Financial LPA - can I ask for bank letters to come to me?

Benefits, finances and funding
1

Hi,

I should probably be contacting MIL’s bank to ask, but thought maybe someone here may have already been through similar. MIL has been housebound for about 4 years now. We started having issues in dealing with her bank on her behalf, so we set up a financial LPA. We have registered this with the bank, but all correspondence still goes to her.

In recent months, she has started to become more confused and muddled, and also gets stressed over “official” letters. We see her at least once a week, but she will ring us in a panic if she receives anything in the post from the bank, her utility companies etc, and gets really flustered over money. Recently her 'phone company changed its name, and she was convinced the letter they sent meant her 'phone was going to be cut off.

I have now managed to register online for her utilities, so they contact me by email if they have any queries, but the bank still write to her. This morning we have had a 30 minute conversation over a letter advising that her interest rate is changing. She has convinced herself the bank want her to close her account so “where else can I put this money”. We have tried to reassure her that there is no need to do anything, its only advising that the rate is reducing, but she is adamant that there is a date that she needs to take it out by … No it says if you do not reply by that date, then everything will continue on the new rate … “So I need to take it out by then or I will lose my money” and so the circle continues … I could register for online banking and email correspondence, but they would probably be suspicious of “her” sudden ability to use the internet, and they would no doubt then send her a letter confirming it which would trigger more anxiety that someone has accessed to her account …

I just wondered if with an LPA in place, we could ask for any correspondence to be sent to us, to avoid her sitting there stressing about these things when there is no need.

2

Difficult one as each bank has it’s own policies.

Redirection of post maybe an answer I don’t know that much about it. I just did a google search have a read.

https://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/special-circumstances-redirection-application-form--april-2021.pdf

3

When we had financial LPA for my Mum I had all her utilities and bank/savings accounts changed so that all correspondence was addressed to me as:

Miss S Xxxxxxxx
Re Mrs A Xxxxxxx

and sent to my home address

I remember that I had to take the original copy of the LPA into the bank so that they could take a copy for their files (or I may have got a copy notarised at a local Solicitors and taken that in - it’s a while back now) - I did the same with the utility companies.

4

Yes.
I had LPA for my mum.
Legally, whatever you do is the same as if you were your mother.
If they have a copy of the LPA, all you need to do is write to the bank and request a change of address.
Do the same for all correspondence that is important, gas, electric, etc. etc.
Is mum claiming exemption from Council Tax due to dementia?
Claiming Attendance Allowance?