Help I'm trapped between DWP & Local Authority !!!

[joulibouli]

Hi all I have not posted on here for many a month. My story is Dad has AZ for 6/7 years. I have POA Finance. Nov 14 he fell & fractured his hip was admitted to RSCH Brighton. Was operated on, however Dad was so weak he could not weight bear & his dementia got considerably worse. Ultimately after 4 weeks was fast tracked CHC Funded into an excellent Nursing Home it is outstanding. I had to fight to get him into it. Anyway after initial up's & downs when we thought he would not make it, he is now doing very well & has gained 12kg probably jointly because he is still not mobile but also good food & attention. Back in April of this year I went to the bank for advice because all the household bills come out of my Dad's sole account, as my Mum does not have a bank account, it was agreed it would be easier to turn Dad's account into a joint with my Mum with her Pension being credited to it. So now in Sept this year he has lost CHC funding & is now self-funding but only has enough savings to do so for about 14 months. The local Authority East Sussex have carried out a Financial Assessment they consider making the sole a/c joint is deprivation of assets. When it was explained to me I tend to agree with them my Mum has only contributed a small lump sum and a weekly pension of £78.96 since April 2015. I was advised by the lady who carried out the financial assessment that Mum would probably be entitled to Pension Credit. Which we applied for the next day. However the DWP consider that half of the money in Dads (was sole account when entering Nursing Home ) now joint a/c is my Mum's. Arrgh how can 2 Govt bodies interpret The Care Act 2014 so differently. It obviously can't be both & after consideration I think it would work out better all round if the money in the account less my mums pension contributions was considered as his. How can I get DWP to see it they way too. Any info or thoughts would be much appreciated cos I feel I am banging my head against a brick wall. xx Julie XX

 

[AlsoConfused]

Only thought I have is to ask both parties to put their arguments / justifications of their case in writing to you ... and when you've received both copies, send a forwarding letter / email to both (complete with copies of all the documentation) asking them to talk to each other and resolve the matter.

That approach might save you a lot of hassle. It should also encourage both parties to escalate the matter up to their seniors who are much more likely to know how to deal with competing "rights".

Good luck!

 

[Pickles53]

In one way both LA and DWP are agreed. By making your Dad's sole account 'joint' with your mum, the effect is that your mum is treated as owning 50% of the money. In fact, she could have withdrawn it all so it is as if your dad had given it to her, hence the 'deprivation of assets' argument. I think that is the reason DWP also say it is hers as she has the right to use it all.

It should be possible to track the source of all the funds so you can prove who contributed what, but I don't know if it will help you. What might help is if you have anything in writing to confirm that you were advised to make the account 'joint' and why.

Unfortunately the bank may not have understood the implications for LA future financial assessment, but they should have a record of your discussion with them.

 

[joulibouli]

Thank you also confused & pickles53, I am waiting for both DWP & LA decisions in writing, hopefully once received I can get some logical thoughts together to make my case. I will post back when I have some news x