Urgent Court of Protection Application help please - worried

Savvy_Sue

Lozz wrote: »

this hopsital plan thingy that looks like an absolute con at best.

Who's that with, out of interest? Mum and Dad always had that, and it paid out for Dad after he'd died, a per day payment for each day he was in hospital.

Lozz

Thank you Neverenough and Chris, I really appreciate your comments, it's nice to hear things like that at a time when you feel helpless x

Hi Sue,

Unfortunately it's one of those 'when you lose a limb in an accident we will pay you half a million' things, excluding all naturally occurring diseases! I have written to them stating the circumstances and informed them that my mum certainly doesn't need their policy anymore. Thanks for the thought though, it's a shame it wasn't the same type of thing your dad had as mum appears to have been paying them £10 per month since 2001.

Lozz x

John_Pierpoint

You are in almost exactly the same situation as I was in back in 2008 with " Mr Dog " [You can advance search for that on here if you want some advanced knowledge of what might happen next, My first posting was here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1164505 ].

I think Savvy-Sue has been been giving you good practical advice from experience.

The only thing I would add:
I was given the "Is he self funding" treatment by the local hospital (in England - other jurisdictions may differ), so I too flapped round trying to foresee the future and get the right to manage his finances BUT there is a fund to finance hospice type care, and remove a "bed blocker". It is not means tested.
Mr Dog ended up in (the worst room) in a lovely country house, normally charging in the region of £1,000+ per week. It was just a bit sad that at least half the inmates would not have know the difference between a country house and a "Portacabin" as they did not/could not leave their rooms.

In the event the time from going into hospital and dying was about 3 months (and I never did get authorisation until grant of probate 6 months after that.)

It is time to be clear about what does and does not need to be paid, as I am afraid that nearly all organisations will take an "every man for himself" attitude towards trying to grab a payment from what they think could become a bankruptcy.

Remember we are here to help:hello:

John

Lozz

Hi John,

Thanks for that, it was an interesting read. Wow you did have to jump through the official hoops afterwards. I'm hoping it will be a lot simpler for me as my Mum is a widow, I'm her only daughter and there isn't any property involved, just some investments she made after she retired. Unfortunately she hasn't made a will, it was one of those things she was going to get around to :sad:

Also her consultant has confirmed that her nursing home place will be fully funded under NHS continuing care, so I am hoping that will go smoothly. I am going to take Sue's advice and not pay any more official bills, it's more to do with her immediate and future needs and things for her room when she gets a nursing home place. She loves her TV so we've been buying the hospital tv cards for her, sometimes she seems to take notice of it and sometimes she doesn't but I can't just leave her there without something to try and stimulate her, that's cost £80 so far alone. Add in parking costs, daily extra laundry costs, petrol, a decent cuppa for her it's easily costing us £15-£20 per day aside from the extra nightclothes, underwear, toiletries etc. she needs, and has the money for in her account. It just doesn't seem right to me that the COP would rather see a family struggle to provide all these things for a terminally ill parent rather than allow her funds to be used to make her as comfortable as possible.

On a brighter note though Mum had a really good day yesterday, she even let me take her to the toilet, so the nurse said we could take her out in the wheelchair for half an hour, we all had a lovely walk round the park and when we got back she had a big smile on her face

Thanks again for your message John, I do appreciate it.

Lozz x

John_Pierpoint

The country house was a big improvement over the district hospital.

For a start the parking was free !

It is the ongoing loss of facilities that one grieves, rather than the eventual loss of a pulse.

Mr Dog's last, very difficult to understand, verbal communication was a prophetic "can you help me with my tax return".

He managed to mime a need for a razor, as the hospital had allowed him to turn into "desperate Dan".

The last "compos mentis" occasion was in the country house.
My intent was to organise a birthday party for a week later, but I realised he was fading fast, so we had lunch together, completer with a measure of red wine in a baby mug with a lid.
I purloined some rolls and wheeled Mr Dog through the gardens and down to the lake. Here I got a smile from the old angler when the fish started rising.
[Thinks: is someone missing a trick with the fishing rights?]

Sadly the only other person in the gardens, was cutting the grass.

John_Pierpoint

Good luck with the (eventual) application for "Letters of Administration".

I was in this position with my late father, and the only real difficulty I remember was with a semi trained "advisor" at a financial institution, who kept parroting "I must have the grant of probate".
To this I kept responding "I have got Letter of Administration look it says
The high court of England ..........................................."

I eventually wrote the the Chairman by name and got £25 in compensation.:T

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/54527655#Comment_54527655

nlj1520

First, you are doing a wonderful job for your mother. I have been in a similar situation with my mum (although without the COP issues) and know how heart-breaking it is.
From my COP application for my son I think you are able to get a fast-track order for a specific issues......so for example, I was able to get authority to sign a lease on his behalf while we waited for the general financial deputyship to come through. Would this be possible in your case?
All the very best

Lozz

Lol John your posts are really making me smile, thank you. I agree I want her out of that hospital as soon as possible, the staff do their best but there is not enough of them by far, and the standard of care sure shows. The complex care manager has called and said the paperwork is nearly complete and we are meeting with her tomorrow so I'm hoping things can move as quickly as possible after that. It definitely is the ongoing loss, she's just not my mum anymore. And once she is settled I'm definitely going to smuggle in a G&T, she's been diabetic for years and only usually has one on Xmas day.

Hi nlj1520, they have said that would be possible but only if an application is currently with the Court. And then they want their £400 from me, (no advice about exemption, discounts or claiming from my mum's funds etc) and have said the full application will be dealt with in 15-21 weeks which may be too late anyway. On that basis we have decided not to proceed with it as It's just one more headache we can do without at the moment. Thank you so much for your message, it's really appreciated.

Lozz x

NeverEnough

Lozz, I'm so disappointed that the COP is such a failure in very urgent circumstances - even the DWP have an expedited process for terminal illness when they assess DLA applications for people struck with sudden catastrophic illness of a terminal nature.

I would do the same as you - just do what is right for your mum, and help her enjoy what little time she may have left with you. As long as you keep a record of monies I cannot see anyone pursuing you over it, particularly as you are an only child anyhow. Thinking of you xxx:A

Lozz

Hi Neverenough,

I agree with you about the COP, it makes you wonder what they consider urgent! I am actually considering seeing a Solicitor, I don't think it would cost too much as I have already completed the paperwork and got the required medical evidence. I have written to 2 companies requesting they stop taking payments from my mum's account and have been ignored. She's also has £600 in direct debits for rent, council tax etc. going out, considering she is going into full time nursing care next week.

I am going to continue what I've been doing, when she goes into the home next week I will provide her with everything she needs to make her comfortable, I'm not worried about anybody challenging me personally, it was more things like banks etc. but I'm not going to sit by and see her go without while her money just mounts up in her account.

Thank you so much for your message, it is appreciated.

Lozz x