Query about contribution to care costs

Bargain_Rzl

This is a question on behalf of somebody else.

Hypothetical scenario: OAP lives in a residential care home. His only income is state pension and Attendance Allowance. The LA currently pays the difference between the his income and residential/care costs.

If he was to receive or inherit a large sum of money now (e.g. £50k) would he be entitled to keep some of that money (above the statutory £21.5k threshold for care costs) or give some of it away to others, or would he be obliged to hand it to the LA?

If the BGs think this question should be on a different board, please feel free to move as appropriate.

Thanks in advance.

bigbill

He should not have the AA after 4 weeks in care?

He would in effect become self funding and responsible to pay his own care costs until he got below the upper limit on savings / capital, about £21,500.

suelees1

If over 65 yo and entitled to Guarantee Pension Credit claimants should be in an Assessed Income Period which is usually set for 5 years. Winning £1m on the lottery would be ignored during this period. However it might be different for funding for care homes.

Bargain_Rzl

bigbill,

I believe (as I say, I'm asking this on somebody else's behalf) that the person is not yet in residential care, but is soon to go into a home, which is why the AA is still being paid. I'm not sure what the rest of the scenario is, i.e. why an inheritance is expected.

Your answer makes sense, and is what I would have expected - however it doesn't quite address the question. Say the person comes into £50k, and becomes self funding for however long that £50k (or at least the £28.5k above the threshold) lasts. What rules are there surrounding what that person is at liberty to do with the money? To reduce this to a very simplistic example, if that person receives £50k on Monday and blows it all/gives it away on Tuesday, I am guessing there would be some policy/legislation which would deem that to be intentional deprivation of capital, because by Wednesday he would no longer be in a position to self-fund. I don't suppose you know what the situation is?

Thanks again.

(Edited to say: thanks to you too, suelees1. Yes, the person is over 65.)