records, we placed the call and he was OK handling it. I’m sure the person on the other end must have had concerns as we were prompting some of his answers. We were only ordering statements so not high risk, they sent statements to mum too perhaps as a precaution.

It can be tricky, but we try to share information so theres no risk of a disagreement later, I’ve seen it in a few families, siblings assume there’s a pot of cash and it’s not clear where it has all gone.
 
Actually one important “utility” we set up shared access to was VHI. Two of us are allowed contact, raise questions, check cover, apply for refunds etc on their behalf.
We discovered that we needed this when one of them was 12 weeks in Blackrock. Eye wateringly expensive and we needed to check cover and discovered we couldn’t do anything. They couldn’t tell us anything. Luckily the other parent was also on the policy so they were able to check cover etc. We got that fixed as soon as we could.
 
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