No family ties, no disability compensation benefits

A family caregiver is a non-professional person who helps a dependent person with activities of daily living, such as nursing, care, support for education and social life, administrative procedures, coordination, constant vigilance, psychological support, communication, domestic activities.

In this case, a person who is unrelated to a person with a disability is caring for them on a daily basis. The guardians of the vulnerable person, the mother of the assisted person and her spouse, claim the disability compensation benefit (DCP) for the third person. The president of the Hérault county council refuses the request for compensation.

The Cour d’appel de Montpellier upholds the rejection of that application because the beneficiary of the PCH is the mother of the father-in-law of the person with a disability. She does not belong to the list of persons in the Code of Social Action and families who can be recognized as family caregivers. This includes the spouse, common-law partner, person with whom the disabled person has entered into a Civil partnership, ascendant (parents, grandparents), descendant (children) or collateral (siblings) up to the fourth degree of the disabled person, or ascendant, descendant or collateral up to the fourth degree of the other member of the couple who provides the human aid and who is not employed in that capacity.

The Court of Cassation dismisses the appeal and upholds the decision of the Court of Appeal. It points out that the status of family caregiver is limited and cannot apply to another person who has close and stable links with a dependent person.