Hi all.

Its been a while since I posted on CAG but I am concerned about the LA and the DFG. My uncle is in his mid 80's and suffers from dementia and severe arthritis in his knees so walking is a major problem for him. I had to take over his finances because a young nephew "stole" all his money and left him struggling.

Social Services got involved and got him to go to a day centre which he had to pay for. His condition has deteriorated and now has care in his home. At first he was paying for all this care and it took me some time to persuade Social Services that he could not afford this. My uncle then had a financial assessment (he owns his home but has an equity loan on it) and it was decided that he could get financial help with his care.

The problem being that him firstly paying for his care had drained his bank account. (Sorry for going on a bit) His deteriorated condition has led Social Services to insist that he needs a ramp to his front door, so a DFG was applied for. (All going well).

Another financial assessment was done and it turns out that he has to pay over £2000 towards the cost. He does not have that kind of money. It has taken me more than 2 years to get some sort of order to his finances but all that Social Services say is that we (SS) with go to court and get an order to take over his finances.

I have explained to them all of the above plus other points but they are not interested. I do not have Power of Attorney, when I realised that PoA was needed it was too late because of his dementia. Can SS do that (take over his finances) without any input from relatives.

Is there an option to appeal the assessment if he cannot pay towards the cost?

It appears that under the Mental Capacity Act they can apply to take over his finances if there is no PoA already in place, the good news is so could you.

See the link below for further information

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/if-the-person-you-want-to-help-has-lost-mental-capacity

Have you tried Age Concern (I think they now go by a different name) for help and advice? They are supposed to be really good.

Hi,

I strongly urge you to apply to the Court of Protection for power to manage his affairs, financial and welfare.

Get this done before SS do. You will then have the legal right to tell SS to take a running jump.

As an aside, we applied for a grant several years ago. Our "contribution" was more the actual cost of the work that needed doing. 50% more. Shows what total numbskulls they are.

Thanks for your posts. I have looked at the possibility of applying to the Court of Protection for my uncle, wow.......has anyone done this. I know it is for the well being of my uncle but it seems so complicated. There are forms by the dozen (slight exaggeration). Fees to pay. Practice Directions to complete. Doctors to talk to. Permission to apply for from the Court. People to notify if all goes well. Written evidence to obtain......so it goes on. I think the only way to do this is to get legal advice, but that costs money......the reason why I needed to do this in the first place.

Hi

I think i agree with the fact that you need to apply to the Court of Protection for power to manage his affairs, financial and welfare.