Paying for Care Homes - MS

ellie101

Hello,

I had a query on funding for paying for a care home for someone with multiple sclerosis, I hope this is the correct board to ask.

My friend's father has died (her mother died a couple of years ago), he used to look after her brother with MS. He left the house to both of them. She is currently trying to her brother placed in a long-term care home. She's going to get financial advice/see a solicitor but may take a bit as she needs to get the executors of the will sorted.

She's aware that as the house has been left to her and her brother that the cost of paying for him to be in a care home may come out of his share of the house. However can they touch the other half of the house that's been left to her to pay for her brother's care? She wants to try and keep what she can to look after him for holidays/treatments, and not put it all onto his care. Ideally she doesn't want all his money to go on this but thinks that's unavoidable.

Has anyone been in a similar situation eg are you liable to pay for your sibling out of assets?

Thanks.

colin13

i had a friend whos father required to go into home,,
when they bought the house the house was bought in the name of parents and son, when father (mother dead) requiured to go into home he was asked to sell house to pay for his upkeep

he went to a solicitor and was told ,as long ashe ( the son) could prove tht he was staying in house as a family home then the social couldnt do anything

I f u r staying in the house I think there is nothing they can do,,

dupplin

If the house has been left to sister and brother, then no, that cannot touch the value of her share. The question can be taken further. If the brother and sister are both living at the home then the authority may have difficulty taken the brother's share, since the open market value of the property with the sister still staying in the property is negligible. If neither are living in the house then the sister can still refuse to sell, but this situation is more complex. Some authorities will still expect the 50% market valuation, others will not. Sometimes it will mean arguing with the authority.

I found this site really useful as a starting point: https://www.fundingcare.org.uk. I contacted them for some advice and was able to speak to a financial advisor just to get some information (no charge!)