care homes

whizkid_2

my mother signed aform to say she did not want a financial assessment doing prior to moving into a care home several years ago, because she jointly owned her home with me and she thought that since half its value was more than£20,500 and she had savings of more than£15000 she would always have to pay full cost, (which she has done for 3 years) she therefore didn't want local authority to know her business. i have just discovered investment bonds with life assurance should not be included as capital, so she would have only had £2000 savings, and only value of her share of property should be included as capital not half market value of whole. have asked for re-assessment, but they say she signed form, not entitled to go back 3 years to reassess at time went into home. can they do this? only discovered these facts due close reading of CRAG document.

is anyone else missing out on help entitled to cos local authority doesn't make this info freely available?

Ted_Hutchinson

For others the factsheets at Counsel and Care will help you understand the system.
Only if the claimant had been misled by a council official would you be able to claim "OFFICIAL ERROR" and appeal a decision not to backdate the claim.
The message as always is to CLAIM EARLY and CLAIM OFTEN. The system is complicated and particularly the elderly are vulnerable to not getting as good a deal out of the system because they are reluctant to claim in the first place and don't reclaim when their situation deteriorates.

whizkid_2

council say mum signed form, too late to go back, no way pf knowing what was said. have asked for any notes from file, but they say mum deceased i may not be entitled to see( i had EPA and they have been corresponding with me for several years also executor of will) leaflet they publish does not state anywhere that jointly owned property may be valued at less than half market value, nor highlight not all investments are always capital. last year i met with officer for assessment due to them moving mum to new scheme of extra care housing and told her about bonds and house but she still didn't appraise me of said info.in fact as a result of interview what they now agree were some pretty serious errors were made ie based on their proposed charges mum moved then 9 months later they phoned me to say oh dear we got it wrong we now want another £800 per month from you. mum then died and in circumstances where there could be questions asked but certainly LA admit we failed you badly. so all in all i do not trust them to do the right thing

Ted_Hutchinson

You really need proper legally qualified advice. See CLSDIRECT to find your nearest adviser.
I suspect that you will have to go through the The Local Government Ombudsman with a claim for maladministration.

whizkid_2

i vaguely remember talking to someone from council pre 2001 re assessment for home care and them rtelling me mum would be liable for full fees so i asked why should she tell you anything then, and they agreed no point, but would hav e been someone from a dept that either no longer exists, or no longer does assessments. if i ask for all notes relating to mum, how can i be sure they get them all for me ( by the way next of kin or persons with demonstratable interest in affairs of deseased can access notes, only living covered by Data Protection Act but recommended info is sensitively handled and not given to just anyone) contacted solicitor who recommends keep going but could be expensive, litigation as last resort. initially just need to know how far back can ask for reassessment. can't find any rulings either way

La still issuing leaflet that says (highlighted in green box) under heading paying for residential and nursing ina care home"if you have capital worth £20,500 or more you will be required topay the full charge for your accomodation" Capital might include house, land, nat savings etc but
nowhere
says bonds wiwth life assurance not included or jointly should consider being assessed as could result in lower charge
even last year when did asessment and i told them jointly owned house they still didn't appraise me house needed tobe valued under CRAG (not shouting!)
and charge might be reduced ,but then they made other very significant mistakes too

sorry to go on, but as you can tell i feel very strongly that LA should not be able to take advantage of those who are vulnerable, and in our case mum could have actually paid tens of thousands of pounds more than should have

sweetjamster

it may be possible to go back on the contract on the basis that your mother did not have full competence to understand the nature of the contract- i suggest you go to a solicitor as soon as possible

whizkid_2

thanks im just wary of cost if i lose battle. i was interviewed for the assessment last year (i,m youngish & competent and financially savvy ,thanks to all advice from this forum!) and i believed from LA leaflet/internet site house+savings over £20,500 full cost payer so why have assessment and tell them details.
I was interviewed by LA officer last year as LA closed home ,moved mum to different kind of accomodation, but LA officer neglected to mention bonds with life assurance should not be included also house situation. i still only agreed to assessment cos they were they were changing circumstances, mum's circs had not changed up to that point so i had never had any reason to think a reassessment was going to make any difference. also letters offerring reassess never said time limit on how far can go back. i only discovered facts re house/bonds on very thorough reading of CRAG ( a document most people would never hear of unless like me they fight back when LAs make mistakes)