On Wednesday, August 14, 2013 12:48:42 PM UTC+1, Geoff Pearson wrote:
"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...

Out of interest, what is the legal situation, had your mother "signed
up" ? In the same way a contract with a minor would be invalid, assuming
someone has power of attorney for your mother, would any contract with
her be similarly invalid ?

Giving someone power of attorney does not remove your ability to make (daft)
decisions yourself. You would need someone to declare you incapax so that
your decision were null and void. I run my mother-in-law's affairs under
POA but she can and does still sign cheques - she is not gaga.

To expand: Whether the OP's mother has mental capacity to enter
contracts and whether somebody has power of attorney are two independent
questions. All four combinations are possible.

Note also that normal power of attorney (the power to act on someone's
behalf) lapses as soon as the donor loses capacity. It is only
Enduring (new) or Lasting (old) powers of attorney that survive the
loss of capacity.

Note also that "No, she doesn't have mental capacity" and "No, nobody
has lasting/enduring power of attorney" is an inconvenient and expensive
position to get to. It is possible to go to the Court of Protection
and gain the necessary powers, but it is worth avoiding.