Repugnant Power of Attorney Removed

Repugnant Power of Attorney Removed.

An attorney has been described by a senior judge as being "repugnant" after he charged out of pocket expenses to his widowed mother in a care home of £400 per day.

The attorney was by trade a management consultant and the Court of Protection found that he had charged his mother's estate over £117,000 when visiting his mother in the care home and dealing with her affairs.

The dispute arose when unpaid social care fees costs were left unpaid of £30,000 given that there was a dispute between the attorney and the NHS, we assume but cannot confirm that this was likely to be in connection with the attorney claiming that the care was medical care, which is funded by the NHS, rather than social care which is the responsibility of the local authority and ultimately is a means tested benefit meaning that the widowed mother in care, via her attorney son, was responsible for settling the fees.

Apparently, the attorney son was charging his usual daily rate for dealing with his mother's affairs and this prompted the local authority to instigate an investigation by the Court of Protection. The Court of Protection subsequently revoked his position as attorney

Comment

Whilst not knowing the full details of the case, when you are appointed as an attorney you are required to act in a reasonable and responsible manner given that you have been placed in a position of trust to look after the "donor’s" i.e. the lady in care affairs. There is a fine line between caring for one's parents, which most of us would do at little or no charge, as opposed to claiming your full daily rate due to loss of earnings. At £117,000, £400 per day equates to 292 days. Given that the lady was in a care home it is clearly difficult to justify losing so much chargeable time to take care of your mother and her affairs. That said, how much does a full-time care home cost? How much does a full-time professional live in carer cost? We have seen cases where professional firms charge £10,000 per month for full-time care at home.

If you are appointed as an attorney then you should be careful as to exactly what out-of-pocket expenses you claim. If you need advice on what we would consider reasonable or if you would like help establishing your powers of attorney please do not hesitate to contact us.