Attendance allowance - who can sign

[pebble]

I would like to apply for attendance allowance for my Mum but she would not sign the paperwork if I presented it to her. Has anyone any experience of success with an application where the person with dementia doesn't sign. Briefly my Mum's situation is that Dad died in Feb 2006 - it became obvious that there were real problems with memory and she lives alone. In Nov 2006 bad knee arthritis set in and she saw a Dr but would not mention memory problems. In August 2007 my only sister, who lived near Mum, died in tragic difficult circumstances and Mum has gone steadily downhill. In March this year I got her to her GP. He sent a psychiatric consultant who said she has "good-going moderate dementia". He wants to do scans but Mum thinks it is either trickery on my part or a fuss about nothing. When I asked about power of attorney etc both medics said she did not have capacity and had a low score of 14 out of 30 in a mini mental health test. Any advice on getting financial help for mum? She says she is fine - just tired out by stupid people visiting - the Old People's Team, as far as I can tell. I live 200 miles away and phone conversations are getting worse.
Thanks, pebble

 

[Clive]

Hi Pebble

You can sign the AA form. There is a space on page 2 of the Attendance Allowance form for you to tick because your mum has a mental disability. You also have to say at the bottom of the form that your mum has AD and that she is unable to sign because she becomes agitated etc.

However it is best if you get someone who knows how to fill the form in to do it for you. I got the Psychiatric Nurse to fill mum’s in. Possible the Alzheimer’s Society or Age Concern could help. It is just that these people know what wording to write on the form. They put down the right things. (Mum was said to be in danger because she went for her pension through a wood, and would open the door if a stranger rang).

Remember to say she has had her disability for more than six months (if she has) to get the payment started at once.

Also remember that your mum is probably entitled to a Council Tax rebate if she has both Alzheimer’s disease and is claiming AA.

Best wishes

Clive

 

[Kate P]

Hi Pebble,

I would just like to add that you can sign the form for your mum but I think they would then need to make you her appointee because she is incapable of dealing with her own affairs.

This usually entails a visit to you to make sure you are a suitable person to act for your mum in benefit affairs - I think they usually like to visit the person in question as well to see that they are incapable of dealing with things. I don't know how this would work given the distance yo are from your mum.

I would give them a ring to ask them and see what they would need to do.

I would agree with Clive that it is best to get Welfare Rights etc to help fill in the form as they do know what answers are needed to get the right result. If your mum gets Attendance Allowance she may also stand a better chance of getting Pension Credit as you get a higher entitlement if your are considered to be disabled and live alone.

 

[Nebiroth]

If you have Power of Attorney, you can simply tick the box on the form that says "I have power of attorney for the person applying" and sign the form yourself. I

If you do not, you can still sign the form, but you will need to fill in the special section that is marked "I am signing on someone else's behalf".

Normally, the person you are acting on behalf of should be aware that you are applying, and what has been said in the form, even if they are not able to sign themselves.

However, if the person would simply not understand this, or would be distressed, then you can fill in the section marked "I am applying without the person's knowledge" and you will need to say why you are doing this.

Fortunately, the application process does have most of the bases covered. Thankfuly the DWP have recognised that sometimes, we need to do this sort of thing when people have dementia.

I can only echo the advice about getting help with the form. People at (say) Help the Aged know what to say, what is relevent and what is not, and will probably think of many things you would not yourself, because they have become part of "normal life".

It certainly sounds as though Mum should be receiving Attendance Allowance. It is particularly relevent if she is at any sort of risk, this always rates very high in the application process.

It may be possible to have Mum disregarded for Council Tax purposes; your local authority can advise on that.

If your mum has created Enduring Power of Attorney and you are the named Attorney then you have a duty to register it if you have "reasonable belief" that she has become unable to manage her financial affairs. If there is no EPA, then you would need to apply to the Court of Protection, a longer and more expensive process.

 

[Helena]

You or any other family member can legally apply and sign the application forms for AA for your Mother

My sister and I signed one for my Mother

We made sure to include everything as "worst day scenario"

It was granted in 14 days