There’s help at hand for people that are elderly, ill, or disabled. Check out what the person you’re caring for may be entitled to.

There’s lots of help available from the government and local councils to help you pay for housing or care for someone. You may also be able to get a discount on your Council Tax if the person you are caring for lives with you.

If the person you’re caring for needs to go into hospital for a long period, it may affect the benefits they get and also any benefits you get, so it’s important to check this out.

There are a number of health and support services available, both in and out of hospital. Find out what is available for the person you care for, as you may be able to get help with the cost of these depending on your circumstances.

If the person you’re caring for needs extra help at home or needs to go into a residential-care or nursing home, the local authority may help towards the cost. How much they pay depends on the person’s income and capital, and what sort of care they need.

Insurance may help when paying for long-term care. You (or the person needing care) should get help from an adviser qualified in this area.

The person you’re caring for may have to pay higher premiums for some types of insurance if they have certain medical conditions. They should always let the insurance provider know if there is a change in their circumstances, as this may affect any claim they may make.

In some circumstances it may be difficult to get insurance cover for some conditions, but they may still be able to find what they need by shopping around.

If the person you’re caring for feels that they’re not likely to be able to manage their affairs, they can legally appoint someone to make decisions for them. This can be a friend, relative or professional.

If you’ve been appointed by someone to make decisions for them, there is help at hand for you.

The person you care for may have given you authority to open and run a bank account for them if they can’t do it for themselves. There is information to guide you through this if you’re not sure what to do.

If you’re caring for someone because they have become ill or had an accident, it’s worth checking to see if they have insurance that may pay out for their type of situation. It’s also advisable to let the insurance company know of any changes in their medical condition, as it may affect any claim they might need to make.

If you’re not paying National Insurance contributions because you’re bringing up children or caring for someone, you may be able to build up qualifying years through new weekly credits for the basic State Pension and additional State Pension.

It’s always helpful to work out your budget to help make ends meet. Use our Budget planner to help you work out your weekly or monthly income and spending. And our Cut-back calculator can help you see where you can make savings on things you buy regularly.

Or if you’re worried you’ll run out of money before you next get paid, use our Money stretcher calculator to help you work out how much you have left and how to make it last.

Whether you are the carer or the person being cared for, to make sure you’re paying the right tax you should tell the social security and tax offices if your circumstances change.

If you’re juggling working and caring for someone, it will help if you explain your situation to your employer. You may be able to work flexibly, be entitled to have special leave entitlements, and have time off in emergencies. Check out what support may be available.

It's always a good idea to have some savings that you can dip into in an emergency. Shop around to get a good deal but make sure that you can get at your money when you need it.

You may want to consider taking out insurance to provide for the person you are caring for (and any other dependants you may have) if something happens to you, or if you’re a part-time carer and you lose your job. Make sure you know about any significant exclusions, for example your insurer may not pay out if you have a pre-existing chronic medical condition that you did not tell them about when you took out the policy. Also find out what the product will pay out and how long for.

Remember that there are different types of protection products that may be able to help you.

It’s easy to put off making a will, but it’s important to make sure your dependants will be provided for if anything happened to you.

You can appoint a friend or family member to administer your estate (an executor), or a professional who makes a charge for carrying out the work.

There are a number of organisations providing help and advice on money matters, both for carers and those needing care.

The person you are caring for may need residential care. There are different types of residential care available, both for long and short stays.

A temporary stay in a care home can give you and the person you care for a welcome break. There’s information available for you if this is something that you’d like to consider.