Care costs mounting - COP deputy delay

[Photosmart]

I am waiting for COP deputy status decision but the local authority won't give mum-in-law a deferred payment arrangement for her care home costs until someone (hopefully eventually me) can legally sign her up for it. The first few weeks of her care were with respite status and we have received invoices for those. Since then she has moved into a permanent home, she has been financially assessed by the LA and we have been told her contribution rate for the first 13 weeks (these end early Sept). After that date she has no option but to be a self-funder, based on the value of her small property. Does anyone know what the LA do about all the costs that have mounted up prior to a DPA being agreed? From reading their letter they obviously don't include them in the DPA but mum has no accessible (to us) cash funds to pay them - she only has a very small amount even if we could access it. My husband is concerned that the LA will pass the accumulated debt on to a collection agency and that they'll send bailiffs to the property to recover it. Any experiences anyone?

 

[Pickles53]

I don't have any direct experience of this, but there are a lot of steps that must be taken in any debt collection process before bailiffs can be authorised to do anything. They are officers of the court, and you would have a number of opportunities in the legal process way before you got to that point to explain the position. All this takes ages too, so it is unlikely that anything could happen before the deputyship was in place.

If you haven't already asked the LA exactly how they deal with this situation, I would do it now (in writing) and advise them that you have no access to any funds until deputyship is granted. Ask for a written reply too.

Don't make any offer to pay anything out of your own funds; it isn't your debt whatever happens.

 

[kenaidog]

I woudlnt worry about the costs, they are not your costs so no one will be chasing you to pay for it.