Power of Attorney - looking for advice

My Mam is 89 and in early stage of memory loss. The geriatrician she is attending has advised having a Power of Attorney drawn up. My Mams solicitor is a relative, her will was also written up by this person, I set up an appointment for my Mam with her solicitor in June, she attended on her own and mentioned afterwards she had signed numerous forms. All good so far, however, too date there has been no further development, I am not expecting her solicitor to divulge any information etc., however, I am concerned that after three months there has been no further communication.

I am aware that this is a long and slow process. I would have thought that a very early step in the process would be to have a Doctor confirm that my Mam was of sound mind to be able to make the decisions that she made. To date, there has been no communication from the solicitor, my Mams memory is declining rapidly and I am worried that she may reach the stage where a Doctor may not sign the letter. My concern is that my Mam can be looked after and we can make the decisions to help and support her.
I have sent a few WhatsApp messages to the solicitor asking him to give me a call so I can understand the process and to be sure that it is moving along as it should be, however, despite him reading the messages there has been no response. I'm just looking to understand if the process is usually this slow.
Thanks in advance for any advice

It is slow but it sounds to me like the solicitor isn’t willing to engage. Lots are not familiar with the new process and I called about 6 before I found one who would assist us.

The new process is not user friendly IMO as it starts off with the person setting up an online account and signing up. Like seriously!

Get on the phone and call around a few more solicitors. It takes months so don’t delay.

You need the doctor to sign the form, I think maybe you can go ahead with that. We took dad to his GP who was very familiar with the process, not the legal side but the medical. He asked dad questions, filled in the form and also asked dad privately whether we kids were pressuring him etc.
You can download the form

https://www.decisionsupportservice.ie/services/enduring-power-attorney-epa

Thread 'Enduring power of attorney in 2023'
https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/enduring-power-of-attorney-in-2023.233611/

Annieindublin said:

It is slow but it sounds to me like the solicitor isn’t willing to engage. Lots are not familiar with the new process and I called about 6 before I found one who would assist us.

The new process is not user friendly IMO as it starts off with the person setting up an online account and signing up. Like seriously!

Get on the phone and call around a few more solicitors. It takes months so don’t delay.

You need the doctor to sign the form, I think maybe you can go ahead with that. We took dad to his GP who was very familiar with the process, not the legal side but the medical. He asked dad questions, filled in the form and also asked dad privately whether we kids were pressuring him etc.
You can download the form

https://www.decisionsupportservice.ie/services/enduring-power-attorney-epa

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advise, I will download the form and arrange for Mam to attend her Doctor, and as you suggest maybe look to engage a different solicitor.

I assume you mean an enduring power of attorney. The doctors form is signed AFTER the power of attorney so no point in doing that now.

DSS are currently refusing paper applications, must be digital unless it had already begun. they are also very very slow. I dont know many solicitors that reply to WhatsApp messages, I suggest you ask your mother- who is after all the client- to contact the solicitor by phone or make an appointment to enquire as to progress.

The doctor needs to sign a form to say that their patient understands what they are signing and is ok with it as part of the process of setting up the EPA. That form is submitted as part of th application

Unless you are thinking of later when you actually invoke the EPA?

It's called a statement of capacity and the doctor confirms that at the time the power was executed, the donor had the capacity to understand. So it is after the event. You can go ahead if you like but you will end up re doing it.

We're also in the situation where an EPA needs to be set up for my mother. We had to get a statement of capacity from the doctor for the solicitor to state that our mother has the capacity to understand what an EPA involves. Now we are ensuring the 3 family members involved (mother and two children/attorneys-to-be) have a fully verified Mygov accounts. Once we have done this, each of us have to register an account with the DSS online. Seemingly it is possible to do so on paper but having phoned the DSS on a couple of occasions, they say having a verified Mygov account (which is different than a basic account) is the more expedient way of going about it. Once these steps have been completed, the solicitor say she will then meet our mother to discuss her intentions/wishes under the EPA. This is where we are at so hopefully it's of benefit to someone.
Has any experience of being an attorney either 'jointly' or 'jointly and severally' and what has been your experience or opinion?