Is It worth applying for attendance allowance?

[Icequeen01]

My DM had a fall in August and broke her hip. We think she fell due to her arthritic knee giving way. She was advised last year that she needs a knee replacement but the wait would be a couple of years so she decided she didn't want to go ahead with it! She's recovered amazingly well from her fall but now has to walk with a frame. She doesn't go out at all unless I take her so I take her shopping each week and to medical appointments. I managed to get her a Disabled Badge last year. She had a mobility scooter before her fall but can only use it when I am with her and has just used most of her savings to have a chairlift fitted in her house as she can't get up the stairs to her bathroom and bedroom otherwise is.

She also now has some memory and cognitive issues. No diagnosis as she gets upset if I even mention going to see her GP. I look after all her finances, make appointments, phone calls and do all her admin. I have to make up all her weekly tablet boxes and check that she's taken them each day. I now cook for her at least 4 times a week as since her fall I've noticed she doesn't cook properly for herself, just heats up soup, pies, quiches etc.

My DH thinks I should apply but I'm not convinced she would even qualify and the form is very off putting.

I know a lot of people on this board have experience so would be grateful for your advice as to whether you think it would be worth applying or I would be wasting my time.

@whiskeyfoxtrotcharlie If you need inspiration, drop me a DM and I will forward dad's form after some small redactions.

Fortunately () dad was having a bad day when the assessor arrived, I'd asked him to leave the back door ajar so she could let herself in, he was crawling to do that on his hands & knees when she knocked and the assessment was almost complete in that moment. I had a phone call from her as LPA in place and it's all been completed within approx 2 months.

You are so unlikely to have any issues with this application, it's clearly absolutely needed. Does your mum have a prognosis at all? If she is nearing the end of her life, I think the process is different.

Yes, of course apply!

She sounds eligible and it is non-means tested.

Fill out the form according to her worst days, and as if she did not have assistance from you.

Yes because if her cognitive issues deteriorate she might, depending upon the situation at that point be eligible for a council tax exemption.

Exactly this
Even if it takes a while to come through it's worth it

Useful to know tho if you phone up and ask for the paper forms they post them out, much easier to fill in but also they date stamp them from the date of your phone call and so payment is then backdated.

Thank you to everyone on this thread for your kindness. I've been away for a couple of nights but am sitting here now finishing off the AA form. It's taken me hours! The nurse in charge at mum's home sat down with me on New Year's Eve and gave me all the info I needed for the sections about her care needs during the day and night. It was a bit of an eye-opener and extremely sad. I did not know, for example, that she has to be checked on every hour during the night. The whole experience really brings home how her stroke completely devastated her. Anyway, I've done the form now and I am very relieved to have finished it. I will walk up to the post box later today and post it. Thank you all again 💐

Well done!
I had 2 to do but unfortunately my wonderful dad died before I had time to complete it.
The care home staff helped with mums, and I too was shocked and saddened to read all they did for her 24/7.

Am I right in thinking if she gets attendance allowance then she doesn’t pay council tax?
i notified them that dad had passed away and mum was now in a home and they asked if the home was still furnished. I said it was so expected to pay a reduced amount, however her latest up to date bill was zero.
Many thanks x

Am I right in thinking if she gets attendance allowance then she doesn’t pay council tax? She might get a reduction in Council Tax

When you fill out the form put everything down that has to be done for your mother, people forget about how much is actually done day to day.

Am I right in thinking if she gets attendance allowance then she doesn’t pay council tax?
i notified them that dad had passed away and mum was now in a home and they asked if the home was still furnished. I said it was so expected to pay a reduced amount, however her latest up to date bill was zero.

there is zero to pay as your mum is in a nursing home and deemed not able to return home. There will not be ctax to pay now but it’s not in this case to do with attendance allowence

Yes, apply for Attendance Allowance, what you describe is exactly the scenario it is for.

Be really honest about how much help your mum needs. The first time we applied, she played a lot of stuff down and it got refused. Second time (a few years later) we persuaded her to be honest about the help she really needs, and it was approved.

whiskeyfoxtrotcharlie If your mum is in a nursing home and can not return to her home (and her home is empty) then alert council tax and Ask for her council tax to be altered accordingly- they will let you know what documentation they need

@ivykaty44 and all others who have mentioned council tax, thanks for the tip but we sold my mums' house early last year – her disabilities are such that she won't ever be able to go home and the house was large and cost a lot to maintain. Because they had a lot of space, my parents pretty much never got rid of anything so there was 40+ years of stuff to wade through as well as an attic full of furniture and general crap from a holiday house they sold in the 1980s and a double garage full of bits and pieces and furniture from a second home they sold about 10yrs ago. Oh, and two garden sheds and two utility rooms, all full of stuff. My parents were very neat and tidy, so the house presented as perfectly respectable, but as we started opening cupboards and wardrobes and chests and cabinets it became apparent that they never got rid of anything, no doubt due to a 'just in case' wartime mentality. I still can't quite believe that my DB and I managed to clear and sell the house. I am definitely going to do Swedish Death Cleaning once I get into my 60s - I felt a lot of (justifiable) anger towards my beloved parents as I waded through all the detritus of two lives well lived, including school reports, exam papers, plane tickets, bank statements, theatre programmes, picture postcard, hotel brochures, calendars, diaries....even every single 'chit' my dad had ever signed in the officers mess. And boxes and boxes of photos. It was heart rending sorting out what we wanted to keep and throwing everything else. And very time consuming as I didn't want to send anything that still functioned to landfill so I gave a lot away on Freecycle and that alone took many many weekends.

Anyway, I went completely off topic there – I'm so sorry! I feel better for that outpouring though! Sending love and support to anyone filling in the Attendance Allowance form OR clearing their parents' home.

I am definitely going to do Swedish Death Cleaning once I get into my 60s You may find in your 60s, with energy and time, that you can’t bear to throw out these things that you may want to use in the next 20 years. And if you’re the sort of person who keeps sentimental stuff, you’ll not want to throw it out, especially now the older members of your family and even some of your friends are no longer around.

Especially as you say “And very time consuming as I didn't want to send anything that still functioned to landfill so I gave a lot away on Freecycle” - you’ll never get clear with that mindset

Hi there. Just wanted to come back to this thread with an update. My mum was awarded Attendance Allowance in mid-January, not long after I posted on this thread. I had a phone call from an assessor who asked a few questions and then about 4/5 days later I received a letter to say that it had been awarded. It was much more straightforward than anticipated...I should have applied earlier! Thank you so much to everyone here who offered encouragement, shared their experiences and made helpful suggestions – I am very grateful.

That's great news @whiskeyfoxtrotcharlie. I'm so pleased for you.

I'm the original poster and still haven't submitted my mum's form yet. I haven't been able to find time as my DH was in hospital so between finding time to look after him, my mum and working full time I have been flat out!

I have completed the form now but want to read through it again. I'm not convinced I've covered everything but also worried I've written too much about things that wont be relevant!

But you have given me the push I needed to get this done now!

Icequeen01
Dont worry about giving irrelevant info. But make sure you have said everything you can about personal care. Not shopping or cleaning. Give how many times the difficulties occur and how long it takes to do it e.g. has difficulty getting out of a chair. She uses a stick in one hand and leans the other hand on the arm of the chair. She pushes herself up slowly and then has to wait to feel steady enough to walk away. Each time takes 5 minutes and she does this 10 times a day. It’s all about detail. Good luck. It’s worth it.

See, this is what I am worried about. I have talked about her needing me to take her shopping and how she has to use a mobility scooter once there and how I have to constantly assist her as she doesn't remember what she has put in her basket. Is something like this irrelevant do you think?

No, that's completely relevant. Honestly. it's all about activities of daily living that she'd have to pay someone to help her with if you weren't there. So she couldn't go shopping alone, she'd need to pay someone to take her. That's exactly what they want to hear.

Thanks @LadyGardenersQuestionTime, I appreciate your reply. I think I'm going to re-write the form.

Oh what an idiot I am. I've just seen you said completely relevant not irrelevant!!

It's worth applying for as it's back dated it your are successful. It helped my DM before she died with her care

Have you applied for a blue badge @Icequeen01 ? If not, you should.

Hi Icequeen. It took me ages to fill in the form too and I dithered over it quite a bit (hence posting here) as I wasn't sure whether I was being too repetitive. Speaking to the nurse at the care home was helpful as she made it clear just how much help my mum needed and encouraged me to really spell it out and to repeat myself as necessary. After that, I went back and filled in the form in much greater detail e.g. in the Aids and Adaptation section I included everything from mum's electric hospital bed with side rails and her pressure mattress to her incontinence pads. And when the question said something like e.g. 'I have difficulty getting in and out of the bath: How often each day?", instead of leaving that space blank I wrote in "Mum cannot get into a bath". At many points I felt that I was saying the same things over and over but I guess that's what the form calls for. Good luck with getting it completed – I know I felt a great sense of achievement when it was finished. Xxx

Yes we have got one. It's a godsend!

@whiskeyfoxtrotcharlie Because my DM still lives in her own home I don't have anyone who would also be able to give me an insight into her difficulties so it's all down to me to remember. I think that's why I feel so much pressure. I have asked my DH and DS who also see her daily for their input but they are as much use as a chocolate teapot! 😀