legal resposibilties , parents or government

hi guys, thanks for the replies


Ok, i will get to the crux, my understanding is that at the age of 18, a child becomes an adult in there own right. this also applies to both able and disabled persons, (correct or not)??

In my case, my stepson is now 46, he has downs syndrome. he is unable to make any decisions for himself, and relies on myself and his mother to look after and care for him, he cannot talk properly, frequently messes the bed,etc etc. .. and to be truthful, mentally takes its toll, i think most can understand after 46 years.....

Last year my wife reached retirement age, and started to receive state pension, because of this she lost her carers allowance, which i believe to be unfair, and technically she is losing out , because she still has to give him the same amount of care, and in this light it seems she is being punished for being a carer.

it seems that every state benefit is based upon what " The Law Says", in other words, with income support, it says , "The law says you need x amount to live on" or in my wife's case,
the law says you cannot have 2 benefits, either carers allowance or pension, but not both....

The reason for my first question was...

If a parent is legally responsible "up to the age of 18" who is legally responsible after the age, in a normal person, i guess that would be themselves, ........but what about the case of a mentally handicapped person, who without guidance and care would be a danger to themselves and others..........

if a normal person becomes a danger to themselves and others they are sectioned under the mental health act, and become the responsibility of the state until such a time as they are fit to carry on as normal..... but what about the case of someone with lifetime mental health issues...
there should be no discrimination between disabled and abled( The law says)

As parents we all have "moral obligations" to our kids, but i am not talking about moral obligations, the benefit system for carers doesn't work on morals,...... it works on what the law says, and this it seems, ..RELIES... upon moral obligations.

The way i see it....

If a parent has no legal responsibility after 18 for a mentally handicapped person, then the sate becomes responsible legally, and in that light, to me it seems that the parents are looking after these people for the state, and the state says if you are not of retirement age we will give you an allowance to look after them,... oh and by the way you must look after them for at least 37 hours a week, and to boot we won't pay anything like the minimum wage, (which is against the law!!!
). and as a bonus.... wait for it....
when you reach retirement age and draw your pension, we will take the carers allowance of you..

What was the line " we are in this together", i think its more like, your on your own jack, cop for what you can......or more like, heres a crumb , be grateful.......

I can understand the government addressing the benefits system, after all there are many who take advantage, but there are others who have had a lifetime of financial and emotional strain,...... so back to the point, are carers of mentally impaired people over the age of 18 legally responsible, or is it the government, if it is the government, then they should look at the laws they have made, (i.e minimum wage etc and pay the carers for looking after these people.

After all if a parent was unable to cope with the " moral duties" , then the son or daughter would be taken into care, and that would cost them a lot more.....

After reviewing your concise emails on the current state of your childs predicament, albeit he is 46. There is only one way to deal with this problem that must be faced by many others who are in a similiar situation and that is to procur the services of a lawyer who actually is proficient in this aspect of the law as it seems to be a challengeable arena.
I would suggest you first make an apt with a local lawyer who provides 30 mins of free advice - a list is obtainable from CAB for your location.
If you go armed with your paper work all in order and a list of questions and a sheet with bullet points etc you will be given the best possible advice to whom you should turn too.
You may well be lucky to be given financial help with this once you have been in contact with the correct lawyer obtained from your first free lawyer.
Challenging legislation in this area is frought with twists and turns but fundamentally you will get a descision correctly applied for your child and others.
Good luck in your endeavours

Thanks for your replies, employing a solicitor is probably most peoples fear, because apart from the legal wrangling, there is also the expense..
the law as i see it is black and white, guilty or not guilty, yes or no, etc, and in law there is no grey area, although i am not a legal person, just an ordinary Joe Soap.

"if a parent has no legal responsibility after the age of 18 , then legally who is responsible for that person if he/she is incapable of looking after themselves".

The reason i asked the question in the first place is because besides ourselves there are many thousands of ppl in a similar situation, who are losing out financially across their lives because they are carers.

and here is a strange thing, up until recently, a service user could employ somebody, anybody to help with there day to day needs, and have it paid for by ILF/Direct payments.. but cannot employ his/her mother. to me this is out and out discrimination, you can employ somebody except the person who is most qualified to help.

If your focus is on the unfairness of not continuing to receive Carer's allowance, having reached State Pension Age (SPA), then you're not alone:

www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/eligibility

You might not get Carer’s Allowance if you already get one of these benefits:

State Pension
Bereavement Allowance
contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance
contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Incapacity Benefit
Industrial Death Benefit
Maternity Allowance
Severe Disablement Allowance
training allowance
Unemployability Supplement – paid with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension
War Widow’s or Widower’s Pension
Widowed Mother’s Allowance
Widowed Parent’s Allowance
Widow’s Pension

or if you happen to earn over £110/week; are in FTE, or study more than 21 hours, and more.

Have a look here :

www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/financi...pension-age-benefits

for some more background, and I'd expect you might also get better support/advice from a Carer's organisation, as this isn't B&W territory (as Gordon clarifies above).

I wish you well, but I doubt you, or the very many (tens of thousands?) other SPA Carers (typically a Spouse, rather than a parent) have much prospect of changing the system. I do believe Carers charities have tried to reverse this injustice, but to no avail. I believe it's a long running campaign on their part.

Perhaps your unique circumstances offer more hope than that of a Spouse looking after a partner.

Good luck.