Is this a fair divide when it comes to Carer's Allowance?

[SunsetOnTheHorizon]

Mother has four siblings that support her with her daily and weekly tasks including emotional and mental support. We have been supporting ever since I can remember but recently one subling applied for carers allowance as she is now on eligible benefits.

Now, this particular sibling is noticeably more involved in my mom's daily issues. Making and canceling appointments, taking her to them, taking her shopping, walking, and anything else. It also includes daily conversations, helping her with her mental health, and if an emergency occurs - she's the 1st one there. The other 3 siblings also help out but not as much. It's more as and when. Once a week or once a fortnight. But when these other siblings take my mum out - mum ensures they are given petrol money.

Now the other siblings have kicked up a fuss, saying why is sibling 1 getting the whole amount. It needs to be divided up. When this sibling is clearly always doing more, much more.

AIBU in assuming Sibling 1 should share the amount?

To get the carers allowance you have to be carering for 35 hours a week, so if other siblings are doing that maybe they should share? But you are not entitled to carers if you earn more than £204 a week so if the other siblings want to stop work thats fine.
I mean they can apply if they think they deserve it and are eligible...
Its what £330 ?a month ...l get it and l would be much happier if l could work full time and not just 14 hours a week

No one of them earn that much. As they are either working less or house wives. The sibling currently claiming is caring for my mom, but it includes all sorts of care. Not just the physical kind.

The other siblings are being greedy. The one doing the majority of the care and the one that has actually claimed the allowance is the one tgat should keep it.

If the other siblings belong even that they are putting in 35 hours a week of care on top of what the first sibling does then they can also claim carers allowance.
But it's a pittance, not an amount to aspire to.

Why are all the siblings not earning money of their own? That is odd.

You are obviously sibling 1. If you are claiming carers allowance and don’t feel the need to share it, then make sure your siblings have no duty of care. By all means they can visit, take out, do what they want to do not what they need to do. You are the carer and they are not required to do anything.

Carers allowance is pittance. I don't know why the other siblings would even want a share of it. It isn't worth sibling 1 even going through the effort of applying if she is expected to share it.
It sounds like sibling one is the only person entitled to it. People don't get Carers allowance for ad hoc visits and shopping trips. Isn't that what most people do for elderly or less able relatives anyway? Carers allowance is for people providing 35+ hours a week in care, not just a bit of help here and there

Multiple people cannot claim Carer's Allowance for the same person - the benefit is limited to one carer per disabled individual. If multiple people share the care, you need to decide together who will make the claim.
However the person who isn't claiming the Carer's Allowance can apply for Carer's Credit, a National Insurance credit that helps protect their State Pension record

There are no benefits that render you eligible to claim carers allowance. The criteria for claiming CA are that you have to be providing care to a disabled person for a certain number of hours per week, only one carer can claim it and that person has to be earning under a pitifully low earnings threshold, which if you exceed by even 1 penny, you become ineligible for the whole lot. Nothing to do with eligible benefits.
It’s taxable too so potentially claiming it and then distributing it amongst their siblings could cause problems if sibling 1 ends up paying tax on it.
What does your Mum think? Could she nominate sibling 1 as her main carer?

Are you all hard up? I can't imagine insisting on £20 a week to feel my mother is 'being fair'. And that's regardless of the amount of care I'm doing.

Is the mum also getting attendance allowance? Are the other siblings also below earning threshold?

Imo if they are all under threshold then maybe sibling 1 could share it, but if they are over then no.

I assumed the OP meant her mother now received a benefit (PIP, ADP, AA), which meant that someone could now claim carer's allowance for her.

Your mother will need to be on an eligible benefit for someone to claim carer's allowance for her. The main benefit for older people is Attendance Allowance. The person who claims carers allowance must be providing care for at least 35 hours a week.

Care in DWP terms does not just mean bodily care like helping someone in an out of the bath, getting washed and dressed, cooking food etc. Care can also include keeping them company, watching over them to keep them safe, calming them if they become upset, reminding them of things (like taking medication, etc) and encouraging them to do essential things such as eat healthily, rest and so on. Care can also mean helping to deal with life admin such as bills, correspondence, appointments and so on. If one sibling is doing hospital visits and running them around on top all this time adds up. They are probably doing the number of hours required.

I don't blame sibling 1 for claiming the carer allowance if they spend the required time caring for their parent (and that's not really clear in the OP...).

However, they shouldn't have made the decision to officially become their parent's carer without talking to the other siblings. If everyone is actively engaged in supporting their mother then it should be a decision made together.

Claiming the allowance shifts what used to be an informal arrangement into a formal one, and the person claiming the allowance should then take on the majority of the care.

A previous poster said it is 330 a month for a minimum of 35 hours a week. So a whopping 2.35 an hour.

I suppose the siblings could add up all the hours that they do. The primary sibling with their 140+. The other siblings with their let’s say 4 hours each a month.

330 / (140 + 3*4) =2.171

2.17 * 4 = 8.68 a month.
is that really worth this drama

just let the primary caregiver keep the money.

I am not sure why you tried to disguise the fact you are the sibling claiming the carers allowance?

Also do none of you have jobs? I can't imagine squabbling over this !

Doing something once a week or once a fortnight isn’t really being a carer. It’s just fairly standard for family if you can and want to.

If they need paying to visit once a week or once a fortnight, they just shouldn’t bother. They’re not obliged.

I would be more then happy for a sibling to claim carers allowance if it meant i didn't have to spend all my time looking after an elderly/disabled parent. I'm absolutely dreading my parents getting to this stage and if one of my siblings stepped up I'd be thrilled

Based on the info here sibling 1 should get it and the other 3 should be bloody grateful she ( presumed) does the vast majority of caring.

The rest are greedy and ungrateful
hth

How do you know this?

@SunsetOnTheHorizon does all the care even add up to 35 hours a week - 5 hours every single day? So should any of you really get it?
I know from personal experience that people seem to be able to get CA quite easily in situations where they clearly provide much less than 35 hours a week, so that's a different issue.
If one sibling is providing the bulk of the care then they should keep the allowance. Unless one or more of the siblings want to step up and do a more equal share.
But it's all quite distasteful to me.

Are you all really wanting £20.75 a week?! This is ridiculous. The sibling who does the major of the care gets it, plain and simple.

Ah yes, that makes sense. Thanks

How many people are caring for your Mother / Mom/ Mum? You say ‘we have been supporting’ but you’re not one of the siblings. It’s quite confusing.

I was confused at Mother has four siblings that support her, because I thought the OP was talking about the mother's siblings.