Concerns about money can be stressful and affects us all in different ways.
These resources might help if you’re not sure what you’re entitled to, or you need some extra support.
Get help with the cost of living from your local council - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Cost of living support: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Free and impartial help with money, backed by the government | MoneyHelper
Benefits and entitlements for pensioners and the elderly | Age UK
Independent Age | Supporting people facing financial hardship in later life
If you’re finding it difficult to talk to family or friends about money, Money Helper has some guides to help you have those necessary conversations, with tips about planning for the conversation, how to raise the subject, and how to ensure you manage to discuss everything that you need to.
Power of attorney
We should all be thinking about who we would want to make our financial decisions for us once we are no longer able to. If you’re married or in a civil partnership your partner won’t automatically be allowed to make specific decisions on your behalf without a lasting power of attorney.
There are three different types of power of attorney: lasting power of attorney, enduring power of attorney and ordinary power of attorney. You can set up more than one.
An ordinary power of attorney is for financial decisions only, and is only valid while you still have mental capacity.
If you wish to make a power of attorney in case there comes a time when you lose mental capacity, then only the lasting power of attorney is relevant. A lasting power of attorney is a legal document that lets you give one or more persons the power to make decisions and manage your property and financial affairs and/or your health and welfare. A lasting power of attorney for health and welfare decisions can only be used if you lose mental capacity. A lasting power of attorney for property and financial decisions permits your attorney/s to make decisions about all of your financial and property affairs unless you specify otherwise in the document. It can also be used while you still have mental capacity if you wish, but you would have to choose this option when setting up the lasting power of attorney. A lasting power of attorney can be cancelled at any time whilst you still have mental capacity provided the proper procedure is followed.
An enduring power of attorney is only for financial decisions. If you created an enduring power of attorney before 1 October 2007, it's still valid, but you can't make a new one, lasting powers of attorney are now used instead.
If you have a power of attorney in place you need to let either your family or whoever you have named to deal with your affairs know so they can be prepared.
If you want to set up an ordinary power of attorney, you may wish to contact your local Citizens Advice or get advice from a solicitor, as there is specific wording which must be used.
To set up a lasting power of attorney, you’ll need to complete the relevant form Lasting and enduring powers of attorney forms available on GOV.UK and submit them to the Office of the Public Guardian Office of the Public Guardian together with the fee. Once they’ve been checked and registered, you’ll then get a stamped copy of the power of attorney.
For more information about setting up a power of attorney, visit www.moneyhelper.org.uk and search for ‘power of attorney’. Alternatively, you can speak to the Office of the Public Guardian on 0300 456 0300 or textphone 0115 934 2778.