Power of Attorney for a person with learning disability and 16/17 years old — Scope | Disability forum
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Power of Attorney for a person with learning disability and 16/17 years old

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myjamro
myjamro Community member Posts: 1 Listener
edited May 2021 in Children, parents, and families
I have an autistic and SEND child. I bought some NS&I Premium Bonds. since he turned 16, they government agency NS&I has been declining all types of requests (letters from GP, Consultants. Head Teacher., Social Worker etc). They ask PoA from gov.co.uk that is standard form but its for Adults. They don't let me take control of my child's bonds. I buy bonds for all  my children. I never anticipated such obstacle. I tried to search options online visited various Law firms who suggested completing form and then send to UK GOV. That was again same LPA form that I downloaded from gov.uk website. I read about mental Capacity Act (MCA) but  could not find any help for any official form. If anyone in this forum has gone through this issue, and knows simple solution, please suggest. Some local solicitor advised me visit magistrate court for resolution as ordinary Bank system is simple but government financial system is more challenging and officers follow written protocols that may not have any provision, but deals each case independently like home-office. What a challenge has become parenting for keyworkers in this pandemic. 
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  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,652 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hello @myjamro

    Welcome to the community, this sounds like a very frustrating situation for you. I don't have any knowledge in this area, however I have moved your discussion to a more appropriate category and hopefully others will be able to help. 

    Just wanted to wish you a warm welcome :) 
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  • NickD
    NickD Community member Posts: 2 Listener
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    Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is something only a person who does have mental capacity, can apply for, which covers the situation if they lose mental capacity later from e:g dementia.  This person voluntarily names other people whom they trust, as "Attorneys". The Attorneys then have the right to manage their affairs (Financial, or Health and Welfare, or both) if they lose capacity. However, where its a person with a learning disability who never had capacity, they can't apply for an LPA, so instead there are Deputies.  A Deputy acts for the person just like an Attorney, but only once the Court of Protection has decided they're suitable. You can apply to become a Deputy here : https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy .  Its 100% do-able via the gov website with no need for a solicitor. However, the fees are very high! Albeit for a finance one it looks like if the person without capacity is on certain benefits, fees will be waived. Then there's an annual fee and requirement to report transactions etc

    We have a severely disabled son, who's unlikely to ever have capacity. I'd be interested in anyone else's opinions, but we've concluded that saving up money in his name is fairly pointless because fees to manage it would eat into it so much, and acting as a Deputy and showing proof, reports etc is a hassle. Also if he's in residential care most of it would be taken to pay for that. We're more inclined to save some money in his siblings names and trust them to spend on helping him. That could backfire if for some reason either of the other 2 required mean-tested benefits one day, lets hope that doesn't happen.  If I understand correctly, we still face a £365 fee per Deputy, if we want our family members to be named as Health and Welfare Deputies.  This is a lot of money to find. If we don't , we wouldn't have control over important health decisions.

    @myjamro I'm sorry to say you may find its some hassle and expense to get access to those bonds for your child now. Hope this info is of some use. :)

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  • Sampot17
    Sampot17 Community member Posts: 1 Listener
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    Hello @myjamro did you ever find a solution to this with the bonds??  we're in an identical predicament with 16 Yr old.
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  • wmccartney
    wmccartney Community member Posts: 1 Listener
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    NickD. You should put money in a Trust for them so it doesn’t affect their care package. There’s good info on the Mencap website about this. 
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