Deputyship (and other options)

[Heatherg71]

Hi, I'm hoping for some advice/benefit of some experience.

My DM has recently been confirmed as no longer having capacity. She is a long time alcoholic, and has various health issues including now having Alcohol Related Brain Damage. We're not particularly close due to her life choices.

Attended a best interest meeting today with hospital representatives and social services, and while it is clear that the right people are on board with sorting out where she is discharged to from hospital (not home), the question of financial responsibility is more complex.

My understanding is that I have three options:

1. To be an appointee. Based on all present believing that she has been receiving benefits. However, nobody is clear on her finances (see below), and I am concerned that if I sign to say that she can continue to receive benefits, I could become liable if it turns out that she was fraudulently claiming. This option does not give any access to bank accounts (I think).
2. To apply to the Court of Protection to become a Deputy. This gives me full access (like a POA), but sounds complicated and admin heavy - has anyone here actually done this? What is your experience?
3. To allow social services to apply to the court for a solicitor to be appointed as a deputy. Is this instance do I lose ALL control - eg over her house, belongings etc?

Her house is rented, she has been trading bric-a-brac for years (potentially all cash/income not properly declared) and it is highly likely that she part owns a rundown house abroad with an abusive partner.

If I take this on:

• How do I get access to foreign details (Europe)?
• What bearing does a jointly owned property have on a means test?
• Who becomes liable if she has been wrongly claiming benefits/under declaring earnings and there are not the funds to cover this?
• If it turns out that there is more than £23k in assets, but we cannot access part of this (ie joint owner refuses to sell house), who pays for care?

Any experience of any part of this gratefully received. Thank you.

I've done the deputy, well my dh for his mum, but I did all the paperwork, it's do able. We had to go that way as she was too far on to do PoA. The forms are all on the net and any problems we just rang them at Birmingham and they sorted us out. The worse bit was the yearly accounts, everything had to balance from year to year we would start early to get ready for them. My dh and his brother got joint deputies and all in all it worked quite well, for the 7 years they did it. If you wish to message pls do.

Op In Terms of benefits, they are likely to take into consideration her care needs if there was a past issue, and you are unlikely to be held responsible for an error prior to you taking over. They may reclaim some or all out of current claim or write it off.
If you allow social services to manage, they will take on all responsibility for sorting things, and any remaining will go to NOK at death. They may not be able to trace some money esp overseas. Depending on how much Money/assists she has there may be a cost to this for her.

Social don’t want her belongings (just financials), house is rented so if she isn’t returning tenancy needs to end. Is it council or private, what do u want to go with it?

If they can’t access overseas funds, they are unlikely to take them into account, so she pays for fees until she reaches financial threshold then council pay(some of her benefits may go towards care also), you don’t have to pay.

Deputyship for you is imo the best way to go, that way you retain some control of the financials. It isn't difficult to do, I have done a couple and as pp said they are helpful if you have a query. Last time I heard there was a backlog.