An update with the CDPAP regulations in April 2016 changed the rules in terms of personal assistants. In the past, parents could not be considered personal assistants for their adult children (if their child had a disability). From this regulation change, parents are now permitted to be personal assistants for adult children with disabilities. The briefing, published by the Department of Health, made a point to note that spouses are still unable to be personal assistants.
Our CDPAP regulations page briefly covers this, but in this blog, we’re going to explain in further detail why your spouse cannot be a personal assistant. At LifeCare Advantage, we want to make sure you understand the qualifications for hiring a personal assistant, and as always, we want to make sure you have our guidance along every step of the process. It can seem challenging to begin with the CDPAP, but LifeCare Advantage makes it easy. Learn more about this restriction, and contact our CDPAP team today!
Marital Law
Whether married or single, people often forget that there are a number of legalities that change and affect you if you marry. For example, being married means you have spousal privilege in courts. With marital communications privilege, you do not have to disclose communication you had with your spouse in a court of law—that conversation is considered confidential, because a spouse is considered someone you confide in.
A person who is your spouse also has medical rights—they can make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so. The fact that your spouse can give medical consent if you are incapacitated means that you, in this moment, are non-self directing.
non-self directing: being unable to make choices about activities of daily living, unable to understand these choices, and cannot assume responsibility for the results of their choices.
An example of being self-directing means you know things like not to leave the stove on, or you don’t wander off unintentionally. People who are non-self directing usually lack the mental wherewithal to make consequential decisions—having Alzheimer’s or dementia would mean you are a non-self directing individual.
Your spouse has the medical and marital legal capacities to act on your behalf, which interferes with the CDPAP regulations. The complexities of the CDPAP process can be challenging, but with LifeCare Advantage, we can help make applying much easier. Work with people who have the expertise on all things CDPAP—contact LifeCare Advantage to begin.