Local Authority legal right to reclaim care home fees

Fire_Fox

Annieshack wrote: »

Another cousin is helping my aunties son with this situation, I have passed on your kind insights. We are a bit nonplussed by the LA communication and processes so far. My aunties son is struggling with this situation but we are surprised he does not seem to have been given a copy of aunt's health needs assessment, which he thinks he signed about a month ago. His sister dealt with her mums finances but she was diagnosed with a brain tumour a year ago and has been too ill to be consulted. She died at about the same time as aunt needed to go into hospital after a collapse.
We have, however, obtained at speed all financial information as requested in order to proceed with the financial assessment, within a few days of being asked by the LA.
It is now two weeks since we supplied the financial info they need, in order to assess who would pay what. In the interim, auntie has had a successful assessment for a care home she would be happy in. But we don't understand how the LA can ask us to say yes to the place potentially available when we have had no copies of any assessments for health or finances? This is what they seem to expect. Can you shed any light on this, please?

Sorry to read that this is the second stressful event within your family in a short period.

Council staff should be communicating with other agencies and with the Next of Kin/ Power of Attorney/ Deputy. But council processes can be clunky to say the least! With your aunt's daughter (PoA?) passing on and your aunt's son (NoK) struggling, it may be messages are not getting through.

I don't think you or your other cousin have any legal right to be kept informed or involved by the council in any decision making.

I completely appreciate the extended family cares a great deal and that you are providing practical help and emotional support but, as far as the council are concerned, data protection legislation will apply.

It may be best for your aunt's son to write (e-mail confirmed in a signed letter) to his named contact at the council, reiterating that your aunt's PoA/ his sister has passed on, that he is the NoK, whether he intends to apply to be Deputy, and requesting copies of any assessments.

HTH!

AdrianC

lisyloo wrote: »

Someone can start COP and it can happen within say about 6 months.
It's actually quite a challenge to sell a property within that timescale.

It's not about "Will it sell within 6mo?"
It's about "Can it start to be marketed within 6mo?"

lisyloo

AdrianC wrote: »

It's not about "Will it sell within 6mo?"
It's about "Can it start to be marketed within 6mo?"

Yes it can as I actually did it.
As I said, I instructed solicitors and estate agents before I had COP.
I signed the contracts (as agent) and they were happy to work with me on production of a scan of the COP application.

The sticking point might be payments.
The estate agent and solicitor deferred their own payments but could not defer 3rd party payments e.g. in our case sale packs from managing agent and landlord.
If there is no bank account access and no family member is willing to loan these payments then I would imagine things grind to a halt.

So if estate agents and solicitors are willing and there is some way to make limited payments then I’m living proof that it can.

However if you took the position of not selling before COP I don’t think the LA would argue with that.
In our case we had an empty property which was difficult to insure and had ground rent and service charges, so we wanted to get rid of it ASAP.

Note that we had local authority rates whilst on DPA (£825) and private rate once sold (£925) so we might have mathematically better off if we’d waited longer (although having the liability of an empty flat).

On the other hand you could be in a situation where the person is in a dreadful home until it’s sold so in that case you’d be motivated to get on with it.
The interests of the owner always trump the interest of any beneficiaries/offspring.