Uncle's expenses can be verified by the social welfare office.
November 5, 2010 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Hello,
I have a question regarding my uncle's expenses, for whom I am taking care of. He currently has care level I, is visited and taken care of three times a day by the home care service and myself. He does not receive a pension (former farmer) and is living off the sale of his house (an old farmhouse that I sold with him last year, I inherited half of it from my mother)… Anyway, his money (currently around 50,000.00 euros) will eventually be used up for rent, food, etc. When can he apply for social assistance or similar (he is now 72 years old)… and can he freely spend his money until then? For example, withdrawing cash as he needs or wants it? He goes to a cafe daily, goes on coffee trips with neighbors, etc. In other words, he currently spends around 2000 - 2500 euros per month. Could this be detrimental to him? Or to me if he eventually needs social assistance or has to move to a care facility and his money is used up??? Thank you very much!
Dear seeker of advice,
Thank you for your inquiry. I would like to answer it as follows:
1. From when can he apply for social assistance or similar (he is now 72 years old)... and can he spend his money freely until then?
Basically, social assistance can be applied for from the point of need. This would be the case when he is no longer able to support himself from his own resources and pay for the costs of care, etc.
However, it is advisable to submit an application shortly before this point to avoid gaps in coverage, as the processing time by the authorities varies regionally but rarely takes less than 3-4 weeks.
In this application, it should be stated with a corresponding justification that his own financial resources will be exhausted in the near future and will not be sufficient to cover living expenses.
2. Can he withdraw cash as needed or desired? For example, he goes to a café daily, goes on coffee trips with neighbors, etc. In other words, he currently spends around 2000 - 2500 euros per month. Could this be his downfall?
Your uncle theoretically has the right to do whatever he wants with his money, as it is his property. The social welfare office does not need to take his actions into consideration.
3. What happens if he eventually needs social assistance or has to move to a care facility and his money is used up?
This could become problematic. If you do not take over the care for your uncle, you are expected to assume the duty of care. This duty of care also includes handling the available financial resources carefully and appropriately.
In other words, your uncle is free to live and enjoy his leisure time, but it could become a problem if he quickly spends his money so that the state has to pay. In this case, the social welfare office could potentially claim damages against you for breaching your duty of care. Therefore, you should monitor his expenses, at least from the point when you are officially appointed as his guardian.
I hope this provides you with some initial legal guidance and wish you much success and all the best!
I would like to point out the following:
The legal information I provided is based solely on the facts you provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope my explanations have been helpful to you. Feel free to contact me via email or the follow-up option.
I wish you a pleasant Friday afternoon!
Kind regards from the North Sea coast,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law
Stresemannstr. 46
27570 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Fax.0471/140244
