Why banks freeze
A bank that suspects an account holder lacks capacity is exposed both ways: obey an instruction the customer couldn't validly give and it may be liable; obey a relative with no authority and it certainly is. So it freezes — often abruptly, usually after years of quietly tolerating a son or daughter "helping with the banking". The freeze is legally rational; the family experience of it is a cliff. What matters is converting an informal arrangement into authority the bank must recognise.
What restores access
- An activated EPA covering property and affairs — once perfected, the attorney operates the account within its terms (2015-Act EPAs; 1996-Act EPAs)
- A registered co-decision-making agreement including the relevant financial decisions — the account is operated jointly (how they work)
- A DMR order with the account and payments among its specified decisions — the standard route where nothing was planned (the application)
- Interim arrangements — while an application is in train, urgent essentials (care fees, household bills) can often be managed: direct-debit continuity, payments direct to providers, or interim directions where genuinely needed — the point is lawful stopgaps, not workarounds
What banks may ask for — and what they may not
A bank is entitled to see the instrument or order and verify it (DSS registration makes verification straightforward), and to operate within its terms. Recurring friction: staff asking for documents the Act replaced, refusing valid arrangements out of unfamiliarity, or demanding "the family sort it" informally — the exact thing the law forbids. A short solicitor's letter identifying the statutory basis resolves most of it; escalation paths exist for the rest. The wider institutional playbook is in dealing with banks and institutions.
The habit to break
Using a parent's card and PIN "because it's easier" is the arrangement that ends in a freeze — and, in hostile families, in accusations that stick. If you're doing the banking for someone whose capacity is fading, the kindest thing you can do for yourself is get the authority formalised now, while options remain open. Call 01 5827148 and we'll tell you which route fits.
How our fees work
You get a fixed quote in writing before any work starts — no hourly-rate surprises. If the scope changes, the quote is revised in writing before we continue. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement. How costs work in capacity matters →
Frequently asked questions
Can the bank legally freeze my mother's account?
A bank that reasonably doubts its customer's capacity to instruct can decline instructions until lawful authority is shown — that is risk management, not malice. What it cannot do is refuse to recognise valid authority once presented, or leave essentials unpayable while ignoring lawful interim routes.
The nursing home needs paying this month. What can we do right now?
Ring us before improvising. Depending on the facts: direct payment arrangements, preserved direct debits, engagement with the bank's vulnerable-customer team, or urgent interim relief. The wrong move — moving her money through your account — creates problems that outlast the emergency.
Is a joint account the answer?
It's often the accident: joint accounts created 'for convenience' blur whose money it is, complicate Fair Deal assessment and estates, and don't confer decision-making authority anyway. The Act's arrangements exist precisely so families don't have to bend account structures into pseudo-authority.
Talk to a solicitor who works with families through capacity law every week. Call Mary Molloy Solicitors today.
Whether you are planning ahead, facing a capacity application, or simply unsure which arrangement your family needs, an early conversation costs little and prevents a lot.
📞 Call 01 5827148Try the Decision Support Pathway Finder
richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · Dublin: The Ormond Building, 31–36 Ormond Quay Upper, Dublin 7, D07 EE37 · Kilkenny: 2 Rose Inn Street, Kilkenny, R95 W58D
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