Money and Legal Matters 1 - Introduction

This booklet is for people with early stage dementia and for people helping or caring for someone with dementia.

Dementia affects the memory and the ability to work things out. Coping with money is often an early difficulty. Later on, as the illness progresses, money and legal matters can become harder to manage. This guide is to help you sort out day-to-day money matters.

Part of this booklet is for people in the early stages of dementia. It suggests arrangements for the future that you will wish to consider while you are able to make decisions (see How people with dementia can plan for the future).

The booklet is for readers in Scotland. There are big differences between legal provisions in Scotland and in the rest of the UK. Readers outwith Scotland should check with a solicitor or advice bureau or with one of the organisations listed in Further help.

For further information about any aspect of dementia and caring for someone with dementia, call the 24 hour Dementia Helpline on freephone 0808 808 3000.
We have done everything we can to make sure that the information in this booklet is correct. However, it is not a definitive statement of the law. If you are in doubt, check with a solicitor.

Law changes

The law in Scotland relating to people with dementia (and other adults who have difficulty with understanding and with making decisions) was almost completely changed by the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. This was the first major piece of legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament. It followed a long campaign by Alzheimer Scotland and other organisations.

The Act brought in:

• new safeguards to protect the interests of someone with dementia
• new ways for people to make their own choices about who will handle their affairs if they can’t do it themselves
• new measures to make life simpler for carers.

A new office of Public Guardian was created to protect against financial irregularities and provide information and guidance about using the Act (see Further help).

Principles of the Adults with Incapacity Act

The Act does not see incapacity as ‘all-or-nothing’. It recognises that people might be unable to take some kinds of decision, but still able to decide on other things. For example, someone who has a problem handling money may still be able to decide what he or she wants to buy.
The Act is based on several fundamental principles. These are:

• Benefit: any action taken under the Act must only be done if it benefits the adult with incapacity (in this case, the person with dementia) and this benefit cannot be achieved any other way
• Minimum intervention: someone can only take an action under the Act if there isn’t a simpler way to get the same result which would be less likely to take responsibility away from the adult.
• Present and past wishes: anyone taking action on behalf of the adult must take account of his or her wishes by asking him or her, if possible. They must also consider past wishes, for example by asking those (such as family, friends and professionals) who knew the adult before he or she was ill. A person may have set down some of his or her wishes in the form of an ‘advance statement’ or ‘living will’ (see Advance statements, advance directives and living wills).
• Consultation: the adult, the adult’s nearest relative and his or her main carer must also be consulted about any action, as far as is reasonable and practicable. So must anyone the person with dementia has appointed to look after his or her affairs (by granting a power of attorney) or the court has appointed (guardians or interveners). The nearest relative is generally, in order of precedence, the spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner (including same-sex partners) where the relationship has been for a period of not less than six months, oldest child, parent, brother or sister, grandparent, grandchild, uncle or aunt. If the adult, or someone else with an interest in the wellbeing of the adult, feels that the nearest relative is not the most appropriate person to be consulted, he or she can apply for the nearest relative to be replaced by someone else.
• Exercising and developing skills: the person whose affairs are being looked after must be encouraged and helped to do as much as he or she is capable of concerning property, financial affairs and personal welfare.

Dementia - Money and Legal Matters: index page