I currently look after my mum at my home she had a stroke and now lacks capacity . She has Carers 4x a day due to needing a hoist .
My mum was classed as a self funder due to having a house .
I changed care companies from the one the council provided as they were terrible . But as mum has assets it was believed she could afford the new company .
The council have disregarded her property so my brother can live there . So now I’m unsure how fees are paid . The council only deal with my brother for some reason . I’m mums carer and I’m the one funding the top up fees from mums pension and all of my benefits so we live of my sons . The council and social services are aware of this but do nothing . Is this legally right that they can expect me and mum to live like this with no money to live of ? I’ve wrote to the council who just ignore my letters . Any help would be much appreciated . I feel my mum has been forgotten by everyone and my brother has taken priority over her needs .
Thank you
Care home / top up fees ?
One of THE bibles out there … AGE UK :
Paying for permanent residential care | Paying for a care home | Age UK
An ESSENTIAL read.
No fees for home care not care home
YOU should not be paying for your mum’s care. you have NO legal obligation to do so.
That’s what I thought but they said I have to pay the top up for the home care company which comes to £772 a fortnight . The council don’t respond to me and social services well they just don’t care . So I’m stuck not knowing who to go to now .
What would happen if you stopped paying?
The council is telling you lies!
They must do a full financial assessment based on mum’s income alone. YOU should not be paying anything at all. Write a formal complaint to the council.
Have you applied for NHS Continuing Healthcare?
We had a continuing care assessment which we didn’t get I wasn’t surprised there .
Apparently a financial assessment has been done which I know nothing about , like I say they had meetings with my brother without informing me even though I’m her main carer and the one paying ! My brother did say the meeting was about finding ways of him staying in the house !! He meets none of the criteria but he is a parish councillor which makes me think something isn’t quite right here !! I’ve requested the information be sent to my mum and myself the council have ignored my request . If I didn’t pay the care company would stop coming .
I’ve complained to the council who haven’t responded at all . Only sent me a letter saying the house is disregarded that’s all it says .
As for " Home " care , what do the Needs / Financial Assessments state … assuming that they have been done by the local LA ?
I assume that neither CHC nor NHS Continuing Healthcare are a possibility here ?
The needs assessment are that she requires 2 Carers 4x a day due to hoist .
The financial assessment I have no idea what they have done there as there not telling me . They have always stated she a self funder due to her assets her main one being her house which they say they have disregarded no mention of anything else . I have no idea what they have looked into as I say my brother provided that information .
A more general guide to LA " Home Care " charges as provided by the Money Advice Service :
Do I qualify for local council or local authority funding for care costs? | MoneyHelper
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Local authority funding for care costs – do you qualify ?
If you need support with day-to-day tasks, or you need to move into a care home, your local authority might help with the costs of care.
Exactly how much you get will depend on your care needs and how much you can afford to pay.
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The outcome of the financial assessment.
The outcome of the financial assessment will be that the local authority will either :
agree to meet the full cost of your care needs.
agree to meet some of the cost (and you’ll need to top up the rest).
leave you meet the full cost of your care.
If your local authority is supporting you they will then set up a personal budget for you which keeps track of the costs of your care.
As most readers will know , the post code lottery at it’s … worse ?
Thank you for that information . So the council haven’t done what they are supposed to do . Personal budget at no time have they done that . As they are ignoring me my next step might be to complain to the Ombudsman I feel .
Your welcome.
INFORMATION … what would this forum be without it ?
Purely rhetorical.
Haha I know just wish I’d found this site months ago .
The Forum perhaps ?
The rest of the site is a sideshow … in comparison ?
Can you clarify WHO you pay the money to? And on what basis?
For example, do the council send you invoices? I smell a HUGE rat here.
If your brother has POA then HE. not you, is responsible for organising MUM’s finances. He has absolutely NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER to tell you to pay anything at all!!!
I would write to the council and ask WHY you are being asked to pay this sum at all, and say that until you get further details, you will not pay any more. Legally, they must ensure that mum still gets the care she needs.
This seems to be a completely ridiculous situation!
On the one hand, the LA are stating that your mother is self-funding as she has a house. On the other, that they have disregarded her property.
For care at home, any property is disregarded (otherwise, where else would the person being cared for live?). The fact that your brother wants to live there has no bearing on this. Your mother should have had a financial assessment based on HER savings and income ONLY and it will be on that basis that the decision should be made to to whether she has to pay for/contribute to her home care.
An “attorney” MUST ALWAYS act in the best interests of the person they are managing.
If your brother is not being open and honest with you, then what is he hiding?
Is he of a bullying disposition?
If so, maybe tell him that unless he provides you with a copy of mum’s financial assessment from the LA, then you will have no option but to notify the Office of the Public Guardian.
I don’t care who he thinks he is, he has a duty of care!
"If I didn’t pay the care company would stop coming . "
Yes, precisely. So DON’T PAY A PENNY MORE … and see what happens. In fact, back off TOTALY.
This is NOT your problem it is your brother’s and your mothers and the social workers. Why are you involved AT ALL??
Do you not see that while you go on paying, nothing will change at all?
By immediately refusing to pay (as is ENTIRELY your legal right -as neither you, nor anyone else, has any duty of care to your mum!) it will trigger a crisis, and FORCE a reconsideration of the situation, which is clearly, as you say, entirely WRONG.
But you MUST ‘stop paying right now’ and force the issue.
Your brother sounds a complete sh*t - let him sort this out. Back off and leave him to it. Doesn’t matter if he does nothing - then SS have to take action.
JUST STOP PAYING.
You’;re being taken for a total sucker by your brother and social workers. Stop right now.