ADVICE NEEDED

[Marrion58]

Hi. My mother-in-law who was the main carer for my disabled

sister-in-law has died and has control over all her affairs including a Lasting power of attorney - not sure what I have to do and how I can complete all money issues and health concerns on her behalf now. Do I need to apply to the Court of Protection for authority.

Any assistance greatly appreciated

Marrion

[sedleywilson]

advice

my advice disability lawserivce

sedley

[sohailahmad]

Just to think about your future.. Mind your coming moments... OK " Dear "

[lecsmum]

First advice would be to speak to Mencap, Citizens advice bureau and people like that who will find you the path to take, at this moment I am speaking to a learning disabily lawyer

[lecsmum]

At this moment in time I am taking Legal Advice from a specialised Lawyer, recommended to me by Mencap!

[Marrion58]

Thank you for all your tips much appreciated

[Sarah_Mencap]

Hello Marrion58

I am so sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. My condolences. This must be a very difficult time for you, particularly as we are in lockdown.

Your sister in law must also be finding this very confusing and upsetting. I hope you are able to support one another at this time.

Even at this hard time it is worth thinking about what needs to be sorted. Did your mother-in-law talk to you about this before she died? Do you know if she'd written a will or a Trust? These sort of things may impact what you want to do.

I think you should get in touch with our helpline. They are asking people to make contact using their online contact form - mencap.org.uk/contact/conta...

If this isn't possible, then you can still call them on 0808 808 1111.

You may also find some of these Mencap webpages helpful:

*Bereavement - mencap.org.uk/advice-and-su...

* Mental capacity - mencap.org.uk/advice-and-su...

* mencap.org.uk/making-decisi...

These webpages would be a good starting point, but you will need to get advice from someone who knows more about your situation. Please do get in touch.

If you going to take on the role of carer then it would be worth getting in touch with your local carers centre . They are likely to have someone who can talk to you about caring and the support that is available in your area. They won't be seeing people face to face at the moment, but they will probably talk to you on the phone or via email.

Best wishes

Sarah

[LDHelpline_Mencap]

Hi Marrion,

I can see you have already had some useful tips. I’m one of the advisers with the learning disability helpline at Mencap – I know Sarah has mentioned about getting in touch with us if you need more detailed information.

If you want legal authority to help your sister in law with finance and property decisions there are three possibilities, depending on your sister in law’s mental capacity and whether or not she has any savings:

Appointeeship gives you legal authority to manage any benefit or welfare money and month to month budgeting on a person's behalf. However this does not cover property or savings. You can apply for this through the DWP and there is no cost.

There is information about appointeeship on this link: gov.uk/become-appointee-for...

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) - if someone has the mental capacity to request that you act on their behalf. There are two types, one for property and finance and one for health and welfare. There is a registration fee for each type. You don't need a solicitor to apply and it will cost more if you do have one. The application must be registered.

The person who appoints the LPA is the donor (your sister in law).

A welfare LPA only makes decisions once the person is deemed to lack capacity; a finance LPA can make decisions whether the person lacks capacity or if they don't as long as this is itemised in the LPA application.

There is information on LPA on this link: gov.uk/power-of-attorney/ov...

Deputyship - if someone does not have the mental capacity to request that you act on their behalf you could apply to the Court of Protection to become their deputy for finance and/or health and welfare. There is a fee of £400 to register as a deputy and some people enlist the support of a solicitor which will incur additional costs.

Information about deputyship is on this link: gov.uk/become-deputy

However, I should point out that deputyship (and LPA) for health and welfare is much less common. These decisions should be made by your sister in law with as much support as possible. If she is found to lack capacity to make a particular decision then the decision must be made in her best interest following the steps set out in the Mental Capacity Act, which includes consulting all relevant people ie. family.

I hope that helps,

Margaret

Information and Advice Officer