My grandmother has stage 7 dementia and my grandad can no longer care for her! We are all in agreement that she will be cared for better in a nice home we have found, but before she can go in my grandad has to have power of attorney. He was told that he had to give the name of 3 blood relatives to sign the agreement for it all to go ahead, which he did. Now the solictors are saying that they have to send a letter to every child and grandchild of my grandmother to obtain permisson, and they are charging my grandad £40 a letter. Is this the law or are they trying to squeeze more money out of a vunerable old man?

It appears you may be in the UK. In the states we can look up fees and charges associated with legal filings with whatever office it is you are working with. So, see if you can call the Solicitors office and request a copy of their fee sheet or just straight up ask someone in that office.

Again, in the U.S. if it is a government "solicitor" the fees are posted publicly somewhere for reference as that is how we figure out how much to bring in to do whatever it is we are doing. I am not familiar with the UK, but its just an idea.

Probably different laws in different states/countries. One state I found says POA cannot be processed if person cannot understand the process.
If these attorneys are able to do it (maybe they are really doing a type of guardianship) it probably is complicated.
Maybe a seniors assn. or govt. office on aging can give you some advice or even say what a fair fee would be.
I think this is a difficult process, and one of the reasons that it is widely recommeneded that folks assign POA authority while healthy or at least in early stages of diseases that limit mental capacity.

There are several types of POA and they vary depending on what part of the UK you live. Power of Attorney (http://www.clickdocs.co.uk/power-of-attorney.htm)

If he is her husband, why does he need power of attorney? Wouldn't he have rights as the marriage partner?

ballengerb1,

II I read correctly (and I don't always do that), the various types still require the grantor to do the authorization before becoming incapacitated (mentally).

I think they may be talking about we we call a Durable Power of Attorney. That way gramps can make medical decisions as well as health related decisions

But I don't need a POA to make such decisions for my own husband. He had a bypass about seven years ago, and there was no problem with my signature. The bank doesn't need one either. I did need a POA for my uncle (who had no wife or kids), and my brother has one for our mother, but a POA for one's own spouse? I've never heard of that before.

Was he incapacitated at the time?

Yes.

That's part of the reason for all the fuss over gay rights -- marriage rights are so much better and clear cut than a civil union which still might demand a POA. A marriage relationship does not.

All I have to ever show is a marriage license plus personal ID, if that.

... In the states we can look up fees and charges associated with legal filings with whatever office it is you are working with.
Again, in the U.S., if it is a government "solicitor" the fees are posted publicly somewhere for reference as that is how we figure out how much to bring in to do whatever it is we are doing....
Huh? Attorneys in the U.S. can generally charge whatever fees their clients will agree to pay. There is no generally applicable requirement that they post a rate sheet. And usually American lawyers cannot (as a practical matter) charge so much per case - we charge by the hour.

And since when do attorneys working for a governmental agency in the U.S. get paid by private citizens? I've never heard of such a thing, in fact it would probably be considered illegal and unethical.

I don't fully understand having to notify all of the other family, that seems odd.