Mum's Care Info

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
My Mother was taken into a Care Home last week which is run by the local council, she has less than 23.5k and I do not have Powers of Attorney. What I would like to know is how do I pay her last bills before she went into care, such as her last Rent payment, gas electric Council Tax etc. I have no access over her money. is this taken out of my hands as we have been told nothing, save for the fact that she was going into care three days later and the name of the Care Home, but not the address.

Can I cancel her tenancy to her Housing Association flat or does that need POA, also finally I understand she will get a weekly allowance for personal needs, do I get to sign something to deal with any personnal expenses on her behalf. We have been told nothing as I said and even the Social Services lady who dealt with Mum didn't know the answers either. Thanks Harry.
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
Hi Harry and welcome to Talking Point. Is there any chance of getting POA? If so you can do it DIY which would mean that your mum wouldnt have to go to a solicitors.
If this is not possible because she wouldnt understand what she was signing, then you will have to go for Court of Protection, which gives you the same power as PoA, but takes a bit more effort and is unfortunately more expensive. You can do this DIY too

In the meantime I think it would be best to contact the people she owes money to and explain the situation
 

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
Hi Harry and welcome to Talking Point. Is there any chance of getting POA? If so you can do it DIY which would mean that your mum wouldnt have to go to a solicitors.
If this is not possible because she wouldnt understand what she was signing, then you will have to go for Court of Protection, which gives you the same power as PoA, but takes a bit more effort and is unfortunately more expensive. You can do this DIY too

In the meantime I think it would be best to contact the people she owes money to and explain the situation

Hi Canary, thank you for your reply, Mum wouldn't sign anything when she was capable so she certainly won't now, she is unable to see so can't sign anything and is suspicious of any help, may look into court of protection, but I heard they could take over her affairs anyway. I just wished somebody from the council would inform us. Will write to the companies. Thanks again. Harry
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
My mum wouldnt sign anything either :rolleyes: thats why I applied for Court of Protection.
If you dont want to take on Court of Protection yourself then the council will indeed do it instead, but they wont just take over if you have applied.
 

Jessbow

Registered User
Mar 1, 2013
5,678
0
Midlands
ring the council, ask them what you should do next re bills etc.
tell them you have no access to her money, so what do they suggest?

Please DONT use your own money to pay them. its cant be the first time the utility companies have met this situation- maybe give them a ring too - the first thing they will say is they cant talk to you - then you say she's gone into rs care....and they probably will.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,075
0
Bury
Is she capable of signing letters asking for termination of contracts and also cheques where the amount owed at termination is known?
 

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
My mum wouldnt sign anything either :rolleyes: thats why I applied for Court of Protection.
If you dont want to take on Court of Protection yourself then the council will indeed do it instead, but they wont just take over if you have applied.

thank you Canary, I may well look into it, how much does it cost or is it on a sliding scale.
 
Last edited:

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
Is she capable of signing letters asking for termination of contracts and also cheques where the amount owed at termination is known?

No Nitram she can't sign anything due to bad eyesight hearing and can't take anything in. Thank you.
 

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
ring the council, ask them what you should do next re bills etc.
tell them you have no access to her money, so what do they suggest?

Please DONT use your own money to pay them. its cant be the first time the utility companies have met this situation- maybe give them a ring too - the first thing they will say is they cant talk to you - then you say she's gone into rs care....and they probably will.

Ok I'll look into it, thank you for your reply Jessbow
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
thank you Canary, I may well look into it, how much does it cost or is it on a sliding scale.

The biggest expense is the court fees which are £400. There are other expenses too, but they tend to be on a sliding scale. You also have to get someone to fill in the form saying that she has lost capacity and, depending on who fills it in, can be quite expensive, although I asked mums SW who didnt charge me.

Edit to say that all money for fees etc should be taken from her account once you have access - and if the council has CoP they certainly will.
 
Last edited:

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
The biggest expense is the court fees which are £400. There are other expenses too, but they tend to be on a sliding scale. You also have to get someone to fill in the form saying that she has lost capacity and, depending on who fills it in, can be quite expensive, although I asked mums SW who didnt charge me.

Edit to say that all money for fees etc should be taken from her account once you have access - and if the council has CoP they certainly will.

Thank you Canary, it goes from bad to worse doesn't it, my brother is as useful as a chocolate teapot, and doesn't like spending money, he won't want to pay out, so if I got C of P, I would have to pay for it so he benefits later. I think I would just tell the Utility companies that she is in care and see how things turn out from there, as long as I don't have to pay in the meantime. Thanks Harry
 

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
Thank you Canary, it goes from bad to worse doesn't it, my brother is as useful as a chocolate teapot, and doesn't like spending money, he won't want to pay out, so if I got C of P, I would have to pay for it so he benefits later. I think I would just tell the Utility companies that she is in care and see how things turn out from there, as long as I don't have to pay in the meantime. Thanks Harry

Will anyone C of P or anyone else contact me or do I just sit back and let it all happen, I just eel now like i'm on a cloud floating around without any idea whats going on. Harry
 

Pickles53

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
2,474
0
Radcliffe on Trent
Thank you Canary, it goes from bad to worse doesn't it, my brother is as useful as a chocolate teapot, and doesn't like spending money, he won't want to pay out, so if I got C of P, I would have to pay for it so he benefits later. I think I would just tell the Utility companies that she is in care and see how things turn out from there, as long as I don't have to pay in the meantime. Thanks Harry

Maybe you should tell your brother that if you end up with the council acting as Deputy it will most likely cost more as I suspect they will charge a fee to your mother for undertaking that role (just as a solicitor would). I would go ahead and apply. If he wants to object, let him try but I suspect the CofP will not see the cost of the application being too expensive as a reason to refuse appointing you as Deputy. You might have to pay the fees upfront but would then be able to reclaim them from your mum's account once you had permission to access the funds.
 
Last edited:

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
Pickles is absolutely right.
Someone will have to be appointed by the Court of Protection and the court etc fees will be the same whoever does it, but if the council does it then they will indeed charge for this "service". It will all come out of your mums account and you will not have any say about how her money is spent.

You do have to take the initiative if you want to do it. If you do nothing then I suspect that the council will apply off their own back. Have a look at the link that jan gave. What you have to do is download the forms, fill them in, get the information needed and get someone to fill in that she has lost capacity (I asked mums social worker) and submit the forms. It takes a bit of work, but is doable.
 

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
Pickles is absolutely right.
Someone will have to be appointed by the Court of Protection and the court etc fees will be the same whoever does it, but if the council does it then they will indeed charge for this "service". It will all come out of your mums account and you will not have any say about how her money is spent.

You do have to take the initiative if you want to do it. If you do nothing then I suspect that the council will apply off their own back. Have a look at the link that jan gave. What you have to do is download the forms, fill them in, get the information needed and get someone to fill in that she has lost capacity (I asked mums social worker) and submit the forms. It takes a bit of work, but is doable.

Thanks Canary, i think i'm convinced and will download the form. Harry
 

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
Maybe you should tell your brother that if you end up with the council acting as Deputy it will most likely cost more as I suspect they will charge a fee to your mother for undertaking that role (just as a solicitor would). I would go ahead and apply. If he wants to object, let him try but I suspect the CofP will not see the cost of the application being too expensive as a reason to refuse appointing you as Deputy. You might have to pay the fees upfront but would then be able to reclaim them from you mum's account once you had permission to access the funds.

Thank you Pickles53, Yes I will go for C of Protection, thank you very much for your advice. Thanks again Harry
 

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
Hi Harry, I thought this link might be helpful. It tells you all about deputyship and how to apply for it.



Thank you jan.s, I am convinced and will sort out the C of P problem, and thank you for sending me the link. Best wishes Harry
 

Little Harry

Registered User
May 1, 2015
13
0
Cancelling Direct Debits

Hello Again, My Mum is in a Care Home now and I have been trying to sort out her bills and things. My wife and I have been able to clear out her flat and cancel her tenancy, have notified the Gas Electric and BT etc, and they have all cancelled her services but not her Direct Debits, I do not have POA and don't really want to get involved with the Court of Protection, just for stopping the DD's. My Mum has Alzheimers Dementia, is profoundly Deaf, limited eyesight due to Caterachs so can hardly see and communicating with her is very difficult, so is unable to sign anything or understand. My question I would like answered is, if I cannot cancel her Direct Debits, I presume they are paid till she passes away, and are they then recredited to her account from the day that I informed them that she went into care, or do they just take the money for services not used. It seems strange to me that I can cancel her tenancy, but she still may be paying for something she is not getting.