Attendance allowance

[Vic10]

I want to apply for Attendance Allowance for my OH. However, as he doesn’t believe there is anything wrong with him I don’t think he would agree. I’m not comfortable going behind his back and I believe, if successful, any AA correspondence would be addressed to him. That would confuse him and potentially lead to trust issues. Any advise please..

 

[canary]

You can fill it in on his behalf. When he gets the correspondence just be "economical with the truth" and say that it is a benefit that the government gives to people of his age. I know that we dont like to think that we will be doing things "behind their backs", but he may never acknowledge that he has something wrong with him (my mum never did either) and there comes a time when you can no longer pretend that all is well. If they are unable to understand reality, you have to come up with an explanation that makes sense to them, even if it is not strictly "true". This is known as Therapeutic Untruths, aka on here as using "love lies"

 

[Banjomansmate]

Do you have LPAs in place yet? Once you have them you can apply for Attendance Allowance as his Attorney and all the letters would come addressed to you, although you would need somebody to say he has dementia of course.

 

[pevensey]

Do you have LPAs in place yet? Once you have them you can apply for Attendance Allowance as his Attorney and all the letters would come addressed to you, although you would need somebody to say he has dementia of course.

I applied for Attendence Allowence on behalf of my OH 5 months ago, I told him I was doing it but he kept saying I was in "La La " land thinking I would get money for nothing. He thought there was nothing actually wrong with him and he was just getting old.I explained all about it and that I would have to fill it in and sign it as he writing is all scrawny now, he just let me get on with it and didn't want to know anything about it, although he did want to read it when I had finished it there were loads of pages to do, it took me about 4 days as I would do some then leave it a do more another day. And I found while I was doing it the situation would change on some of the answers so would have to change them. I did phone the people at DWP a few times and they were very helpful anyway to cut a long story short, we ended up getting it plus it was the higher rate and it only took about 3 weeks till we heard back from them. SO YES you must do it and once your Dr signs it your OH would have to accept it.Good Luck

 

[RosettaT]

I was in the process of applying for AA when my OH went into hospital. I had to wait 10weeks until he was discharged and the application was sent off 3rd April. I had acknowlegdemant within a week with a paragraph saying it could take 12 weeks to come through so we are now 7 weeks into that wait.
I just told my OH that he could get an allowance because of his age. Don't wait to submit it, if you need help AgeUK or CAB will help.

 

[canary]

if you need help AgeUK or CAB will help.

Yes, the form is detailed and takes a long time to fill in. You also have to fill it in assuming that it is the worst day - the day from hell! Just having an eye on them to make sure that they are OK counts too. Make sure you fill in the boxes at the bottom with details and fill it in assuming that someone different will be looking at every question.

Age UK are very helpful (at least, they are in my area)

 

[Vic10]

I applied for Attendence Allowence on behalf of my OH 5 months ago, I told him I was doing it but he kept saying I was in "La La " land thinking I would get money for nothing. He thought there was nothing actually wrong with him and he was just getting old.I explained all about it and that I would have to fill it in and sign it as he writing is all scrawny now, he just let me get on with it and didn't want to know anything about it, although he did want to read it when I had finished it there were loads of pages to do, it took me about 4 days as I would do some then leave it a do more another day. And I found while I was doing it the situation would change on some of the answers so would have to change them. I did phone the people at DWP a few times and they were very helpful anyway to cut a long story short, we ended up getting it plus it was the higher rate and it only took about 3 weeks till we heard back from them. SO YES you must do it and once your Dr signs it your OH would have to accept it.Good Luck

Didn’t know doctor had to sign it?

 

[Vic10]

Do you have LPAs in place yet? Once you have them you can apply for Attendance Allowance as his Attorney and all the letters would come addressed to you, although you would need somebody to say he has dementia of course.

That’s interesting, thank you.

 

[Vic10]

I applied for Attendence Allowence on behalf of my OH 5 months ago, I told him I was doing it but he kept saying I was in "La La " land thinking I would get money for nothing. He thought there was nothing actually wrong with him and he was just getting old.I explained all about it and that I would have to fill it in and sign it as he writing is all scrawny now, he just let me get on with it and didn't want to know anything about it, although he did want to read it when I had finished it there were loads of pages to do, it took me about 4 days as I would do some then leave it a do more another day. And I found while I was doing it the situation would change on some of the answers so would have to change them. I did phone the people at DWP a few times and they were very helpful anyway to cut a long story short, we ended up getting it plus it was the higher rate and it only took about 3 weeks till we heard back from them. SO YES you must do it and once your Dr signs it your OH would have to accept it.Good Luck

Interesting, thank you. Didn’t know doctor had to sign it?

 

[canary]

Didn’t know doctor had to sign it?

I dont think the doctor does - mums wasnt signed by the doctor.

There might be confusion with the form to get Council Tax exemption - which the doctor does have to sign, and can be applied for once you have Attendence Allowance.

 

[northumbrian_k]

We had someone from the council's welfare rights team come to the house to fill the form in as I thought that this might help 'sell' it to my wife. I told her that we might as well join the benefit culture and claim what was due to her because of her age. I avoided saying that there was anything wrong with her. The welfare rights man did not do the best job so I had to follow it up by providing a copy of the Lasting Power of Attorney. Even before the Attendance Allowance (AA) was granted - initially at the lower rate but I recently applied successfully to change to the higher rate - the correspondence about this was addressed to me as Attorney. There is no need for a doctor to sign the AA application form.

 

[Janie M]

My sister in law, who used to work in a care home, started to help me filling in the form. Her advice was to complete as if what my OH would be like if I wasn’t around. For example, does he need help dressing? Initially I thought no, but thinking if I wasn’t there, then yes, needs supervising of wham to put on, clean clothes etc. Once I started thinking like that it seems to come easier, and was awarded the higher rate. Don’t hold back!! X

 

[pevensey]

I dont think the doctor does - mums wasnt signed by the doctor.

There might be confusion with the form to get Council Tax exemption - which the doctor does have to sign, and can be applied for once you have Attendence Allowance.
Oh sorry, I might have got that wrong then, I've done 2 forms recently attendance allowence and council tax reduction, the Dr had to sign one of these, he also put date when OH was diagnosed, maybe it was council tax one, sorry.

 

[pevensey]

I dont think the doctor does - mums wasnt signed by the doctor.

There might be confusion with the form to get Council Tax exemption - which the doctor does have to sign, and can be applied for once you have Attendence Allowance.

Oh sorry, I may have got that wrong then, I have done 2 forms in last 5 months and Dr had to sign one of them, he also put date he was diagnosed so yes maybe was the council tax one.

 

[pevensey]

Do you have LPAs in place yet? Once you have them you can apply for Attendance Allowance as his Attorney and all the letters would come addressed to you, although you would need somebody to say he has dementia of course.

I feel so bad as I haven't sorted LPA yet, I know I must do it very soon as OH is getting worse and his writing is getting scrawly so will soon be difficult for him to sign stuff. It jusy sounds so difficult and complicated let alone expensive. Is there an easy way of doing it does anyone know please.

 

[maryjoan]

I feel so bad as I haven't sorted LPA yet, I know I must do it very soon as OH is getting worse and his writing is getting scrawly so will soon be difficult for him to sign stuff. It jusy sounds so difficult and complicated let alone expensive. Is there an easy way of doing it does anyone know please.

It's not very expensive - it has come down very much in price.

There are 2 things to remember

1) You can do it yourself - don't need a solicitor

2) You HAVE to do it while the PWD has 'capacity' - this means they HAVE to understand what it is all about - this is a legal requirement.

If the PWD has passed 2) one has to go to Court and this makes it much more difficult.

Get the forms and attack them slowly and calmly a little at a time, it is a drag, but it can be done. I got OH's family down from where they live when I was ready for the signing, just so that they all understood I was acting in his best interest - it was worth getting them onside.

If you are going to have PoA, and are 'of an age' like me (70) pick a younger person as another PoA, just in case something happens to you - your PWD will still have a representative.

hope this helps

 

[pevensey]

It's not very expensive - it has come down very much in price.

There are 2 things to remember

1) You can do it yourself - don't need a solicitor

2) You HAVE to do it while the PWD has 'capacity' - this means they HAVE to understand what it is all about - this is a legal requirement.

If the PWD has passed 2) one has to go to Court and this makes it much more difficult.

Get the forms and attack them slowly and calmly a little at a time, it is a drag, but it can be done. I got OH's family down from where they live when I was ready for the signing, just so that they all understood I was acting in his best interest - it was worth getting them onside.

If you are going to have PoA, and are 'of an age' like me (70) pick a younger person as another PoA, just in case something happens to you - your PWD will still have a representative.

hope this helps

Thankyou Maryjoan, you make it sound a bit easier than I thought, yes I'm 77 so will consider that about younger person also, does that mean you have to pay twice though. Someone said Age Concern can do it for me was wondering if that's true. Is it as lo g a form as Attendence Allowen e.

 

[maryjoan]

Thankyou Maryjoan, you make it sound a bit easier than I thought, yes I'm 77 so will consider that about younger person also, does that mean you have to pay twice though. Someone said Age Concern can do it for me was wondering if that's true. Is it as lo g a form as Attendence Allowen e.

Age Concern or the Citizens Advice will help you.
There are two forms - one is for Health, and one is for Finance.
When you complete the forms people are nominated to have 'Power of Attorney' - it is advised to have at least 2 people. My partner's family live 200 miles away, so we arranged that I could deal on my own for certain issues, that it would take the 2 of us ( the other is my partner's son) for some of the more serious decisions. The idea of having his son as a Power of Attorney is so that if I was to drop dead or get run over by a bus or something, my partner's care would not be compromised, as his son could just take over as Power of Attorney.

It sounds to me as though you need to get some advice from Citizens Advice or Age Concern - please think twice before going to a solicitor, as they will charge an arm and a leg.

The complexity of the forms depends also on what possessions your husband has - property, money, shares, etc etc. We don't even own our own house, so in my partner's case it was simple.

I stress - please get it done. You pay the fee for each form, not for the people appointed as PoA or anything like that.

Good Luck

 

[Vic10]

Thankyou Maryjoan, you make it sound a bit easier than I thought, yes I'm 77 so will consider that about younger person also, does that mean you have to pay twice though. Someone said Age Concern can do it for me was wondering if that's true. Is it as lo g a form as Attendence Allowen e.

No where near as complex or long as the form for attendance allowance. No , just one form , your choice if you apply alone for POA or jointly with someone younger, only 1 fee.

 

[nitram]

we arranged that I could deal on my own for certain issues, that it would take the 2 of us ( the other is my partner's son) for some of the more serious decisions. The idea of having his son as a Power of Attorney is so that if I was to drop dead or get run over by a bus or something, my partner's care would not be compromised, as his son could just take over as Power of Attorney.

Note that if you were to drop dead, loose capacity, or in the case of a property and affairs LPA be declared bankrupt his son could only take over where the power was granted 'jointly and severally'.
Any power granted 'jointly' would become void and a COP application would have to be made to take any action.
My reading of your post is that this would mean 'some of the more serious decisions' would require COP approval