Discussing financial matters with social services without a POA in place

BrynNormanCott

Hi

I'm probably in the wrong board, but it was the closest I can find to the subject matter

A family member has been ruled as not having capacity to make discissions re their care or finances, they did not have a POA in place and the family are now applying for deputyship in order to deal with the financial side of things.

The family member has been placed in a care environment and social services requested that the daughter find the person's financial papers and complete a financial assessment on their behalf, they then proceeded to send invoices for the care to the person (who does not have capacity) to their care home address causing distress to the person

My question is, did the daughter have the right to detail the financial information to social services and should social services have been sending invoices to a person who is unable to deal with them?  This is not a question as to if fees are due or who should pay for the care home fees, just literally the demand to discuss the financial status of the person with the daughter

The reason that I am asking this question is that the family have an outgoing complaint situation with social services and I want to understand the legal standing of these events before I draft a reply.  

Thank you if you are able to assist

Savvy_Sue

How long has the person been in the care setting? My understanding is that there should be a disregard for the first 12 weeks - not necessarily that the money won't be requested eventually, but that there won't be immediate hassle. 

I am not sure whether or not they should have asked for the financial information to be sent, or subsequently made demands: advice from AgeUK may be helpful. 

Also worth checking that you / they are aware of Continuing Health Care (CHC) payments, which may cover the fees if the person has sufficiently severe needs. It's a high bar, but worth looking into. 

BrynNormanCott

Thank you.  The property disregard is a whole other issue that the family are dealing with right now!

I'll contact Age UK and look at the CHC website

Thanks again