Looking for help

[Ctg1985]

Hello,

Our elderly friend has dementia and has been recently taken into a home. She has no living family and has listed me as her next of kin with hospital.

They have asked me if I give permission for the DOLs (deprivation of liberty act) and not sure what to do? She wants to come home but can’t do it alone without support.

Am I in a legal position to give DOLS?

Also our friend has expressed that she would like to leave the house to me and my family. As far as im aware she hasn’t done this legally. Are we now too late for her to do this officially as he has dementia?

What will happen to her house if she doesn’t leave it to us? With no living family?

So many questions. Any help would be amazing!

 

[canary]

Hello @Ctg1985 and welcome to the forum

Am I in a legal position to give DOLS?

A DoLS (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding) is standard when someone wants to go home, but it would not be safe for them to do so.

You are not being asked to give a DoLS, you are being asked, as next of kin, to give permission for someone else (a registered assessor) to assess her for a DoLS

Are we now too late for her to do this officially as he has dementia?

Does she still have capacity to understand and agree to making a new will? Its not the dementia as such that will stop her, its whether she can still understand what she is doing.

 

[nita]

Depending on her financial situation, the house may need to be sold to pay for care home fees. Does she have an attorney or deputy in place?

 

[SAP]

If there is no LPA in place for finance and property, the local authority will apply for deputyship to manage the persons finances including selling the house for payment of care fees. ( you may be able to apply for this but I’m not sure )
As the house is not in trust to anyone at this point ,it cannot be left to anyone as it probably has to be sold to pay for care.
My guess is that if the hospital are looking to put a DoLS on place, then your friend is not considered to have capacity to make or change a will or understand the complexities of securing a property so that it cannot be used for care. A solicitor would not accept their ability to understand the process and would not want to get either of you involved in deprivation of assets. So even if your friend has millions of pounds available for care, if you are not named as a beneficiary of their will it is most likely too late to change that.

 

[northumbrian_k]

Hi @Ctg1985 and welcome to Dementia Support Forum. As you have found already this is a great place to ask questions and benefit from the advice of others.

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding authorisation is fairly standard when someone has lost the ability to process complex information and make a decision about where to live. It allows the care home to detain the person (usually by a locked outer door) in the least restrictive way that is consistent with their safety and well-being.

A person in that position is unlikely to have the capacity to make or change a Will. Any solicitor would need to be assured that the person understands and can explain what they wish to do and why. They would also have to show that the person is acting on their own volition. All of this seems unlikely in the circumstances that you outline.

If the person has assets of more than £23,250 they will be expected to self-fund their care. Assets would include any income, savings and capital assets such as a house. For a person living on their own the property would almost certainly need to be sold.

Paying for dementia care in England

Dementia care isn't free, and you may need to pay for some of the care you or someone you know needs. We help you understand the different ways to pay for care, and the amount you might be expected to pay.

www.alzheimers.org.uk