Which? Elderly Care
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Jerry’s parents moved into care homes and he had to deal with the changing pattern of their finances and government allowances.
"I live in Sussex and my parents were in Cornwall. The distance didn’t help at all – it was a 6-hour journey. When they started struggling on their own I had to help them to manage their financial affairs, so first we organised a Lasting Power of Attorney, which was absolutely essential.
I made sure I understood what benefits they were and were not entitled to, mainly getting information from the internet. When people are being means tested you’ve got to get all the paperwork together. But because of the distance, I couldn’t just pick it up.
Keep things simple
"You feel like you're prying, which of course you are, for the best possible reasons, but there were times when I felt really bad about it."
You feel like you’re prying, which of course you are, for the best possible reasons, but there were times when I felt really bad about it. Dad used to get very defensive about me going through his private papers. It’s already a stressful time and you’ve got to make things as simple as possible. For example, Mum had lots of different accounts and I consolidated them into one account. It was all much easier when I switched to internet banking.
When Mum died in August, the council immediately stopped funding Father because he now owned their bungalow which we had to sell and go self-funded. I had a good relationship with the care home and I negotiated a lower rate. But we could also now go to the Department for Work & Pensions and claim the full attendance allowance.