more questions (sorry)

[Mr Yorkshire]

Hello everyone!

I made a post the other day but now I have many more questions if it is OK to ask.

Since I last posted my friend has now been assessed as not having mental capacity and I have subsequently opened up communication with the social services regarding his situation and they informed me that it is possible that even though he has been assessed as not having capacity there is still a chance he can return home as he has not previously been on the social care system and so they may decided to see if the options works, this of course is not agreed just an option that could happen they say.

Questions:

1) As he has not got Capacity no LPA can be made so is it possible for me to somehow be able to appointed to help him make decisions regarding wealth and health without the need for courts, if so please advise.

2) The state of his residence is in a state which can not be described with words, it really is that bad, however I have spent the most of this week, boxing up his belongings, removing all the rubbish, cleaning where I can and just generally trying to make the house at a state where the social services will not refuse to enter if they choose to visit however, he has holes in his exposed flooring, no rail on his staircase, exposed electric wires hanging lose, no working heating or hot water (I think you get the picture) my question is I know that my friend has finances in the bank which could pay for the work to be done however if I asked my friend to write me a cheque so that I could get the work done for him to return home (something he wants me to do) would this be deemed as illegal as he has been deemed as not having capacity? If this is not legal is there someway I can apply to get the work done and get him billed direct so that his home is deemed safe to return?

3) I have found my friend a cheaper but better home to stay long term should it be required, however who decides where he will stay if he has no capacity and no family to help him? again is this a legal issue beyond my control?

Sorry for the confusing questions, this really is a hard situation for me to try and get my head around.

 

[Jo1958]

Mr Yorkshire, hi
Sorry to say that I don't know the answers to your questions but I do know that there are people around here who will be able to answer them but maybe not immediately.

I do know that you are being a wonderful friend and that will mean a lot to your friend, one of the problems with someone being deemed to not have the mental capacity to make decisions with a dementia diagnosis is that capacity and awareness can come and go so you might find that there are times of the day or even just sometimes when awareness is better than others and a solicitor might be able to help if they are experienced in working with people who have dementia.

Involving Social Services is a big and positive step, if you can work with them and get them 'on side' then I'm sure that as a team you can work out the best solution for your friend.

I wish you luck and look forward to hearing how things go for you both, take good care, with kind regards from Jo

 

[Big Effort]

Hi Mr Yorkshire,
What a good friend you are!
I live in France so can't answer your questions but I am writing this so I can boot your post up to the top of the page again. There are loads of smart, experienced people on TP, who do have experience of legalities in UK.
I hope you get this all resolved very soon. Sounds like your friend needs a whole lot of supervision, and living alone will be a bit risky perhaps?
Glad you are posting and hope you get your answers now. Take care, BE

 

[bad daughter]

A good friend indeed! Others will know more but I would expect that if you are not a next of kin etc you will find it very difficult to get POA. You should definitely see a specialist solicitor or the CAB or your local age charities for assistance.

As to his house being in what sounds like a dangerous state, I would be tempted to point that out to Social Services, since he clearly cannot return to such conditions ad they are going to have to do something about finding him somewhere that he can be properly cared for.

 

[end of my rope]

Others will know more than me on this one ...

So just to keep you towards the top of the list:

I would make sure social services/ occupational therapists etc come and do a home visit and assessment first. Explain that you have tidied up and sorted out as much as you can for your friend (and please be my friend too Mr Y you sound like a great person to have on my team) and also describe your fears for your friend.
Always stress the worst case scenario and most extreme days - there may be moments of calm and superficial lucidity but your friend needs help based on how bad things can get for him not how well he seems to cope.

Whatever you do keep receipts and make notes...

Best of

eomr

 

[carpe diem]

Since I last posted my friend has now been assessed as not having mental capacity
.

Who has decided he doesn't have the mental capacity?
Firstly I would be questioning if that is correct. Do you think he understands what a giving you a LPA means.
If he really doesn't have capacity to understand a POA then going through courts to become a deputy might be an expensive option.
I really don't think he is able to make any financial decisions about giving you a cheque, if he doesn't have capacity, that would be a contradiction.
Does your friend have the capacity to say which home he wants to live in, if he is paying it is his choice.
Be aware that social sevices do have an obligation to look after a vunerable adult and you have no such obligation. I'm not saying that you shouldn't help the man, just don't let SS push all the responsibility on to you, because they will if they can, to make their work load easier. The more you do, the less they will do.
I am certainly no expert on this subject but I feel these lonely people without family are the most vunerable and I worry about them the most. Please don't be sorry for asking more questions, there is a huge amount of experience and knowledge on here and people will only reply if they want to.
Big thank you for helping him.