Putting home into family trust to avoid nursing home fees

Veryannoyed_3 · 15 December 2011 at 10:23AM

I'm afraid I'm not prepared to lose my only asset, my home, to pay nursing home fees so I'm considering putting it into a family trust with my children as the beneficiaries.

Does anyone have experience of this and the pitfalls?

We're already likely to lose my mother's home for this reason (her fees are £46,000 a year) and if there is a legal way of making sure our children inherit all we have worked so hard for over the years then we will take it.

The PCT / social services have been entirely ruthless in the way they have dealt with the family over my mother's case and although we did achieve full funding for her for a while it was quickly removed.

I'm going to be equally ruthless in preventing them from getting their hands on my hard earned cash.

alanq · 15 December 2011 at 12:36PM

So you'd rather try to spend other persons' hard earned cash instead?

If it looks like the trust has been set up for the purpose of avoiding fees it may be treated as deprivation of assets.
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS40_deprivation_of_assets_in_the_means_test_for_care_home_provision_fcs.pdf

Having put your home into trust what happens if you want to sell it and the beneficiaries of the trust don't want you to do so?

dzug1 · 15 December 2011 at 2:08PM

Trusts are a can of worms - they can be expensive to set up, expensive to run and have unexpected tax implications.

And do you really want to live in the cheapest of cheap homes coz that's all you'll get?

If you do decide to do this you'll need to go into it in fine detail - who are the trustees, who has the right to live there, who is responsible for maintenance, who sorts things out if they don't/can't bother, how will the trust be wound up and probably several dozen other questions

roddydogs · 15 December 2011 at 2:43PM

The old threads are the best.

midnight_express · 15 December 2011 at 5:07PM

What you are suggesting is fraud ie a criminal offence. If set up a trust in order to claim benefit / care home fees you will be treated as if you still have the money.

esuhl · 15 December 2011 at 5:42PM

I vaguely remember reading about this a while back. I'm not 100% sure, but I seem to remember that if you could be pursued for care fees if the asset is transferred within six years of your admission to the care home so long as you didn't do this to intentionally avoid fees.

But if you have committed the thought-crime of trying to avoid nursing care fees, the authorities can bill you.

If my memory is correct, this creates a strange Orwellian and Catch-22-type paradox where what is criminal is the thought not the actions, and the law is different depending on your knowledge. The more you know about what is legal, the less is legal.

If you know how the law works and are trying to avoid paying fees, you will have to pay them. If you don't know what you're doing and transfer assets for other reasons, you can avoid the fees. It's one rule for the educated and one for the ignorant. It's the opposite of saying "ignorance is no defence".

NAR · 15 December 2011 at 6:37PM

Veryannoyed wrote: »

I'm afraid I'm not prepared to lose my only asset, my home, to pay nursing home fees .

And I'm afraid you will have no choice in the matter!

McKneff · 15 December 2011 at 6:42PM

Go and see a solicitor, they will give you the advice you need.

I saw something on these boards not too long since that only about 1 in ten people who own their homes end in care and even less
have to actually sell their homes, depending on the care that they need, whether the spouse still resides in the house, etc.

Veryannoyed_3 · 15 December 2011 at 6:51PM

Thanks to the people who have made helpful replies, I'm going to contact a solicitor.

To the others, my mother is clearly entitled to fully funded care, but despite a four year battle involving solicitors we still can't get it so as we'll be paying over her entire assets (around £300,000) for care home fees at £46,800 a year then no, I certainly don't have any scruples about trying to save my own home.

At the moment I'm funding every lazy individual and their numerous kids who are living on benefits as a lifestyle choice so it's up to me what I do with my own money. Of course, when they need care in old age, the state (ie my taxes) will pay for that too.

Happychappy · 15 December 2011 at 7:14PM

Veryannoyed wrote: »

Thanks to the people who have made helpful replies, I'm going to contact a solicitor.

To the others, my mother is clearly entitled to fully funded care, but despite a four year battle involving solicitors we still can't get it so as we'll be paying over her entire assets (around £300,000) for care home fees at £46,800 a year then no, I certainly don't have any scruples about trying to save my own home.

At the moment I'm funding every lazy individual and their numerous kids who are living on benefits as a lifestyle choice so it's up to me what I do with my own money. Of course, when they need care in old age, the state (ie my taxes) will pay for that too.

Please post how you get on? I am also interested as I have the same views about the scroungers and dossers, of which there are countless, I totally agree your home should not be used, but would be interested to see how or if it can be done? maybe become an MP and claim it on expenses

McKneff · 15 December 2011 at 7:37PM

Around 10 years ago we had our house changed from joint tennants (where you both own the whole house) to tennants in common (where you each own a half of the house each) meaning that if I die I can will my half to the children. If my OH later on has to have care then they cant actually sell the house because he only owns half. And vice versa. It was put into trust at the same time and the children and the remaining spouse are the executors.

Solicitor route is best.

Putting home into family trust to avoid nursing home fees

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