Last year my father-in-law opened a joint bank account with his sister, who was looking after him. He has now been taken into a home, and has fallen out with his sister. The result is that we are unable to get any money from her for his upkeep. How can we resolve this?
Your father-in-law could transfer the money from the account into a joint account with yourselves if he wished, or sign a letter to the bank making you a signatory to the account. If he put all the money into the account it still belongs to him, not his sister. It’s possible your father-in-law will be able to grant you a lasting power of attorney as long as he is capable of understanding what it entails. This would enable you to take over all his financial affairs, including his bank account.