Managing another's finances can often be a problematic and stressful task and for lots of people who undertake the role they are simply not prepared for the wider implications that being the 'money manager' can have on their relationship with other family members. With an ever increasing ageing population more and more children will be faced with the fact that mum or dad will need help with their daily money management needs in later life.

For some children living locally to their parents and with sufficient time to administer this task the duties of personal money manager may not be so daunting. However for tens of thousands of other children the idea of having the responsibility for managing mum or dads financial affairs can be a real issue. With high numbers of children living long distances from their parents the practicality of staying on top of their elderly parents financial commitments and liaising with personal domiciliary carers to agree time sheets and wage payments can be a very time consuming and often complicated procedure. If the decisions taken are then disputed by other family members (openly or not) then the person managing this task can be faced with a very stressful and often unappreciated responsibility that they would rather not have.

Commenting on the problems that many people face when taking over the management of a loved one's finances Sean Tyrer, Head of Service Development for the Money Carer Service from R. James Hutcheon Solicitors said "For lots of people who are busy balancing a busy work and family life that live a distance from their  relatives the complexities of taking over the daily finances of another can be very problematic. In many cases people simply muddle through the task at best without really checking bills that they are paying or challenging invoices received by suppliers to see if they are accura
te. Performing the task of money manager properly can be stressful enough without the added concern that your decisions may be being criticised by other family members. It is a very sensitive area that can cause real rifts within families"

In the United States many people are turning to independent and impartial personal money managers to take on the task of managing the finances of a loved one when they need this type of help. Daily money managers as they are known offer a professional money management service that can remove the cause of family interest conflicts and protect the financial well being of the family member whose finances are in need of management. The Money Carer service from R. James Hutcheon Solicitors, a law firm specialising in protecting vulnerable adults, has been introduced to provide individuals with a secure and professional money management service that supports both the family member in need of financial care and the family members and other carers. The Money Carer service enables the wider 'care team' to focus on delivering other types of care without getting sidetracked with daily money management issues and bill paying duties.

The Money Carer service allocates a personal Money Carer for each client and their nominated representatives and this person liaises with the wider carer team, pays domiciliary carer workers in accordance with their time sheets and monitors and inspects bills and invoices on behalf of their clients. Family members and representatives have secure online access to view bills and transactions and have the comfort of knowing that their loved ones finances are being protected properly and securely.

The Money Carer service also ensures that the client is getting all of the welfare benefits that they and their carers are entitled to claim as well as negotiating with creditors when necessary and looking for better supplier deals if a client is deemed to be paying over the odds for services such as gas and electricity supply.

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