What benefits you are entitled to

Hi
I am carering for both of my parents infact they moved into my home as they cannot look after themselves.
Being new to the caring system i was wondering what i can claim as i have given up full time work to care for them ive applied for attendance allowance for my father ,my mum gets DLA which i managed to get mobility at higher rate and care at medium rate ,just wanted to know could i also claim for carers allowance for them both ? As its 24/7 carering .would really appreciate any feed back :pray: thanks for reading

Hi Kazhaz,

Welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately you can only claim for one lot of Carerā€™s allowance however many people you care for.

It would be worth using a benefits calculator such as m

To check what you can claim.

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Hello Kazhaz and welcome to the site and in particular the forum. Congrats on your first post.

@Melly1 has pointed you in the right direction to check your entitlements and youā€™ll find lots of other information and advice on the CUK website if you explore. Particularly, you may benefit from a Carerā€™s Assessment, which is focussed on YOU and how you can best be helped and supported in your role as a Carer. This is the responsibility of the local Authority who may contract it to a Carerā€™s Support Centre if there is one locally. If you search the Councilā€™s website for ā€˜Carersā€™ you should find it signposted - failing that try phoning the Council switchboard and ask to speak to someone about Carers Assessment and you should get the right people.

Navigating the Care System is not easy and can be daunting, just donā€™t be discouraged as you have a right to help and support.

If you feel like sharing any more details, of your situation - what you so and do not share is entirely up to you - there will probably be others on here who can offer their experience and knowledge to help. If there are specific questions, feel free to put them out and again I think you will find a lot of people will come forward. We have all ā€˜been thereā€™ and got the t-shirts and the scars so we know what it is like as you struggle to work out ways to deal with everything.

Just know you are NOT alone.

A good place if you want to have a moan or just a general chat is the ā€œRoll Callā€ thread where there is humour as well as serious chat and exchanging comments on what sort of day you might be having - in a non-judgemental situation.

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Welcome to the forum. How old are mum and dad? Has their old home now been sold, or similar? Who is helping you at the moment?! Are they contributing fully to the household expenses? Does anyone else live with you? Iā€™m not being nosey, your answers will hopefully help us to help you! Caring for one person is difficult, two is so much harder. Did you all agree on some basic principles to suit you? Things like an ā€œoff dutyā€ afternoon, who does the cleaning and laundry, a dishwasher, tumble dryer, whatever you need. So many people on the forum have struggled to look after increasingly frail elderly parents as everyone gets older, with parents denying they need help, and daughter becoming more and more tired. Donā€™t try to be Superwoman, the more help you have the longer everyone can be together. When I was struggling, my counsellor made me realise I was being torn apart, between mum and son, both disabled. I was encouraged to set priorities, mum could speak up for herself, son couldnā€™t, so son needed me most. Then I realised that many jobs could be done by ā€œsomeoneā€, I couldnā€™t do them all, some could be avoided altogether, like ironing and gardening. Most of all remember it is your house, you set the rules. I hope it all works out well for you.

I own my house i have a retired husband who helps out alot
Mum and dad (79-80) are in the process of selling thier home ā€¦

Hi again Kazhaz. Have you obtained or would you consider, getting Power of Attorney for both Mum and Dad. It can make quite a difference when helping them if you can act on their behalf.

Itā€™s a long form which you can complete online - itā€™s straightforward though - and there are two, one for Property and Finance and the other for Health and Welfare. Itā€™s best if you have both. There is a cost - about Ā£80 per form I think - but you can do it yourself and donā€™t need a solicitor. My brother got a Solicitor to do it for my Dad and it cost over Ā£1,000 which was a waste of money! It can take 8 weeks for the Court of Protection to process, so itā€™s worth considering getting it in place before itā€™s needed.

Graham and I made them for each of us after his Stroke and it has made life so much easier as I can deal with matters for him without worrying and as his concentration and ability to retain information slips sometimes he finds it a relief.

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There are financial implications of selling your parents home that you may not be aware of. If mum and dad sell their home giving them a substantial amount of capital, it will mean that they will become liable in full for all their care. If one or other of them stay there, or you moved in with them, this would not happen. If one or other of them went into care, it could not be sold to pay for that care. This would have huge implications for you. Lots of people donā€™t realise the rules until it is too late.

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When their place is sold the money will be divided between my sister and myself as its our inheritance so mum dad wont have the money in there account

@Kazhaz

Please read this factsheet:

I realise you have your husband to help you and you will both be looking after your parents, however, the above may apply if their care needs increased to the point you could no longer cope and required help from paid carers or a nursing home etc. I just want you to be aware as caring gets harder over time.

Please also make sure you check out the rules about Inheritance Tax and also Gifts in Lifetime. If they sell the house and just give you the capital you may well become liable for Capital Transfer Tax. When it comes to benefit claims they will have to explain what happened to the capital as wellā€¦

Before selling up, you will absolutely have to get some legal advice. @Melly1 has provided a link that explains a major legal pitfall, and @Chris_22081 has highlighted others.

Legally, you could be sleepwalking into a legal minefield.

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Have you seen a solicitor now?
Is anyone currently living in the house?

In the UK you are governed by English Law.
Anything that is left over AFTER they die is your ā€œinheritanceā€.
Before they die, any money or property is counted as an ā€œassetā€.
If you have assets, then they must be treated in accordance with the law.
Whilst your parents are living in their own property, itā€™s value will not be counted when the council consider if they should contribute towards the cost of any care.
If they move out or sell up, then the value of the home will be counted.
The council will do a full financial check.
If parents have given away large sums of money, they will count that as ā€œdeprivation of assetsā€.
Then there is a whole heap of trouble!
Over Ā£46,000 between them, they will pay the full cost.
Dementia care costs between Ā£1,000 and Ā£1,500 a week!
You need to consult a solicitor, IMMEDIATELY.

Is it true what i have read that DLA,CA,AA are not means tested so you can have savings and it will not effect any of these

Hereā€™s my Rough Guide, check on CUKā€™s main site. A disabled person may be entitled to DLA, PIP, or AA depending on various things like when they first claimed. They are NOT means tested. Carers Allowance is for those caring for 35 hours a week. If you also go to work, you are allowed to earn about Ā£135 a week. More than that? No CA, but your savings are not considered. Pension Age? Nothing!

I have read that if you have savings there not means tested so dont effect dla ca aa is this true