Appointee bank account

helpinghands · May 18

Hello, I have a question related to my daughter;s PIP/UC., she has a learning disability and is autistic and is verbal but repetitive and talks only about topics such as dogs, cats and movies. Currently she is receiving her benefits in a joint account which is my name and my son's name. Reason being, we are a very small family, just me, my daughter and my son. The rest of my family is in another country so they are completely out of the equation right now. The reason why her benefits go in a joint account is , if anything happens to me my son has access to daughter's money and can take over her care. The same account is used for my carers allowance and also my salary as I work part time. Recently the council requested bank statements due to their financial assessment, these were given to them. They have now increased the care charges as they are stating that my daughter has over the threshold. I do understand at this stage that it is feasible to have a separate account for her but she does not have the mental capacity to manage it. I manage all her payments, be it shopping, essential treatments (she has hirsutism) and everything else. My question is, should I continue receiving her benefits in the same joint account BUT move my salary and carers Allowance to another account. Can I open and account in her name and make all the required care charges (she attends day centres twice a week) from that account and also pay bills from her account? I am really confused, how would this work and should her own account be a joint account? Please help! As I mentioned above, we are just a family of 3 people hence my deep concerns

OverlyAnxious · May 19

Hi,

In this case, it would be best for you to open an Appointee bank account. This is a specific type of account that many banks offer nowadays.

That account would be in your daughters name, but you would be managing it all on her behalf.

It is best not to use joint accounts now due to the financial checks for both care and Universal Credit.

Rachel_Scope · May 19

Hi @helpinghands. Here's some information about opening an appointee bank account for your daughter https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/becoming-an-appointee#Choosing-a-bank-account-click . As Overly has mentioned, it's better not to use joint accounts as it can become complicated when proving how your daughter's benefits are being spent.

Have you explained the situation to the council so they don't increase her care charges?

NeuroEve · May 19

Dont know if this helps but I have a joint bank account in both my name and my disabled adult childrens names. Benefit money goes into each account and is only spent on the items they need. I never add anything else to it and it is simply used to have benefit payments go into then bills and their spending money taken out.

Stellar · May 19

situations like this is why you need to open seperate appointee accounts. you can give the details and permission to multiple people to access it.

helpinghands · May 19

Thank you to each and everyone of you that took the time to reply, I appreciate you all. Do I need a Lasting Power of Attorney for her benefits? I have one for Health and Welfare. I f I open an account in her name then can my son also access her account just in case something happens to me? Is there any particular bank that is sympathetic to the needs of disabled people? Also, once I open the account am I allowed to use her account to pay shopping bills, withdraw cash on her behalf etc? What am I not allowed to do? Currently I use her money to pay for utility bills, her laser treatments for her severe hirsutism , cinema limitless, a small health insurance for her, clothes etc. Also, am I supposed to send Universal Credit bank statements regularly? Any assistance rendered would be appreciated, thanks so much in advance, much love.

NeuroEve · May 20

Most banks allow max of 2 people per account. I think HSBC allow up to 6 but I could be wrong. The way I work it for my daughter who still lives at home, is that her money goes into the joint account. I send her pocket money every month approx £400 into her sole account. The rest of her UC and PIP goes into our account and we pay for her clothing, food shopping, meals out, holidays, phone bill, gym, life insurance, pet insurance, hairdressers and anything else she needs. Basically we pay for everything. I did ask UC when she migrated was this ok and they said it was fine. Our son lives semi-indepandantly so his money goes into the joint account that I have with him and then we transfer it over into his sole account as and when he needs it so as not to spend it all in one go. This has worked best for our kids as they can't manage there finances alone.

helpinghands · May 20

This is a post for @NeuroEve -Thanks so much that really helps! So basically it is okay to continue receiving the PIP/UC into the joint account that I hold with my son.? I have just opened an account for my daughter with HSBC. Let me clarify what you mentioned - you transfer £400 into your daughter's account every month with which she buys whatever she wants with that money. You then pay (from the joint account that you hold with her) for daughter's clothing, food shopping, health insurance, phone bills etc. Question is- do you then send bank statements to UC for both the joint account and your daughter's to show the £400 transfer and what your DD has bought as well as what you have bought? Do I need to inform UC about the new account that I have just opened for her so that they can see the transfers that I have made? I am so sorry, I have no experience with this and my situation with my very small family makes me more anxious. I really hope to hear from you

Appointee bank account

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