dementia patient/care home fees

hassie

Hi ,please can anybody advice.
My friends mum has had to go into a special dementia nursing home on the advice of the social services.
Her mother lived with her and her family for many years .My friend even gave up her job to be her mums carer.This house still has a mortgage on it .The mother is on the deeds of the house but has never paid a penny towards it.
My friend has now received letters from the local authority /social services stating they are putting a charge, for the nursing home fees,against the property and a court case is pending.These fees are in excess of £500 per week.They are not a well off family and are in despair of losing their home.She lives in N Wales.Please does any body have any ideas what she can do.
They have no savings what so ever .Herself ,husband and two children live in this house.
Thank you

dmg24

Is it just the mother that has legal ownership of the house?

hassie

hi dmg,
no the house was ex local authority and my friend bought it when she moved in with her mum. I think because her mum was the original tennent she had to stay on the deeds for a while to get the discount as she could not afford to buy it herself.My friend sold her own property and invested the money into the house.Not really sure why she's still on deeds but was told it was a "deed of trust "just to ensure if they fell out etc that the mum would still have a home.The mortgage is in my friends name. thank you.

whatatwit

I think your friend needs to see a solicitor, they often offer a free session.
Is her mum claiming all the benefits to which she is entitled, even though she is in a care home?

hassie

She was but they all stopped once she went in because initially all the care was being paid for,she was in a residential home at first but they couldn't cope with her.Then my friend gets these letters out of the blue ,not even a phone call to check what was going on.Thank you I have told her to seek legal advice,just wondered if any one new of any reasons why she should or shouldn't pay.

whatatwit

It would appear as though they are treating the mother as being the owner of the house and as such she should be self funding.
I suppose it will all depend upon the legalities of the house/ownership/who paid for what as to who pays.
Maybe try having a google around the help the aged websites etc to see if you can find out any more info.

Does/did the mother have a social worker, maybe they can provide more info.

Conor_3

Basically whoevers name is on the deeds and whoever has a charge against it owns it. That back door fraud they committed when they bought it is returning to bite them.

hassie

Excuse me connor,what makes you say a fraud was commited ? my friend actually worked for the fraud department in the department of works and pensions !!!!!!!!!Your comment is an insult.They did not buy the house and not live in it ,they have always lived in it since they bought it not as some people do .Buy it for thier parents and then reap the reward when they die.This is the house she was brought up in.Perhaps you are judging others by yourself :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

purple12

I'd suggest as others have, that they contact a solicitor or the CAB. This needs picking through and what may be the case in one situation might not in another so it would need to be judged on its individual merit.
She is entitled to Attendance Allowance nevertheless and if she isn't claiming it (although I suspect she is) then a claim should be put in as soon as possible. It is not means-tested and would be legitimately used towards the care home fees.
I suspect that it will be difficult to explain away if the mother is on the deeds but it might be that some explanation of the individual circumstances could change things.
I know that usually no charge is placed on a care home if a spouse still lives in the property but I think it has to be a spouse over a certain age (which I can't remember off the top of my head).
In my experience, I have seen charges applied when adult children live in the home of the care home resident.
Anyway, tell her to get some proper individualised advice ..

dmg24

Ignore conor, he just has a BIG chip on his shoulder.

It would be worth posting on the Silver Savers board, I'm sure there will be someone over there who has more specific advice. However, I do remember when my Grandad became too poorly to live at home (he had dementia also), and my understanding is that he did not have to pay fees because the move was for medical need (if he didn't go into a home he would have had to go into hospital), so maybe that is a route worth pursuing?

Keep us updated with what you find out x

hassie

purple12,i have already said her entitlement to aa was stopped when she first went into a care home earlier in the year.
thank to all for input.
All I know is this girl deserves a medal for what she's done for her mum over the years and doesn't deserve to loose her family home.They are decent hard working people .Her father got knocked over and killed on a zebra crossing years ago and she moved in with her mum to care for her,if she hadn't it would've cost the state alot of money to look after her .xxx
thanks again dmg xx