Managing someone else’s affairs

There may be a point in your life when you can’t manage your finances and need someone to do this for you. If you care for a family member or friend, you may need to manage their finances or other affairs when they’re unable to do so. For example, because you or the person you care for are:

unable to make decisions for themselves because of mental illness (This is known as loss of mental capacity)
ill or disabled
out of the country for a while

What is managing someone else’s affairs?

Managing someone else’s affairs can include:

looking after their bank accounts, savings, investments or other financial affairs
buying and selling property on their behalf
claiming and spending welfare benefits on their behalf
deciding where they live
making decisions about their day to day personal care or healthcare

Prepare to manage someone else’s finances or arrange for someone to look after your finances

It’s never too early to think about how you want your finances to be managed if you are unable to.

If you are a regular carer for someone who couldn’t manage without your help it is helpful to plan ahead. Talk to them to find out how they want their finances to be managed if they are unable to manage themselves.

You may suddenly need to manage someone else’s finances for them if they become unwell or their condition worsens. This may be unavoidable but it helps to prepare for this just in case you ever need to step in.

Power of Attorney

There are legal arrangements that you can make to give you power to make decisions and manage the person’s finances if you ever need to. This is called Power of Attorney.

Power of Attorney must be arranged while the person you care for can still make decisions, so it’s worth thinking about it as soon as possible. Read more on www.gov.uk

Age UK also offer advice on Power of Attorney.

It’s wise to seek independent legal advice if you are thinking of setting up a power of attorney. Read more on InformationNOW about planning ahead and Where to get Legal Advice

If someone loses their capacity to make decisions and you don’t have any legal arrangements in place

Money Advice Service has more information on how to arrange to manage someone’s finances when they lose their mental capacity.

Financial Deputyship

If you or the person you care for loses capacity to make decisions about their finances and you do not have a lasting power of attorney in place, a financial deputyship can be arranged. This means that someone else is appointed by the Court of Protection to manage their finances. Read more on www.gov.uk.

Managing someone else’s benefits

Appointeeship

An appointeeship means you can manage the benefits for someone who lacks the capacity to do so themselves.

As an appointee you’re responsible for making and maintaining any benefit claims. You must:

sign the benefit claim form
tell the benefit office about any changes which affect how much the claimant gets
spend the benefit (which is paid directly to you) in the claimant’s best interests
tell the benefit office if you stop being the appointee, for example the claimant can now manage their own affairs

Contacting the correct department for the benefit you receive to arrange an appointeeship

Attendance Allowance
Disability Living Allowance
State Pension
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Contact Jobcentre Plus for all other benefits

The process for becoming an appointee is:

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) arranges to visit the person to assess if an appointee is needed for them.
The DWP will visit and interview you to make sure you’re a suitable appointee for the person needing help.
During the interview, you and the interviewer fill out an appointee application form
If the DWP agrees with the application, you’ll be sent Form BF57. This confirms you are the appointed person for that person.

Managing the finances of someone you care for

Money Advice Service has more information on help to manage the money of someone you’re caring for

Other things to think about when managing someone else’s affairs

Are they claiming all the benefits they’re entitled to?

A local independent service can give you advice and guide you through the application process:

Citizens Advice Newcastle give advice to anyone in Newcastle
Newcastle Welfare Rights Service give advice to people in priority groups including those over 65. They have self help material on their website.
Search Newcastle give benefits advice to older people in the West of Newcastle
Find more about benefit advice services available across Newcastle.