Terminally ill brother - Family members in need of advice

Tabbytabitha

maman wrote: »

I'm so sorry to hear what your family is going through. And I'd like to congratulate you on trying to help wherever you can.:)


Could you clarify this which I'm not sure I understood:





Do you mean that the combined husband's pension plus wife's FT income is too high for any free care? And then that because of this your SIL has gone part time to give her time for caring duties? And still their income is too high for any support?


I believe that Attendance Allowance is based on the illness rather than income. Are you claiming this?


That's compared with Carer's Allowance which has a ceiling on weekly earnings which your SIL may exceed even in her part time job.


Sorry for all the questions but I wouldn't want your family to be missing out.

Attendance Alowance is usually based on care needs (not the illness) but can be claimed under the "special rules" if the claimant is terminally ill.

maman

Tabbytabitha wrote: »

Attendance Alowance is usually based on care needs (not the illness) but can be claimed under the "special rules" if the claimant is terminally ill.

Thanks for the clarification. I'm sorry I was a bit sloppy in my use of language:o. It did read to me that as OP's brother is bedridden and also terminally ill they could qualify. Certainly no harm in making an application.

Tabbytabitha

maman wrote: »

Thanks for the clarification. I'm sorry I was a bit sloppy in my use of language:o. It did read to me that as OP's brother is bedridden and also terminally ill they could qualify. Certainly no harm in making an application.

It sounds as if he would be eligible on both grounds but a claim under the special rules usually goes through more quickly and is far simpler to do - it simply requires a doctor to complete a form, rather than needing masses of evidence to be given of care needs.

Primrose

Yes, do apply for Attendance Allowance as soon as possible because although it may take time for he application to be processed I believe any benefits may be backdated to date of application - at least they used to be.

Added: Also worth Googling/checking if there is any fast tracking process for terminally ill sufferers. Afraid I applied so long ago my knowledge of the system is probably out of date.

lika_86

Do you know if your sister is actually giving your nieces anything and if so, whether it's just a nice supplement or whether the nieces need it? When I was at university everyone I knew lived off their loan and supplemented it as necessary with either holiday jobs over summer or term-time work. In addition to checking for grants then I'd suggest that they look for work if they need additional financial support over and above their maintenance loan.

Brighton_belle

lika_86 wrote: »

In addition to checking for grants then I'd suggest that they look for work if they need additional financial support over and above their maintenance loan.

Although technically always a good idea, these young women's father is dying and I think emotionally the last thing they need to do is overload themselves with work on top of study. Personally I found the loss of a parent left me physically and emotionally exhausted for a number of months.

Spendless

lika_86 wrote: »

Do you know if your sister is actually giving your nieces anything and if so, whether it's just a nice supplement or whether the nieces need it? When I was at university everyone I knew lived off their loan and supplemented it as necessary with either holiday jobs over summer or term-time work. In addition to checking for grants then I'd suggest that they look for work if they need additional financial support over and above their maintenance loan.

I suspect the issue is they've got the minimum loan due to the original household income but are in the expensive halls of residence, so parents are paying the accommodation costs x2.

As an idea of costs, we looked recently for our son, he will get the min loan of just under £4K. cheapest campus accommodation at where he'd like to go was £6,300.

Tabbytabitha

Primrose wrote: »

Yes, do apply for Attendance Allowance as soon as possible because although it may take time for he application to be processed I believe any benefits may be backdated to date of application - at least they used to be.

Added: Also worth Googling/checking if there is any fast tracking process for terminally ill sufferers. Afraid I applied so long ago my knowledge of the system is probably out of date.

The "special rules" route is the fast track for terminally ill applicants.

Tabbytabitha

Brighton_belle wrote: »

Although technically always a good idea, these young women's father is dying and I think emotionally the last thing they need to do is overload themselves with work on top of study. Personally I found the loss of a parent left me physically and emotionally exhausted for a number of months.

I take your point but if their mother's doing the caring and also worrying about funding them, as adults they really ought to be pulling their weight in this situation.

Unless they're doing Medicine or similar, most degree courses allow ample time for some part time work alongside studying.

Sirlaughalot

Tabbytabitha wrote: »

I take your point but if their mother's doing the caring and also worrying about funding them, as adults they really ought to be pulling their weight in this situation.

Unless they're doing Medicine or similar, most degree courses allow ample time for some part time work alongside studying.

My sister in law is a Nurse and has worked incredibly hard for the NHS with over 30 years service. From memory, i cant recall her having any personal sickness time off other than family funerals, pregnancy and looking after her daughters as they were growing up.

Both daughters like their mum are both studying medicine at university. Their intelligence obviously comes from their mothers side of the family:)