Deputyship for health and welfare

[ALICEDOGGY]

I have Deputyship for Finance but wanting it now for welfare and health for my son but is it worth the fight to get it? Thank you

[MontyCat]

Hi. Some people who post on here say that they have succeeded in getting deputyship for health and welfare without too much trouble, but that is not my experience. Despite using an experienced solicitor and the fact that there had been a safeguarding issue with my daughter's supported living, my application was refused. I appealed, and this was also turned down, not least I suspect because the appeal was heard by the same judge who had made the original ruling (an eventuality I had not anticipated, and the likelihood of which was never raised prior to submitting the appeal). Apparently the thinking is that the CoP should rule on matters of health and welfare rather than an appointed deputy (even if that person knows the vulnerable person intimately, as a parent). So, a lot of time and money spent to no avail other than increasing my scepticism about the system. Good luck, whatever you decide to do!

[ALICEDOGGY in reply to MontyCat]

Thank you for this..same here son has had safeguarding problems too with care provider , appreciate your response ... No point in wasting yet more money at it all really and stress in filling out the forms...just had 10 documents sent through by COP and its all very hard !!! Good luck to you too ....great that this forum exists, helpful !

[FrysChoc]

Hi I have recently enquired about this and the solicitor told me that the Courts rarely agree to health and welfare Deputyship so I would save yourself the time and money.

[ALICEDOGGY in reply to FrysChoc]

Thanks for that, i just seen all the info on it to fill in and its very hard to do this application and lots of money with solicitors so maybe i will back out of that one! Problem is you cant get health records or get any care plan from care providers. Once your kids are adults its impossible to get access to anything much . Thank you anyhow

[FrysChoc in reply to ALICEDOGGY]

Yes we are having the same issues with our special needs twins now they've turned 19. I was grateful that the Solicitor was honest with me, and she also said because I'm already the appointed person to look after their finances there is no need for a financial Deputyship either. We have put trusts in place though for when me and my husband aren't around anymore..a bit depressing but needs must😊 Good luck.

[monicaj]

We got health and welfare deputyship a couple of years ago. We used Irwin Mitchell solicitors. They reduced the bill a bit by us doing a lot of the paperwork, which they then advised us if it needed more detail etc. We had many instances where things had gone very wrong for our daughter. It has been very useful having the deputyship, especially when our daughter was evicted from her residential home, due to lack of staff. It is a lot of work as you have to report yearly to COP but we think it is worth it. Good luck.

[notmyfault2 in reply to monicaj]

Hi Yes I agree with the last reply if we had not had Health and Welfare Deputyship our daughter would have been placed in a supported living environment that we can only describe as diabolical and the local ICB deemed it to be an appropriate placement. Because we refused the placement the ICB took us to court

and as my daughter does not have Mental Capacity she was granted Legal Aid . It was a very stressful time but what was the alternative.!!

We were able to show the court the reasoning behind our refusal and thankfully the judge ruled in our favour. Good luck in whatever you decide

[LaVerite]

Absolutely worth it. The authorities who are responsible for the care of our relatives are cash strapped, use several different 'systems' that don't speak to one another and nobody knows your son better than you do.

You need to be there for him and you need to be seen to be there for him. Despite the waste of public money, the authorities will likely resist your application because they as 'professionals' think they know best. You are volunteering to be a free resource and in my view Health & Welfare should be granted as an automatic right to every relative who takes a real interest in their relative's care.

[Mybestfriends]

Can a Letter be drawn up with Son's permission, Signed etc. Only saying because, it's such high costs to pay Solicitors. I am Appointed Carer for our adult Son & P.o.a. for where he lives & deal with Paperwork. But Bank says I would need to apply for Lasting p.o.a or just have Son's Authority each time I need to discuss on his behalf, he has Capacity, but things can change In an instant or as he gets older. This worries me.