Spending spouses money

[Alison N]

i have LPA for finance and welfare for my husband. He has gone into hospital and will go on to residential care from there. He gets the enhanced rate of PIP for daily living and mobility and he has a Motobility car which I drive on his behalf. His PIP will stop after 28 days and that will leave us with no car. I will need to buy a car to carry on visiting him. I want to use some of his savings to buy a car jointly so that I can continue to visit. He is being assessed for continuing health care funding but if he isn’t successful social services will fund. My questions are:- should I ask the office of the Public Guardian if I can spend some of his money, and will Social Services consider it a deprivation of assets if I do?

 

[marionq]

First of all is it definitely "his" money or could it be in a joint account? Remember that you are not being assessed only his assets are. Any mo ey or investments in joint names are half yours straight away and you should open an account in your own name and transfer them to it.

 

[Alison N]

First of all is it definitely "his" money or could it be in a joint account? Remember that you are not being assessed only his assets are. Any mo ey or investments in joint names are half yours straight away and you should open an account in your own name and transfer them to it.

It is savings in his name. I want to be able to buy the car and we both contribute 50% of the cost of the car.

 

[nellbelles]

Telephone motability although his PiP will stop it’s possible the car will remain his until the end of the lease

 

[jenniferpa]

I think (as @nellbelles said) you should call motability. I don't think it's a given that the car will have to be returned at this point.

 

[Alison N]

I rang Motability and they advised the car would have to be returned. They will give three months grace and the car will either have to be returned or they will give me the option of buying it. We are only one year into a three lease.