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Managing someone else’s money

Sometimes people need help managing their money. This could be because of a health condition, or because they need support with their spending.

first direct customers can give another person (a third party) access to their bank accounts. There are a number of ways to do this, from simple access and a bit of support, to granting someone power of attorney.

Power of attorney

Power of attorney is a legal document that allows a third party to manage your finances if you’re unable to do so.

More about power of attorney

Court of Protection order

A Court of Protection order is used when someone has lost the ability to manage their money, and they don’t have a power of attorney in place for someone to help manage their finances. 

 

More about Court of Protection orders

Third party mandate

A third party mandate is an agreement between first direct and our customer, which gives someone else (a third party) limited access to our customer’s bank account.

You must have mental capacity when a third party mandate is used on your account.

More about third party mandate

 

What is ‘mental capacity’?

Having mental capacity means that you're able to make and communicate your own decisions.

Someone who’s lacking mental capacity could be suffering from an illness or living with a disability, meaning they can’t do one or more of the following:

  • understand information given to them about a particular decision
  • retain information long enough to make a decision
  • weigh up information to make a decision
  • communicate their decision.

For more information on understanding mental capacity, see www.nhs.uk.

 

Guardianship order for missing persons

If a person goes missing, you can apply to the Court of Protection for a guardianship order. This allows you to manage the property and financial affairs of the missing person.

For more info on guardianship orders, see www.gov.uk/manage-missing-persons-finances.

To tell us you have a guardianship order, call us on 03 456 100 100

 

Emergency contact

As a first direct customer you can let us know about an emergency contact that we can get in touch with in special circumstances.

This could be if you’re not ready to register a power of attorney, or if you want ensure we have the contact info for your family or friends in cases of emergency.

Your emergency contact won’t have any access to your accounts, or be able to make decisions on your behalf.

You have rights regarding your information, including being able to see what we hold about you.

For more information please see our full privacy notice at: www.firstdirect.com/privacy

Department for Work and Pensions appointee

If you know someone who needs help claiming and managing their benefits because they have a disability, or have lost the ability to manage their benefits, you could become an appointee of the Department of Work and Pensions.

Visit the Department for Work and Pensions website for more information.

 

Understanding third party access

  Third party mandate Ordinary power of attorney Lasting power of attorney Enduring power of attorney (only valid if written and signed before 01 Oct 2007) Court of Protection order Department for Work and Pensions appointee Guardianship order for missing persons
You need help managing your accounts Third party mandate✓ Ordinary power of attorney✓ Lasting power of attorney✓ Enduring power of attorney (only valid if written and signed before 01 Oct 2007)✓ Court of Protection order  Department for Work and Pensions appointee  Guardianship order for missing persons 
You're going abroad and need someone to access your accounts while you're away Third party mandate✓ Ordinary power of attorney✓ Lasting power of attorney✓ Enduring power of attorney (only valid if written and signed before 01 Oct 2007)✓ Court of Protection order  Department for Work and Pensions appointee  Guardianship order for missing persons 
You're physically ill or disabled Third party mandate✓ Ordinary power of attorney✓ Lasting power of attorney✓ Enduring power of attorney (only valid if written and signed before 01 Oct 2007)✓ Court of Protection order  Department for Work and Pensions appointee✓ Guardianship order for missing persons 
You're preparing in case you lose the ability to manage your money Third party mandate  Ordinary power of attorney  Lasting power of attorney✓ Enduring power of attorney (only valid if written and signed before 01 Oct 2007)✓ Court of Protection order  Department for Work and Pensions appointee  Guardianship order for missing persons 
You've lost the ability to manage your money Third party mandate  Ordinary power of attorney  Lasting power of attorney

✓

If prepared before losing capacity

 Enduring power of attorney (only valid if written and signed before 01 Oct 2007)

✓

If prepared before losing capacity

 Court of Protection order

✓

If Lasting power of attorney or Enduring power of attorney hasn’t already been granted

 Department for Work and Pensions appointee

✓

If Lasting power of attorney or Enduring power of attorney hasn’t already been granted

 Guardianship order for missing persons 
You need support for day-to-day banking, for a limited time, but not for someone to make decisions for you Third party mandate✓ Ordinary power of attorney  Lasting power of attorney  Enduring power of attorney (only valid if written and signed before 01 Oct 2007)  Court of Protection order  Department for Work and Pensions appointee  Guardianship order for missing persons 
The customer is a missing person Third party mandate  Ordinary power of attorney  Lasting power of attorney  Enduring power of attorney (only valid if written and signed before 01 Oct 2007)  Court of Protection order  Department for Work and Pensions appointee  Guardianship order for missing persons✓

 

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