Advice on Guardianship & Financial Management Orders

LGarbad on 11/11/2023 - 09:08
Last edited 11/11/2023 - 15:34

Good morning OzB braintrust,
My partner's in a bit of a pickle with his mentally debilitated parent who has been in hospital for the past few months. The parent is financially dependent/has no savings. He is in a very financially poor position, worsened by guardianship and a financial order. He was originally looking after the parent out of benevolence/personal feelings of obligation, but now it has become an immense source of stress.

Would love to hear general advice or experiences of others in a similar position.

Long story short:

  1. The parent has advanced-stage dementia and deteriorated suddenly over the past few months after an unexpected infection + prolonged hospital stay, but is otherwise physically well. They are now somewhat unable to make decisions for themselves.

  2. He's financially struggling and his residence was assessed as unsafe for the parent's discharge back home, and they previously lived together since the parent's mental decline began 4y ago.

  3. He cannot afford a nursing home and applied for Centrelink special benefits which he has to pay back in full down the line, as the parent is from overseas and the citizenship process has taken the better part of a decade (or more, I'm not fully aware of the details).

  4. Lastly, the parent has recently been placed under a NCAT order for private guardianship (some independent 3rd party) as well as a financial management order.

The question is:

  • a) How can he best support his parent in his current situation now, while not being completely run into debt by the guardianship using borrowed money from Centrelink he has to pay back?

  • b) Can he still help his parent return overseas, where the parent may get more support from distant family and have more financial freedom?

The guardian has begun using $600/fortnight after tax, with additional management fees to pay, and he only earns about $800-900/fortnight, with a mortgage to pay. He has savings which will definitely be burnt through within the next two years. The parent has no savings; and no other support here in Aus.

PS: Adding some humour to lighten things up in the polls, but it really is a bit embarrassing finally going to the forums and being that person to ask for life advice. But here we are. My partner's at his wit's end with this and I genuinely cannot bear to see it all unfold, just being there to see things deteriorate. This is the only way I could think of to get some general advice/opinions. Please be kind - your thoughts are much appreciated :)

Edit: Thank you everyone for the advice and kind words. The OzB community means a lot to me and I appreciate you all!

Poll Options

  • 2
    It is what it is
  • 5
    Check the comments!
  • 4
    Bikies/High-yield investment vehicle
Financial

Comments

  • holdenmg on 11/11/2023 - 09:19
    +2

    Maybe make an Appointment for both of you to go see your Federal Member of Parliament.

    Take along whatever paperwork you have and tell them your story and see what they can do to advance things.

    • try2bhelpful on 11/11/2023 - 09:45
      +1

      Worth doing. At least they might be able to provide advice.

  • Barbados Slim on 11/11/2023 - 09:41

    The guardian is using your partners money? I presume someone has made a referral to My Aged Care for a support package?

  • morse on 11/11/2023 - 09:51
    +1

    Your partner can apply to become the guardian. There is a process and it has to go to a tribunal and other significant others in their life have to agree. There’s usually a few months wait for the tribunal. You’d need to have no history of bankruptcy and be assessed to want to be a financial or abuse risk the person etc. https://www.tag.nsw.gov.au/guardianship/information-about-gu… I think you can ask for a review of the guardianship arrangement if it’s not working. ACAT teams can also do an assessment and make recommendations provide advice.

    It’s all tough, been though the same myself and it’s stressful and emotionally draining. It’s important that your partner takes care of their own health in dealing with it too.

  • try2bhelpful on 11/11/2023 - 09:52
    +2

    This guardianship things suck. If he isn’t living in the house then it might be best to sell it. It means he doesn’t need to meet the mortgage or depend on Centrelink. It is likely the guardianship will burn through the money from the house but let them try to get blood out of a stone once the money runs out.

    Right now I would be going to an accountant to see what the financial situation is here and see if there is an alternative to the guardianship option. As indicated above go see your member of parliament to see if there is a service you can discuss this with. Also there are Dementia support organisations you might want to contact.

    Best of luck with managing this. As appalling as it was losing my parents when they were 69 and 72 at least I was spared this scenario.

  • wizzy on 11/11/2023 - 09:54
    +4

    Are you saying that the parent's money is being managed by the Public Trustee and Guardian (TAG)? If so, then I assume that the Public Guardian is "using" the $600 per week to pay for the parent's basic expenses (mortgage, utilities, food etc).

    If your partner is not happy with the parent's Guardianship and Financial Management being managed by TAG, they can make an application to NCAT to take over these roles themselves. NCAT will assess your partner and decide if they are a suitable person to take on that role. If the parent's basic expenses cost $600 per week, then having your partner as the Guardian and Financial Manager wouldn't change that. The benefit would be that the parent wouldn't have to pay the TAG admin fees on top of the $600. Your partner might also be able to look at ways to reduce the parent's basic expenses if they are the Financial Manager.

  • screensaver on 11/11/2023 - 10:46

    They love getting involved if there are assetts such as a house, dont let them get their claws into them. Try to take over yourself, all they want is a cut of the money

  • garetz on 11/11/2023 - 12:44
    -1

    private guardianship is a scam, they will bleed him dry.

    Talk to a solicitor, gain conservatorship over the parent.

    Depending on his age, I would rent out the place use that money to pay the mortgage, and use the retirement money he gets to pay for an aged care facility.

  • Gunnar on 11/11/2023 - 16:03
    +1

    I voted bikies BUT you can actually resign from your guardianship position. If there is no one who can or is willing to step into the position of legally appointed guardian the person comes under the care of the public guardian. Same for the financial management order where you can resign from the position and then the person can become part of the public trustee.

    Essentially f there is no one who can or is willing to take on the responsibility the person can be legally appointed a public guardian.

    Having done a lot of work in the guardianship space and in the event that I am incapacitated I would want the PG to be my decision maker because they do not have the personal stress to deal with that a family member would have. The family I trust would be too stressed and the others would not make best-interest decisions for me. All the PG's I've dealt with are very thorough in their decision making. Sadly the PG states that you specifically cannot appoint them in your executive orders if you are incapacitated.

    Some reading (NSW specific though):
    https://www.tag.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-01/Now-y…

    https://www.tag.nsw.gov.au/public-guardian

    You can also contact the PG for support in your position.

  • Benoffie on 11/11/2023 - 23:13

    Im assuming that by being eligible for Centrelink the parent is, at least, a permanent resident.

    With dementia and low income, there are several options, none if which requires them to be at home or shipped overseas.

    • first ACAT assessment
    • second, based on level, funding package per annum
    • third if low income and low assets (and eligible), Commonwealth Support Place at an appropriate care provider (search CSP)

    To do this, you should engage an independent aged care advocate. Check MyAgedCare website.

    https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/

    The guardianship etc can still stay in play. But getting the additional supports and a residential placement will give the guardian the space to breathe.

    Dementia is a terrible illness. Help is available. Families cannot do it on their own.

  • PadreOzv on 12/11/2023 - 13:56

    Hey, sorry to hear that.

    My Mom in late dimentia now. She is not a citizen or permanent resident of Australia, but has recieved a government subsidised aged care that costs $60 a day.

    My mom also gets a special benefit of $660 p/f from centerlink that i manage on her behalf.

    You wrote the parent is waiting for citizenship? I dont think you can get citizenship without being a permanent resident of Australia.

    Is the parent permanent or temporary resident of Australia ? Any particular visa they hold?

    But as above commented, ACAT Assessment is the first part to do.

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