Court of protection

[KazzyF]

Has anyone been through this successfully??? My Mum has a DWP pension and a small widows pension and only a very small amount of savings. I have appointeeship for the DWP but cannot get hold of the other one. I have even sent them letter from the consultant who diagnosed her, another from the CH and a copy of the appointeeship. I was lead to believe all was ok, but have now been let down so I have to start again :-(
Has anyone survived the minefield that is COP??? I started the forms but the consultant went off sick so I may have to get a lawyer involved. Has any one got any tips. Feel like I have had the rug pulled out from under me. Ps me or mum cannot afford massive lawyers fees. I am a single mum of 3 boys and need all of my money for them. HELP needed.


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[pippop1]

Would it be worth getting your Mum's GP to write to the company that pay out the widow's pension explaining that you are taking over and enclosing the documentary evidence again? Just a (cheaper) thought.

 

[Noorza]

I have found the people at the CoP to be really helpful, I do know you can make the application yourself, and if your mum is on a low income there are circumstances when the entire fee will be waived.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-to-the-court-of-protection

There are more details here. I would recommend applying as you may need to sort out utility bills or anything else financial and businesses have their hands tied by the Data Protection Act and often won't tell you anything without it. My PoA has got mum out of so many scrapes it's just not true.

I'd give them a call and take it from there.

 

[KazzyF]

Thanks for that. We managed to get round all of the utility stuff, I am just waiting on a cheque from the council for rates. I will soldier on!!



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[nitram]

You could try changing the DWP appointee linked account to the one the small pension is paid into, you would then have access to the funds, technically the DWP account should only be used for DWP pension and benefits but it's still worth a try.

If the saving are very small you could just leave them untouched.

 

[KazzyF]

Hi nitram the banks won't let you have access to accounts not in your name without the COP or POA. When you get appointeeship the pension goes into an account in your name. I have spoken to my solicitor and they are going to do it a bit cheaper if necessary as I have just spent a small fortune getting divorced. The consultant will hopefully agree to do it without a lawyer so will maybe get it done without fuss.
Wish me luck!


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[Trisha4]

Can't you get lasting power of attorney?

 

[KazzyF]

Hi
No the LPA has to be given when you are aware enough to understand what you are doing. If you don't have the capacity you can't give it to anyone at all. My mum really does not understand all of this stuff now. She cannot always sign her name. COP only route now.


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[KazzyF]

Well the COP 3 is off to the Consultants - TRY AGAIN!!

 

[BenT]

Hi Kazzy

The CoP route ought to be straight forward. Get the CoP3 confirming your mum doesn't have capacity to manager her property and affairs / appoint an attorney. Then there's COP1, COP1a, COP4 - and sometimes COP24 statement setting out the background.

There is a £400 application fee - payable by your mother - but depending on your mother's finances (and sometimes your own) she may be able to get this reduced or be exempt totally.

It usually takes 3-5 months. There are a few more hoops to jump through but generally speaking it should be quite smooth. In my experience, the Court of Protection are understaffed and overworked hence the time!

Hope this helps.

(and if you do need help the CoP has fixed fees so unless there's something out of the ordinary so solicitors can't charge what they like)

 

[Lindy50]

Hi all

My mum has a little over the funding limit of £23,500 and I am thinking of purchasing a pre-paid funeral plan for her.....sorry if that sounds morbid.....actually it does, even to me!

My question is, do you think I can do this under the terms of a standard EPA?

Also, might it be regarded as deprivation of assets? (She would be just over the statutory funding limit).

Advice will be gratefully received

 

[jenniferpa]

This is a perfectly legitimate way to reduce your mother's assets and is often suggested as such.

E.g. here http://www.thenationalcareline.org/index.php?node=Money+-+funeral+plans

 

[Lindy50]

Many thanks Jennifer

I had wondered about this both in terms of whether it was allowable expenditure, and also whether it seemed a bit morbid. However, we discussed what kind of arrangements she'd like when she was able to talk about it - and now that I have your advice and the link, I feel on firmer ground.

Thanks again

 

[jenniferpa]

On a personal note, I found the fact that my mother had taken out such a plan a massive relief when the time came.

 

[Saffie]

Most LAs seem to accept this as an acceptable expenditure too.
I arranged my husband's and if mine did then I can't imagine others wouldn't!
I intend arranging mine as well as it does mean something that's done and can be forgotten about until needed.

 

[KazzyF]

So now we need a social worker. The old one refuses to get involved. Frustrated. At least I am managing to have a bit of a rest as the consultant gave me permission !! Plod on. It doesn't help that the aspergers child is playing up big time. First drink incident the other night. Deep joy!!


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[Saffie]

I lost our SW when my husband went into a nursing home which was apparantly in a different district - only about 9 miles away. I was told I came under that SW catchment now. I rang them at the time but haven't seen a sign of one since!
I wonder if one will turn up for the CHC meeting. It would be interesting to ask what they know about my husband!

Sympathy with your son. My daughter, now in hospital, has a 12 year old with Asperger's. Difficult.

 

[KazzyF]

I lost our SW when my husband went into a nursing home which was apparantly in a different district - only about 9 miles away. I was told I came under that SW catchment now. I rang them at the time but haven't seen a sign of one since!
I wonder if one will turn up for the CHC meeting. It would be interesting to ask what they know about my husband!

Sympathy with your son. My daughter, now in hospital, has a 12 year old with Asperger's. Difficult.

Thanks Saffie. I think that we have been allocated someone now - but it remains to be seen if she actually does the job! I must say that my experience with most of the social workers has been poor. The one she had who was supposed to do meals on wheels for her failed, then claimed that she had never in 20 years as a SW cried until she met my Mother - my response (in my head) was "grow some!"

The one she had whilst being assessed could not write and kept using the term "she is needing" instead of "she needs" in official reports which drove me potty - felt like teaching her some grammar!! (Or am I being picky??)

Thanks for the thoughts - the Aspergers is hard at the moment as he is under stress due to A levels, which he is trying to ignore. It will improve I hope.

I am taking myself off to the Docs in a couple of weeks to get help!

 

[sue38]

Do you mean you need a SW for the COP application? You need to name any allocated SW, but if there is no allocated SW you don't need to get one solely for the COP.

Apologies if I've misunderstood and you need a SW for another reason.

If the consultant is slow to do the medical certificate do consider asking the GP. In my experience they're quicker and their fees considerably less.

 

[Saffie]

Thanks for the thoughts - the Aspergers is hard at the moment as he is under stress due to A levels, which he is trying to ignore. It will improve I hope.

Oh for my grqndson to be able to sit A levels! He hasn't been to school since last September so that possibility is very much in doubt.
Something is trying to be organised now about some other place but that won't happen until Setember at the earliest.

Good luck to your son.