Can anyone answer these questions please?

[wazzer]

Hi
I have been my mum's Deputy for the last 5 years and have very recently sold her house for far less less than it's true value because of deterioration and finding it very difficult to obtain unoccupied house insurance after 5 years of unoccupancy. However, the house is now sold and I have repaid my mother's Equity Release and her Deferred Payment Scheme which has left her with just over the upper limit of £23,250.
There are a few issues I need to raise with my Local Authority re: A new financial assessment but before this I am wondering if this forum could answer me a few questions:-

a: I am currently paying a Security Bond annually of £200 per £80000 of insurance issued by the COP in 2009 and because the house has now been sold and all 'legal charges' paid, my mother does not need this amount of cover. Is this variable? Do I contact the COP (if so is it chargeable), the OPG or the Insurance Co?

b: I also pay the OPG £335.00 a year for their services! (please excuse the exclamation mark but I have to submit annual financial reports, get receipts, do all the legwork, get financial figures, work everything out on the report etc, etc) and for this I am charged £335.00 for them to 'tick' the report and send me one magazine every so often). All my yearly reports have been passed but I am still on a level 2A and have been since 2009. Now, because of mum's reduced financial ststus am I allowed to have the level lowered or is it permanent? Do I contact the COP about this and again is it chargeable?

c: Finally (and thank you for the replies to my previous post) I realise that because my LA is now paying something towards mum's care that she will lose her AA. Is it up to me to inform the DWP or is it my LA's resonsibility. I have had previous dealings with the DWP, which was not a good experience and would rather not contact them unless I have to (I had to get my MP involved to sort out problems in the past).

Any assistance to these questions would be appreciated as I would like any information that is relevant to hand before I have to contact them.

As a footnote, can I say that before mum developed AZ I knew very little about old age care but over the years I feel I have learnt a lot as I am sure many people on this forum have. I now feel that the way our elderly are looked after (I can only speak from a AZ perspective) in this country is a bit of a joke and needs a urgent overhaul.

Why is it that as soon as you seem to 'turn a corner' another wall is put up in front of you. Why is it a constant battle to get support and help for our elderly and infirm.


Thank you for reading,

Kind regards

Ken.

 

[lin1]

Hello Ken. Sorry I cant help with your Deputyship questions as I have no experience , so will leave that side of things to those with more knowledge on here.
I just wanted wanted to give your post a bump to the top.
.....
As a footnote, can I say that before mum developed AZ I knew very little about old age care but over the years I feel I have learnt a lot as I am sure many people on this forum have. I now feel that the way our elderly are looked after (I can only speak from a AZ perspective) in this country is a bit of a joke and needs a urgent overhaul.

I heartily agree. unfortunately my mum pre and during Dementia received poor care from some departments /staff in the NHS
and a few yrs ago my dad (no dementia)did as well.
.....

Why is it that as soon as you seem to 'turn a corner' another wall is put up in front of you. Why is it a constant battle to get support and help for our elderly and infirm.

I have often wondered this myself and come to the conclusion that , Sometimes it is deliberate.

Sometimes due to lack of understanding.

Even those that really wanted to help , can find their hands are tied. ie lack of funds, time , the system etc.

I often wanted to give up and just get with things myself, because at times, I found the fight to get equipment support harder than looking after mum.
I found it was actually the charities that were most helpful and understanding not only of my mum 's needs but me as well.

I think all you can do while your in the thick of things, is to gather your strength and keep chipping away.
XXX

 

[Saffie]

a: I am currently paying a Security Bond annually of £200 per £80000 of insurance issued by the COP in 2009 and because the house has now been sold and all 'legal charges' paid, my mother does not need this amount of cover. Is this variable? Do I contact the COP (if so is it chargeable), the OPG or the Insurance Co?

b: I also pay the OPG £335.00 a year for their services! (please excuse the exclamation mark but I have to submit annual financial reports, get receipts, do all the legwork, get financial figures, work everything out on the report etc, etc) and for this I am charged £335.00 for them to 'tick' the report and send me one magazine every so often). All my yearly reports have been passed but I am still on a level 2A and have been since 2009. Now, because of mum's reduced financial ststus am I allowed to have the level lowered or is it permanent? Do I contact the COP about this and again is it chargeable?

First to the Deputyship queries. I'll answer the second one first as it's clearer. I am surprised you were on Level 2A supervision for that amount as I was also on this for my husband's capital of only just over the £18,000 of the lower Level3 threshold. However, that is incidental as is all the rigmarole of the annual report with all it's stress, the keeping of receipts and accurate spreadsheets of every little item of income and exenditure! Painful, definitely but the cost we pay for not having organised LPAs in time! I can say this now as my days of doing this are over now.

The OPG will not lower the band unless you write to inform them of the changed financial circumstances. They then will do so but only from the date following receipt of that information - and they won't bother telling you about it either!
I know this because I enclosed a letter with my annual report last year - June 2013 - saying that my husband's capital had reduced to below the £18,000 so should surely have been moved to the Level 3 supervision. That threshold is now £21,000.

I heard nothing until last week when, having informed the OPG of my husband's death and sent of the required death certificate, I received a bill for £161. I rang to query this and apparantly I should have received an auttomated invoice in April for the fees for last year which were partly at the Level 2A rate, April - July, and at Level 3 after I had informed them of my husband's reduced capital. I never received this any more than I received a letter telling me that on Level 3, there is no need to complete an annual Report! The lady at the OPG whom I rang, was able to confirm that no such letter had ever been sent and I was put through to the complaints department!
My husband died 5 days before the report was due and I had spent a year keeping minute detail of every penny spent and had also completed the annual report in rough copy ready for the receipt of the OPG forms which never arrived. They didn't arrive because I had no longer the need to be doing them!
Needless to say, although I accepted the apology of the chap in complaints and will be paying the outstanding bill, I am not rushing to do so!

Anyway, back to you!!! Write to tell them of the changed circumstancesa.s.a.p. I hope you hear from them but don't be surprised if you don't and just get a changed supervision fee in April. However, although there used to be a varied rate for supervision depending on the size of the estate, it is now the same for every level over 3, which is £35.00.

About the Bond, I am less sure as I only had to make a single payment when I first became a Deputy although I know many have to pay annually. I would include this query with the letter you send to the OPG in the first instance - it might make them send a reply! I would imagine the instructions to amend the Bond would have to come from either the OPG or the CoP.
I hope this helps. Sorry for including my own frustrations but it shows that you have to be aware they are far from perfect!

p.s. Regarding the AA, I'm pretty sure the LA will inform the DWP.