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How to use this guide

Help With Money When Someone Is Seriously Ill

This guide shows benefits, grants, discounts and help with costs that families living with serious illness often don't know about, quotes the official page for each one, and gives you letters to copy and a tracker for your claims. It can't tell you what you'll get: only the organisation that runs each scheme decides.

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Sources checked 31 October 2026

On a phone, tablet or computer

Fill it in by typing

  1. Download the PDF from your email or from the download page.
  2. Open it in a PDF app that supports forms, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader (free on computers, phones and tablets).
  3. Tap a box and type. Tick boxes tick with one tap.
  4. Save the file. Your answers stay in your copy; nothing is sent to Keep It Together Care.

On paper

Print it and write by hand

  1. Print it on A4. The tracker and the quick check have room for handwriting.
  2. Copy reference numbers exactly as they appear on letters.
  3. Keep it with your letters, and have it by the phone when you call.

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Common questions

Where do I start?
With "Which sections are worth reading?". Tick the lines that are true for your family, and each tick points you to the part worth reading. A free benefits calculator, named in "Five things to know first", gives you an estimate.
Does it tell me what I'll get?
No. Only the organisation that runs each scheme can decide. The guide shows what exists, who it is for in the official words, and how to start.
Are the amounts up to date?
They are the 2026 to 2027 rates, checked on the date shown on the cover. Amounts usually change every April, so check the official page before you apply. Our free web page at keepittogethercare.com/money-help also lists the main ones.
I typed into it, but my answers had gone when I opened it again. Why?
Some previews, such as a browser tab or an email preview, can't save answers in a form. Download the PDF first, open it in a PDF app that supports forms, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, then save.
Is anything I write sent anywhere?
No. The PDF doesn't send your answers to Keep It Together Care or to anyone else. They stay in the file on your device, or on your paper copy.

What’s inside

  • Five things to know first
  • Which sections are worth reading?
  • The faster route: special rules for end of life
  • Money for the person who is ill
  • Help for the person caring
  • Parking, travel and getting to appointments
  • Free prescriptions and other health costs
  • Adapting the home, Council Tax and energy bills
  • Grants from charities and local funds
  • Letters and emails you can copy
  • My claims tracker
  • Changes announced, and how this guide stays current
  • Where this information comes from

Practical organisation, not medical advice. Your own care team’s advice always comes first. See all free help