Am i liable to pay Council Tax

Torry_Quine

Tax_Question wrote: »

I have to be really careful what i say because this is a public forum, and there are loads of issues in the background which i am dealing with.

Power of Attorney did not exist 14 years ago, according to my Dads social worker/ Doctor, i raised the complaint with them that my Uncle may or may not have a PoA, there response was because my Uncle has been dealing with my Dads affairs for so long, and because when he started dealing with my Dads affairs PoA didnt exist they are not bothered.

Power of Attorney as it is now didn't exist 14 years ago but it did exist as I can say with certainty

The social worker is wrong Your uncle cannot act for his brother without a POA or by going to the court of protection if your Dad can't give permission for his brother to act as attorney

Tax_Question

Well wrong or not, the Social Worker and Docs are happy with the status quo.

G_M

If your uncle does not have POA he cannot

* access dad's bank accounts legally
* charge/accept rent on dad's property
* control any other of dad's affairs, financial or medical

Apart from anything else, your uncle could be breaking the law and could get into serious trouble. And your dad could be being exploited.

How old are you? Do you have other family? Do you trust your uncle?

Whatever the answers, I believe after 14 years this needs to be sorted out properly and legally, which means going to the Court of Protection and obtaining a legal 'deputy' (see link below). Whether this is done by you, your uncle, or another family member, it needs to be done.

Now read:

https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/court-of-protection

Mojisola

Torry_Quine wrote: »

Power of Attorney as it is now didn't exist 14 years ago but it did exist as I can say with certainty

It's extraordinary that a Social Worker would say such a thing. Of course Power of Attorney existed then! It was a shorter, easier (and cheaper) arrangement than the current system.

Tax_Question

Right i appreciate all the advice given but the facts and the reality is as follows;

The Hospital is fully aware that no official PoA exists, they know this because i have advised them myself, the only official document which has given my uncle authority to deal with my Dads affairs was a Letter signed by the Doctor giving my Uncle authorisation, this was 14 years ago, only reason a letter was issued was because it was a bit of an emergancy.

Secondly the Social Worker has said they will not be investigating further " because my Dad is happy with current arrangements) even though he has no knoweldge of current financial details about his own property.

So not much i can do, people who keep on banging on about PoA on here are not realisitic, i have dealt with the local helathcare professionals who are responsible for my Dad, their attitude is basically we dont want to get involved.

Edit - i am 28

Torry_Quine

Like it or not your uncle has no legal right to access bank accounts and make financial decisions. He is laying himself open to real problems and the social worker and medical staff should know better.

bris

Wow the OP came on looking for council tax advice now you all want his uncle hung, drawn and quartered.


There isn't even a hint anywhere that the uncle has done anything wrong apart from look after his brother for the last 14 years, but you lot have him pocketing his rent and savings.

J_i_m

If there was any evidence of the OP's father being exploited and I can't say that this thread has presented any then a 'SOVA' could be raised. Which would mean the local safe guarding board would be duty bound to at least investigate.

So the uncle was paying the council tax.. what's to say that it wasn't part of the tenancy agreements and factored into the rent?

G_M

Tax_Question wrote: »

...... the only official document which has given my uncle authority to deal with my Dads affairs was a Letter signed by the Doctor giving my Uncle authorisation, this was 14 years ago,

Doctors are medicaly trained. They are not lawyers. Nor are they qualified to issue 'authority' to relatives to deal with affairs.

That letter has no legal standing whatsoever.

bris - I am not accusing the uncle of anything. If anything the opposite. I'm attempting to protect him by getting the arrangement onto a sound legal basis.

At present the uncle is acting without any legal authority. By going to the CoP he can be appointed a Deputy and continue to do what he's doing, but in a legal way. Whether the OP, the uncle, someone else does this is a matter for them, but one of them should sort this out in order to protect, yes, the dad, but also the uncle!

It sounds like the uncle has done what he thought was best, and maybe he's been stashing the rent into dad's bank, paying HMRC for dad and doing all the other things needed. But he's been doing it without legal authority till now.

OP - you're 28. This is your dad. Do some reading, learn what's involved, find out how this should be managed, and then sit down with your uncle and make some decisions.

If you feel it's too much for you, get advice from a solicitor, the CAB or a mental health charity.

ps - I've just looked at MIND webpage. The 'nearest relative' has certain powers (see here) but these do NOT include money matters.

Section 26 of the Mental Health Act 1983 sets out who will be a patient's nearest relative. The list is in strict order and the person who is highest on the list is your nearest relative.

List of who is your nearest relative

1. Husband, wife or civil partner (including cohabitee for more than 6 months).
2. Son or daughter
3. Father or mother (an unmarried father must have parental responsibility in order to be nearest relative)
4. Brother or sister
5. Grandparent
6. Grandchild
7. Uncle or aunt
8. Nephew or niece

For more, see

http://www.mind.org.uk/

Guest101

Just to be clear 'the hospital knows' is a redundant statement, someone knows, but I doubt it's the right person...