If you decide that you, or your loved one, need support at home in order to maintain independence you may decide to have a carer coming into the home to provide that support.
Getting your care needs assessed
If you do not know what help you need you can request your council assess your care needs. Some Councils charge to assess your needs so you need to check if they will charge you for the assessment.
https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/needsassessments
Paying for care
If you have a certain amount of savings you may have to pay for your care or make a contribution towards it.
Some people find that the Council will only provide a certain amount of support but they need more help.
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-homecare/
You need to think about what money you have to pay for care and whether you are eligible for any benefits that could be used towards paying for care such as Attendance Allowance.
https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance
Lasting Power of Attorney
If you decide you want a family member to care for you, and you want this arrangement to continue after you are unable to manage your financial affairs, it is probably best to make a Lasting Power of Attorney appointing Attorneys to look after your finances when you are no longer able to. In the Lasting Power of Attorney you can give authority to your Attorneys to pay a specific person to provide care.
If you are unable to manage your finances and do not have a Lasting Power of Attorney, or if there is no authority in the document to permit a family member to be paid for care, then you may need to go through a specific process.
Our recent blog gives advice on this process https://www.brethertons.co.uk/site/blog/covid19-can-an-attorney-pay-a-relative-for-care.
Paying for care privately
If you are paying someone to provide care for you, and this is not through an agency, it is important to think about some of the obligations you may have to them. You could need a contract of employment, be responsible for paying their tax and national insurance, holiday pay and sick pay.
This is something, if you have appointed Attorneys to deal with your finances, that your Attorneys need to be aware of.
This website gives advice about the things you may need to think about when you are considering getting care you need to pay for.
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/using-a-personal-assistant-to-provide-your-care
If you wish to obtain advice about making a Lasting Power of Attorney and giving authority for your Attorney’s to pay a family member of friend to provide your care please contact Holly Waddelow, our Court of Protection specialist, on 01295 661454 or by email on hollywaddelow@brethertons.co.uk.
For information about acting as an Attorney please visit our attorney pages.