Financial planning for different types of carers
By Robbie Lawther, 10 Jun 19
The slides below feature financial tips for different categories of carers from Quilter’s tax and financial planning expert Rachael Griffin
June 10th marks the start of Carer’s Week an annual campaign in the UK to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities.
Taking care of another person’s finances as well as your own can be daunting and vary substantially depending on your relation to the individual you are caring for.
The NHS provide four broad categories.
Parent
Around 33% of carers are looking after a parent. These people might want to consider the following financial planning points:
• Power of Attorney:
It is imperative that a parent sets up their PoA as early as possibly to give them control over who becomes their main carer in the event they can no longer look after themselves. Failing to set up a PoA can add an extra layer of difficulty to the caring process as if you don’t the Court of Protection will have to appoint a deputy on the person’s behalf who may not necessarily have been their first choice when they had the capacity to make the decision. While a deputy and PoA essentially have the same job with same duties, crucially a deputy will be heavily scrutinised and supervised by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for the duration they care for someone.
• Wills:
It’s important to ensure that a will is in place for a parent before their health starts to deteriorate so it is less likely to be challenged in court and cause delays at an already difficult time for a family. Similarly, just the process of writing a will can be a useful process for analysing a person’s estate and working out whether there are any inheritance tax mitigating steps that could be taking to reduce someone’s liabilities. They are also important for providing clarity over which family members get heirlooms and personal possessions. You may also find that there is some extra funds available which might be able be used to pay for any extra care costs.
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