care for the elderly

julie03

my nan is in hospital at the moment, she has a brain tumour but is in good spirits, she is awaiting further tests and we will know more after xmas.

before she went into hospital she had discussed going into a home with her son, my uncle. since this has happened he is now started procedures to gain power of attorny with her permission. i have spoken to her today and i believe she is doing all this because she has been misinformed.

she is 86 and is worried when she becomes incapacitated she will have to go into a home as any care you recieve in your own home you have to pay for. she also does not want to live with family if she is ill as she is a very proud woman and does not want us undressing her and taking to the toilet as she finds it humaliating, she lives in charity housing and gets housing benefit but has maybe £6000 in savings.

we have also asked her to think about having more than 1 power of attorny to safeguard her independence.
questions i need answering.

1:will she have to pay for nurses or carers to come to her house to help with dressing and putting to bed etc.
2:is it true her housing benefit will be continued to be payed for 52 weeks
3:even if she has power of attorny to someone else can she continue to be independent financially ie: take money out write cheques ect until she no longer has the ability to do so
4:is it better to have more than 1 power of attorny, i know i should trust my uncle, but i believe he is acting too fast. and i honestly do not know him well enough, though my nan believes he will always act in her best interest.

she is a very intelligent and independent woman and i would like her to regain as much independence as possible for as long as possible, we dont know what the future holds but we are trying to be positive , my dad her son died 20 years ago and i know this isnt what he would have wanted for her so im trying to get her as much info as possible so she can make informed and positive decisions as she is very much of sound mind.
thank you for any advice

sorry for length of post

wobbly

Someone will put me right if i am wrong!

Power of attorney - helps with the financial side only. Your nan will still be able to write cheques and all bank statements should come to her, she should be able to withdraw money, while she has capacity. Please remember and remind nan this is her money.
Lasting power of attorney - looks after her best interests and will make decisions on her behalf if nan loses the capacity to do so.

Two separate people needed, not ethical for person to look after the financial side of things and have the best interests at heart!

Has your nan got a social worker. In my area if the person has £21,000 of savings then they pay for their own care ( in a retirement home) You may find that your nan will get funding to have the care in her own home if needed.

julie03

also she signed some papers on saturday which apparantly gives him the authority to sign cheques , he said a new book will be issued for her account but he can sign it, does anyone know what this is called and can it be done without a medical certificate

julie03

anyone know?

RAS

Julie

She has probably authorised him as an additional signatory on her account - quite possibly so he can pay bills while she is in hospital.

In your previosu thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2131663 I suggested that you read the Public Guardian's website, because this explains the legal position regarding your nan's future financial and personal options.

I would also strongly advise that you post on the Silver Saver's forum as your post throws up a whole load of issues round the financial responsibility for the long-term care of some-one with a life-threatening illness. Several peopel there are gainign experience of managing this situation.

Care for medical conditions should be funded by the PCT but social care is funded by the Social Services and the person, if they have enough money. I am think thesavings limit is £16,000, so there is no way nan would have t contribute to either. What you wil find is that both the PCT and LA will be trying to persuade you that the other is responsible.

The big BUT, is that if Social Service get involved, they sometime have arbitary cut-off points beyond which they can get cheaper care in a nursing home and they try to persuade people to accept this.

You might want to get hold of Help the Aged/Age Concern who are very good at helping older people and their families in thsi sort of situation. There may well be a local branch in your nearest city. They may be able to vist or ring your nan and help her understand her options and rights.