Your mother or father has given you a Power of Attorney over their bank account. You are now responsible for paying their bills, withdrawing cash for everyday expenses, sometimes managing care home fees. But how far can you go without crossing a legal line?
A Lasting Power of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs gives the attorney the right to act on the donor’s account in their place for routine management operations. It never transfers ownership of the money. This distinction is what separates permitted operations from those that pose real problems and can be classed as abuse of power of attorney.
The 5 operations you can carry out without risk
A standard Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney in practice covers five types of everyday banking operations. They correspond exactly to what this tool was designed for: helping an elderly parent who can no longer visit their bank or manage transfers alone.
- Make transfers to pay rent, care home fees or routine household bills
- Withdraw cash at the counter or ATM for the donor’s daily needs
- Settle recurring bills: utilities, insurance, healthcare contributions
- Check accounts, statements and transaction history
- Set up or amend standing orders linked to the parent’s expenses
These five actions form the core of an attorney’s role, provided you avoid common mistakes with an elderly parent’s bank account. They must always serve the donor’s best interests, and nothing else. A transfer made to pay your parent’s care home fees is legitimate. The same transfer made to your own account, even “temporarily”, is not.
Managing daily matters without overstepping your role
In practice, most banks apply the same withdrawal and transfer limits to the attorney as the donor would have set themselves, unless otherwise agreed. The attorney acts within the same framework the donor would have chosen. No extra powers are granted by the power of attorney, which structurally limits possible misuse, provided you remain vigilant.
The 3 operations that create problems
This is where most family disputes centre. Three categories of banking operation exceed the legal scope of a simple power of attorney, even if they sometimes seem harmless from within a family.
Closing an account tops the list. An attorney cannot close the account of the person they represent, nor open a new savings product in their name without a specific, explicit mandate for that precise operation. Similarly, making a gift or transfer from the parent’s account, even intended for a grandchild’s birthday, falls outside the scope of a power of attorney: only the donor can dispose of their assets through gifts. Finally, changing the beneficiary clause on a life insurance policy or touching a joint account held with a third party is a strictly personal decision for the donor, never for the attorney.
What the law says about the attorney’s role
The key principle
A Lasting Power of Attorney is not a mandate for full wealth management. The attorney acts in the name and on behalf of the donor, in their exclusive interests. Any operation that benefits the attorney or abnormally diminishes the parent’s assets can be legally reclassified as fraud by abuse of position before a court.
This distinction between routine management and significant financial acts structures the entire attorney’s responsibility. A child who uses their mother’s card to pay for their own shopping, even thinking they will “pay it back later”, risks prosecution if another heir contests the transaction after death.
Abuse of power of attorney: the family conflict trap
Most disputes over a power of attorney arise at the point of succession, not before. A brother or sister discovers, while reviewing statements, regular cash withdrawals, transfers to an unknown account, or spending that does not match the parent’s normal lifestyle. Family relationships can then deteriorate rapidly, sometimes into legal action.
To avoid this scenario, full documentation remains the attorney’s best protection. Consistently keeping supporting documents for each significant expense, retaining care home invoices, receipts for work or medical treatment, and regularly informing other family members of operations carried out significantly reduces the risk of suspicion. A simple spreadsheet, maintained as you go, is often enough to prevent any misunderstanding.
| Operation | Permitted? |
|---|---|
| Transfer for care home fees | Yes |
| Cash withdrawal for daily expenses | Yes |
| Gift to a relative | No |
| Closing an account | No, unless specific mandate given |
| Changing a joint account | No |
When the power of attorney ends
A power of attorney stops automatically in several situations, without your family always needing to take further action. The death of the donor instantly ends all powers of the attorney (once the bank is informed, the account is frozen and becomes part of the estate). Any transaction carried out after this date, even unknowingly, exposes the attorney to having to repay the sums.
Revocation can also occur during the donor’s lifetime, at any time and without justification, by simple letter to the bank. Placement of the parent under legal protection (deputyship ordered by the Court of Protection) also ends the standard power of attorney, with the court then taking control of significant financial decisions. If the donor loses capacity and the power of attorney does not cover the necessary decisions, a Court of Protection deputy may need to be appointed.
When a power of attorney is no longer enough
Certain situations go beyond the scope of a simple power of attorney. When the parent gradually loses financial independence or shows signs of cognitive decline, two options become relevant. A new Property and Financial Affairs LPA, registered in advance while the person is still mentally capable, allows you to designate in advance who will manage their affairs if capacity is lost. Alternatively, a Court of Protection deputyship, granted by a judge, offers a formal solution if the situation becomes urgent and the existing power of attorney no longer covers what is needed.
These tools permit acts that a power of attorney never allows, such as selling property or managing an entire estate. Before reaching that point, a simple conversation with your parent’s bank adviser often clarifies what remains possible and what requires a more formal step.
