Enduring power of attorney

I like to believe that most of us on here, being of a mature age will be aware of the need to have an enduring power of attorney in place so that if we should become unable to manage our health and financial affairs our loved ones will be able to take care of things.
Due to unexpected events I find myself in the position where a much younger member of my family is suddenly not able to manage their affairs and we are unsure how long this situation will last.
Clearly he will now suffer a loss of normal income and i am aware that he has recurrent bills which need to be met.
I approached his bank to inform them of the situation he is in and to ask if they could let me know what his regular monthly outgoings (Loans, Mobile contract, Car Insurance, Car Tax and the like) were so that we would know how much financial support would be needed.
The bank asked if he had an Enduring Power of Attorney in place and of course due to his age he hasn't The Bank said they could not tell us anything that we would have to go to a solicitors to try and arrange access to the information we wanted.
He and We had not thought about who would run his affairs should the unforeseen happen. Customer are always being advised to let their lenders know of any problems which may affect ability to pay but without knowing who has a claim on his income how can parents do this?
We did not want to make withdrawals just to ensure he has funds to meet his commitments to avoid default charges....
I would suggest that parents and older family members talk to their youngsters about this and try and come to some arrangement to cover this kind of situation.....
I have already started talking to my youngest son and will continue until I am sure he has adequate arrangements in place.
But we have to wait and hope our family member regains to ability to make his wishes known........

astradt1. I’m sure that everyone on this forum is saddened by your news.

I understand that enduring power of attorney (EPA) was replaced by lasting power of attorney (LPA) in 2007. The difference is that the LPA must be registered before use, and that costs £110. There are more details here:-

https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/overview

An LPA is absolutely necessary if you are likely to have elderly rels to care for, but must obviously be all fixed in place while they still have all their marbles. It's not a magic wand that solves all problems, but should enable you to pick up the reins when it regrettably becomes necessary. By coincidence there is a useful article about this in today's Sunday Times which demonstrates how the existence of an LPA allowed concerned family to challenge the NHS over liability.

There is a caveat: Lenders are bound by the Data Protection Act not to make disclosures to third-parties, and some refuse to admit the validity of an LPA. Their reasoning is that the process is too susceptible to pressure on the subject from Family. They may be right about that.

However, it should be effective against Utility or Telecoms Companies that demand payment of unfeasibly large Bills, or Deposit-takers who are curiously reluctant to part with Savings accounts or shareholder dividends.

As I said I think most of us on here are aware that older relatives and ourselves should have a LPA in place but the issue is when a 31 year old become incapacitated due to a stroke, as in our situation, or more likely a serious road traffic accident, without a LPA the parents or older relatives will have no legal way in which to help manage the out goings from their bank account and help them avoid charges for missed payments due to loss of pay......

Ivan was entirely correct in saying that we sympathise with your dilemma, Astradt. It's of little comfort to be told that the circumstances you describe are not usual. Loss of "Capacity" is more common in the elderly, so you may find that your family's recourse lies with The Court of Protection.

https://www.gov.uk/search?q=court+of+protection