SMI claim without PoA

MrsooCareful

Can I claim SMI discount on behalf of my father in law to even though I don't have Power of Attorney?  No money will come to me.  It just means he can stop paying.  He is 95, diagnosed with Alzheimers, lives alone 150 miles away from me and is eligible for attendance allowance.  His local Age UK say there is a savings threshold and will not help me but you say that there isn't.  His local Council want him or someone with a PoA to sign the form.  They know he exists.  He pays full Council tax at the moment.  Surely all they need to do is recognise the validity of his claim.  He doesn't have the capacity to sign a PoA agreement now.

Savvy_Sue

If no-one has PofA and he can't sign the forms now, then it might be time to apply to the Court of Protection. I'm not sure what else you can do - possible that his GP could sign the form but that may not be enough. 

CIS

Can I claim SMI discount on behalf of my father in law to even though I don't have Power of Attorney

In theory yes, in practice it's unlikely. I deal with council tax disputes such as this as my day job, a lot depends on the council.

Why isn't he already getting a 25% discount for being the sole occ.

MrsooCareful

He is getting the 25% discount.  We are paying for carers to visit him daily and if he can save the money from council tax it will help pay for his care

macman

MrsooCareful said:

Can I claim SMI discount on behalf of my father in law to even though I don't have Power of Attorney?  No money will come to me.  It just means he can stop paying.  He is 95, diagnosed with Alzheimers, lives alone 150 miles away from me and is eligible for attendance allowance.  His local Age UK say there is a savings threshold and will not help me but you say that there isn't.  His local Council want him or someone with a PoA to sign the form.  They know he exists.  He pays full Council tax at the moment.  Surely all they need to do is recognise the validity of his claim.  He doesn't have the capacity to sign a PoA agreement now.

Complete nonsense: there is no means testing for any such disregard.
Can you not get one of the carers to help him sign the form?  He will need to be medically diagnosed with SMI: Alzheimer's alone is not sufficient.

Savvy_Sue

It's possible that AgeUK are targetting their help at those with lower savings and so aren't able to help the OP, rather than that they are saying he isn't eligible because his savings are too high. That was my understanding anyway.