16 on next birthday

[duncansmum]

hello everyone

 

has anyone had the problem i got, my son's socail worker keeps on about power of attorney or guardianship, i know nothing about this, at all, is it something i need to be sorting out soon or does this only apply when my son does leave home.

 

can anyone help.

 

thanks in advance

[chris54]

Power of attorney gives you the authority to administer their finances.(but not necessary control)

Guardianship gives you the power and the responsibility to make decisions for them. Intended for some one who in not capable of making their own decisions.

Both may be needed once someone reaches 18 and would normally take control of their own affairs.

[oxgirl]

Is this in relation to DLA? When a young person reaches 16, if the parent has been claiming DLA for them, then, unless they are incapable of dealing with their own affairs, the DLA payments will go over into their name and be paid into their bank account. When your son turns 16, you will need to fill out a form stating whether or not you feel he is able to manage his own money. If he is, then the payments will go to him from his 16th birthday. If he is not capable, and you state this on your form, then a DLA representative will visit to interview yourself and your son to satisfy themselves that he is not capable of dealing with his own affairs and, in that case, the money will continue to be paid to yourself.

 

Hope that's clear.

 

~ Mel ~

[philipo]

with social workers its best to pin it down and be clear..As a matter of course they are ambiguous ,especially if they have ulterior motives.The majority of them live in twilight world where they've all signed the offial secrets act,a peice of legislation designes to stop Germans spying in Parliment in world war one.This gives them carte blanche to be secretive and dodgy as a normal way of working and protects their conduct from public scrutiny.

Edited June 17, 2011 by philipo

[Kazzen161]

What oxgirl describes is becoming an appointee (which then applies to all benefits).

 

Guardianship and power of attorney are more wide reaching than this. Sites such as Mencap have good information on these. They cover things such as making decisions on the care they want, medical decisions, etc.

[duncansmum]

thanks everyone,

 

now i understand a lot more, and now i know what to do, also it seems a real shame that the social worker could not of told me this, i also emailed someone i know at my local C A B and she told me that my socail worker could of applied to the courts to make me a guardian, but guess its always best to get it done through a solicitor and then everything done properly.

 

thanks again

[Enid]

Hi,

 

My son is 16 next birthday and have just received the renewal forms for DLA, there is no mention of paying the money to him, as I was expecting, so will just fill in the forms and send them back and hope for the best, would be a nightmare if he got his hands on the money!!!

[oxgirl]

Hi,

 

My son is 16 next birthday and have just received the renewal forms for DLA, there is no mention of paying the money to him, as I was expecting, so will just fill in the forms and send them back and hope for the best, would be a nightmare if he got his hands on the money!!!

 

Enid, you'll receive a letter from the DLA people asking about his competancy. I asked that money continue to be paid to myself on his behalf, but they sent someone round to interview us. He barely looked at Jay, who was eating his breakfast at the time he arrived, asked him if he was studying for his GCSEs and on that basis deemed him capable of handling his own affairs. On his 16th birthday the money was sent to him in his name and I had little, if no, say in it.

 

~ Mel ~

[bid]

One of the most important points to remember is that if your child takes sole charge of their DLA at 16, as the parent you have no rights to speak to anyone should there be any problems that need sorting out.

 

So when considering your child's competency, you need to think whether they would be able to understand the DLA letters, recognise if there was a problem, and then be capable of phoning the DWP to sort it out.

 

Competency is about a lot more than being able to handle their DLA money.

 

Bid

Edited June 19, 2011 by bid

[Enid]

Hi,

yes having re read the forms, I see he is supposed to fill it out himself, Hope they dont let him have the money, it would be impossible, its the only control I have over him,his spending money depends on behaviour during the week, so much for each day, with a bonus if all 7 days acheived, so much for getting on the school bus, taking meds etc, it works for me, I can give him a consequence, that matters to him.

 

will keep you posted on this.

[oxgirl]

One of the most important points to remember is that if your child takes sole charge of their DLA at 16, as the parent you have no rights to speak to anyone should there be any problems that need sorting out.

 

So when considering your child's competency, you need to think whether they would be able to understand the DLA letters, recognise if there was a problem, and then be capable of phoning the DWP to sort it out.

 

Competency is about a lot more than being able to handle their DLA money.

 

Bid

 

The trouble for us was that the DLA rep. didn't listen to any of my concerns. He asked Jay if he was doing his GCSEs and the next thing we knew the letter was sent to him in his name with a cheque made out to him. I had no say in it. Also, it's extremely difficult, whilst sitting with your soon to be 16 year old, listing all the areas where they are not competant. I didn't feel able to say, in front of Jay, that he can't do this and he can't do that. Basically, the interviewer saw that he could speak, he saw that he was doing GCSEs and determined from that alone that he was able to deal with all of his own affairs, he is not. Having said that, it eventually turned out to be good for him, in that we had to go ahead and open a bank account for him and he became more familiar with handling money. Now, I tend to get him to buy certain things for himself and if I have to write a cheque on his behalf for college, I get him to take money out of his account to pay me back, so it is good experience. I just wish the interviewer had not taken it upon himself to judge him without getting all of the facts. I think the system is flawed.

 

~ Mel ~

[Kazzen161]

I explained to T beforehand what it would mean if I was not his appointee - having to fill in the forms, speak to them on the phone, etc. I chose to take him to the Job Centre for the meeting (so he was not too relaxed) and he started off by interrogating the man about the computer system The man said are you happy for your Mum to be your appointee, and T said yes.

 

I still get Ts DLA paid to me, but I do a standing order so it goes straight to T. However, if there were ever any problems, I could stop the DD. He does get his ESA direct and has been OK with that (well mostly )

[Enid]

we had the visit today and I am to be his appointee, which is a relief.