financial hell

[Manolo1]

hi my sister Janice has DS and after safeguarding concerns came to live with me in December after being in hospital she formerly lived with our mother who still receives money for Janice which I believe is income support and DLA or PIP but she won’t inform DWP saying she will give me money for Janice every so often but it’s not her money I would like Janice to receive her own finances in her own bank account and if I can I would support her with paying bills etc as she does not have the capacity in understanding financial values but I don’t know how to go about doing this, who to contact and speak to

[Jofisher]

You should raise a safeguarding with your local adult services if she’s over 18 if you feel she is being financially abused andthenyou would need to be her appointee or get a deputyship for property and finance and health and well-being which you can do on the government website.

[Manolo1 in reply to Jofisher]

thank you I have raised a safeguarding issue but as she is now safe with me we are waiting for a SW but I’ve left a message with the duty team asking for advice

[Jofisher in reply to Manolo1]

good luck

[Maurice_Mencap Partner]

Hi Manolo1 , welcome to the forum. I can see you've received some advice already on this, but I would also recommend getting in touch with the trained advisors on Mencap's Learning Disability Helpline for some support with this. You can reach them on 0808 808 1111 or [e-mail] if you prefer.

[Manolo1 in reply to Maurice_Mencap]

hi thank you so much for the information i will ring them today

[MontyCat]

Hi, I think it is unwise for your mother to continue receiving benefits if she no longer has care of your sister. DLA and PiP are awarded to the person, not their carer, so they can pay for extras arising from their disability or condition. If the authorities find out, the money will need to be repaid. It would be better to do as you suggest and set up a bank account for your sister, with support from you (or another trusted individual) to manager her money. Court appointed deputyship for finances and property is usually granted but deputyship for health and welfare is a lot harder to obtain (even when there have been safeguarding issues, as with my daughter, who also has DS - we are at appeal stage). Definitely try for the finance deputyship and get advice from wherever you can - it might be worth contacting the Down's Syndrome Association - they have a helpline 0333 1212 300 (10am to 4pm) or [e-mail]. Good luck.

[Manolo1 in reply to MontyCat]

Hi Montycat thank you so much I will definitely speak to them and I didn’t know there was a Down’s Syndrome Association so that is great to know thank you and good luck with your daughters appeal x

[BenjiB]

yes hopefully her social worker can help and appointeeship can be passed to you to start with. If she can’t work she will be entitled to universal credit.

If she lacks capacity and it’s only benefits she has personally I wouldn’t apply for deputyship for finances. It’s not needed and means filing financial records each year.

[Bergersil400]

I find this very sad, that a parent is still claiming benefits duefor her own daughter. This is fraudulent and she could be prosecuted for this.

As others have stated the benefits are for the cared for not the carer to enable the person to have some form of independence. I wonder if she is also claiming carers allowance too which is a benefit for the carer, but certain criteria applies?. When a cared for person moves address a change of circumstances needs to be reported. Additionally if the cared for person is in receipt of ESA this will be phased out shortly and the person moved on to UC. I know this as my daughter recently moved into supported living, and had to apply for her to be moved on to this benefit, in order for her to have her rent paid. I only found out about this after she moved in, and ended up paying 2 months rent out of my own pocket as UC will only backdate one month. My daughter lacks all forms of capacity.

Once you have had a relevant meeting with a social worker they will help you apply to be an appointee, so you can manage her affairs financially.

I hope this can be sorted out so that you can all move on.

Good luck