Benefits

clio2008

MiniLauraRocks wrote: »

i think the best thing you can do is just submit all your information for the claim and see what it works out as - the DLA has no affect whatsoever other than "qualifying" you for the tax credits. All the tax credits do in effect is ensure you are receiving a wage to live on (thats my pesonal view of it)

For family/child working tax credit yes partners income counts but as the disabled element is more "one person" im not sure if it would actually apply - its to ensure YOUR wages are meeting standard or your getting extra to help?

Hope that makes sense - its my personal interpretation of it!

Cheers for this, all i can do is try and see what happens I suppose

poorbird73

HI All,.

I ahope I am in the right place, it won't let me send a new post....I don't know why??

Anyway, I have been on IB for years and they have sent me a letter of which I have to fill a form out and maybe go for a medical. ( It is the old style form and not the new one) I have filled out the form the best I can and was hoping someone could tell me how long it takes to find out if they will send me for a medical and if they will write to me either way (I posted it last Tuesday)? The reason for this is I am thinking of doing permitted work and don't want to apply for it incase I fail my medical ( I have read some horror stories of this happening!) ....As then I will be left with nothing.

I did go for a medical years ago but the doctor was horrible to me and I filed a complaint and they have not sent me any forms fro over 5 years and I find it strange that they have done now!

Any help would be much appreciated and thank you in advance!

Sara x

zzzLazyDaisy

I don't know how well known this is, but if you are working, and have a disabled partner in receipt of high rate care component of DLA, you get a severe disability element on your tax credit. This may mean that some people might think they earn too much for tax credits, because they don't realise that they are entitled to a higher allowance. So it is worth checking this out, if you are in that position x

princess_loki

hello

i am new to this board but am hoping that you guys can help me with a few questions...

my oh has been claiming Incapacity benefit and Housing benefit for some time. yesterday we went to see the consultant and they have agreed to operate on him (three prolapsed discs). this will be sometime early next year...

because it is an operation on his spine he will be completely 'out of action' for around three months. he is working part time and the company says that they will keep his job open for him (but depending on the date of his op he may not have done a complete year with them) so i am concerned that in the current economic climate they may decide to 'let him go'...

this is really worrying for us but i am trying to focus on the positive side of things (he has been waiting for this op for around 7 yrs).

so... that is a bit of the background; now on to questions:

1. should i claim for carers allowance before the op or when he actually goes into hospital? what if i claim and then the op date is put back?
2. the hospital is around 15 miles away - am i likely to get any help with transport costs for visiting him?
3. do hospitals let you buy a parking pass or something? was nearly £3 and we were only there for 2hrs yesterday
4. when he comes home i think we may have problems with the bathroom (he is a big bloke and i don't even come up to his shoulder) is there anywhere that we can get the hand hold thingys that go on the wall so that he can support himself slightly with my help?
5. at the moment we do not bother with a blue badge for the car but i feel that it will be essential for at least 5 months after the op. can we apply for one now or do i have to wait until he goes in for the op?
6. he wants to make a will before he goes in for the op - is there a cheap way of doing this?
7. at the moment i look after all of the bank accounts on the internet (in seperate names) - would it be advisable to have a joint account so that i can make financial decisions for him or will banks accept telephone calls / signed letters from him? - the problem is when he has very strong painkillers he can't think straight and finds it difficult to get his point accross on the phone..

sorry for an awfully long post and lots of questions

looking forward to any replies and i hope that with all the experience that you guys have you will be able to put my mind at rest slightly.

loki x

calleyw

princess_loki wrote: »

hello
so... that is a bit of the background; now on to questions:
1. should i claim for carers allowance before the op or when he actually goes into hospital? what if i claim and then the op date is put back

Depends on how long they are in hospital for as how can you claim carers allowance when you are not caring for them. If you claim before hand then you need to let them know when he goes in and for roughly how long.

princess_loki wrote: »

2. the hospital is around 15 miles away - am i likely to get any help with transport costs for visiting him?

What benefits are you on? As I have feeling if on benefit you might get some help. Check with the hospital.

princess_loki wrote: »

3. do hospitals let you buy a parking pass or something? was nearly £3 and we were only there for 2hrs yesterday

When my husband was in hospital for nearly 3 and half months my local hospital did a weekly car park card for a £10 but as I use to get there at 5pm and on-street parking limits had been lifted and I knew the area well I never parked on site.

You will have to check directly with the hospital.

princess_loki wrote: »

4. when he comes home i think we may have problems with the bathroom (he is a big bloke and i don't even come up to his shoulder) is there anywhere that we can get the hand hold thingys that go on the wall so that he can support himself slightly with my help?

You need an OT occupational Therapist to come and assess his needs to see what he needs.

princess_loki wrote: »

5. at the moment we do not bother with a blue badge for the car but i feel that it will be essential for at least 5 months after the op. can we apply for one now or do i have to wait until he goes in for the op?

You need to find out what the rules are from you local council about applying as some councils expect you to be getting DLA higher rate. Some times a letter from a GP is enough.

princess_loki wrote: »

6. he wants to make a will before he goes in for the op - is there a cheap way of doing this?

If he has a straight forward simple will then he could get a kit from smiths. But you need to be really careful about those.

princess_loki wrote: »

7. at the moment i look after all of the bank accounts on the internet (in seperate names) - would it be advisable to have a joint account so that i can make financial decisions for him or will banks accept telephone calls / signed letters from him? - the problem is when he has very strong painkillers he can't think straight and finds it difficult to get his point accross on the phone..

When My husband haf a stroke he was unable to deal with his own affairs and a hospital bed was hardly the place to do his financial business. I had to be added to his bank account to sort things out. With joint accounts they where fine. if you have logins then is no problems.

All the best

Yours


Calley

princess_loki

calleyw - thank you so much for your answers - i am now out of complete panic mode and think i can start dealing with things one at a time now.

he has been waiting for this op for around 7years and to begin with we were both really excited - until it dawned on us the impact it would have on our lives and finances....

yesterday i did an online SOA so that we can see where we are at them moment and what we can cut back on. makes interesting reading when you take time to do it properly..

so, now we know where our money is going we can work on it over x-mas and get everything in line before the op.

have been advised by a friend to fill in the carers allowance form and give to them with the hospital letter so that they have all the info and then the claim will 'go live' when he is discharged from hospital.

i guess that we will be able to get in contact with an ot either through our gp or the hospital - suppose this will have to wait until nearer the op date...

i think that we may have a long appt with the gp to sort out all of these things including parking - will write a list so that i don't forget anything!

the stroke thing is what i am worried about - he has already had one stroke and is not really that old.... that is why he wants to write a will.. i guess that we will make one bank account joint before he goes in so that at least if anything bad happens only his savings are frozen (if he has any after the SOA!).

thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. it really helps getting advice from people who have actually been through it all. it will put his mind at rest too because it is easier to believe seeing it written down and also we can refer back to various points nearer the time.

i think i will make a list of everything that needs closer attention and we can stick it to the fridge or something so that it is clear to him we are dealing with everything we can and all he has to worry about is the op.

once again many many thanks,
loki x

p.s. he was even worried that he doesn't own a dressing gown (lucky i got him one for x-mas!!)