how best to save my mums money

markymark10_2

Hi there

After nearly a year of trying I have finally been able to sell our bungalow (we jointly own) & she will now have some savings to help her quality of life (she lost the use of one side of her body after a stroke & is now in a care home.

She should get around 25000 from her share of the proceeds but I am keen to make sure that this goes to help her as much as possible & not in paying for her care home fees, these are currently being payed for by the council as she had no savings and they agreed that her actual share of the bungalow was worth less than £10000 (as I put 80% of the deposit up in 1984) and that she would not be liable for fees when I challenged them under sorn.

Is this money safe as the council have accepted that they will pay her fees or can I expect them to come after her share to pay for her care home costs if they find out her savings have gone up. Also can I get some things for her from this money (a motorised wheelchair & a car I can get her wheelchair into are key).without being accused of depraviaton of assets. There is also the question of her pension credits, will these be stopped even if this money is spent on improving her quality of life.

Any help/advice would be much appreciated.

Farway

Not an expert, but if her savings are going to be arond 25k then you have problems, ref http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HealthAndWellBeing/HealthServices/CareHomes/DG_10031523

"If you live in England and have over £22,250 in capital (savings, investments and property including the value of your home), your local council will assess you as being able to meet the full cost of your care home. If you live in Wales the limit is £22,000."

You may also wish to read the part on "Giving money or property to other people"

Extract "It is against the law to transfer ownership of an asset to another person specifically to avoid paying your care home fees. There is no time limit as to how far back the council can go to find out if you have given away assets to avoid paying care costs"

Her pension credit will also certainly will be affected

http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/PublicWebsite/public_pensioncredit.hcsp

"The Pensions Service count £1 a week as income for every £500 or part of £500 over £6,000 you have in savings. (For care home residents the first £10,000 of savings ignored.)"

Whilst your thoughts are to provide help for her the law is more on the side of the Council Tax payer who would have to fund what she can provide for herself out of her savings

I make no judgements here, gone through the same myself, but no property involved to boost savings

You could look into Motobilty wrt car, maybe you could buy car for her and thus reduce her savings, but I do think you need to talk to Social Services / council on this aspect because it all seems to be a grey area, hope someone has better news for you

Cook_County

Your maths does not add up. You previously said mum's beneficial interest was 1/6th:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1077417

Biggles

markymark10 wrote: »

she would not be liable for fees when I challenged them under sorn.

Sorn? You've notified them that you've taken your mother off the road?

monkeyspanner

As farway states the savings limit is £22250, if your Mum has over that amount then she would be liable to self-fund. As she will only be over the limit by around £2750 this is only likely to be the situation for a few weeks. Once the savings limit is reached the council will have to assist again but the savings between £13500 and £22500 will be assessed as having a tariff income of £1 per £250. This will be added to your mum's state pension and other income and then a weekly allowance of £21.15 deducted from income. The net amount will be your mum's contribution to her care costs. For more details on care home funding please see this v good fact sheet http://www.counselandcare.org.uk/assets/library/documents/16_Care_Home_Fees_Paying_them_in_England.pdf

The major problem I see here (apart from the loss of £2750) is the temporary change of status from council assisted funding to self funding and back again over a period of just a few weeks, and the disruption involved.

I would talk to the council and state you wish to use some of the money to improve your mum's mobility. It may be that they wiill be sympathetic particularly as they may not want to arrange a two changes in funding. In my experience talking straight to the council finance department will be quicker than going through the social worker, in any case they will need to know about the change in savings status and arrange a new financial assessment.

If your mum is reassessed as self funding she may be eligable for Attendance Allowance given her medical status for the duration of the self funding period and 28 days after. You may, however, consider the effort of applying for AA for such a short period not worth the effort for a few hundred pounds.

Finally it may be worth considering making an application to the PCT for NHS Cntinuing Healthcare funding if you believe your Mum has serious and complex health needs. Under this scheme care home fees are paid for by the NHS and the successful applicant does not contribute income or savings irrespective of their financial staus. This would mean your mum would keep both her savings and weekly income. This funding is very difficult to obtain and you have to demonstrate that your mum has complex health needs. If this funding is of interest please take a look at my thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=800521&highlight=chc

Hope this helps.