Advice on parents money?

sloughflint

Robert_Sterling wrote: »

That is incorrect and ERRATA is correct.

They can put a charge on a house.

This does not mean that they can sell the house.

All the references provided by the various posters seem quite clear. Can you explain where you are coming from then?

No one was suggesting that a sale would be forced. I think that was well and truly understood.

EdInvestor

Poppy9 wrote: »

My LA doesn't force people to sell their homes and simply claim off their estate. Sometimes it takes years to get the money and accounting procedures being what they are we cannot include this income in the accounts for the year the client is placed so the council tax payer picks up the cost. However when the income does come in sometimes years in the future this income is used to decrease the demand on council tax payers.

IIRC central Givernment also provides a subsidy/cash flow credit to encourage councils to use deferred payment agreements.

It is sensible to use them IMHO, in that the client should be charged the council rate by the care home, rather than the more expensive fee charged to self- funders ( another source of unfairness that many people find extremely irritating, quite rightly in my view.)

EdInvestor

sloughflint wrote: »

But what happens if the second spouse in turn requires care? I guess the house would then be regarded for means testing for both individuals and a charge could be placed from that moment in time onwards for both sets of fees?

I'd have thought so.

2. If an individual's assets consists mainly of property and little savings, do all residential homes have to offer deferred payment or is choice limited to a few that would?

It's the LA that offers the deferred payments agreement, not the care home.They are supposed to offer it to all who want it.

Biggles

Robert_Sterling wrote: »

That is incorrect and ERRATA is correct.

They can put a charge on a house.

This does not mean that they can sell the house.

I'm not sure which statement, of the many above, you mean is incorrect.

Most posts are referring to the situation where there is a spouse remaining in the property; in such cases, the house is disregarded and no charge can be placed on it.

In the case that was suggested where one spouse is in care and the other dies, then the house can no longer be disregarded, but it was always clear that no-one can 'take your house' or force you to sell it. It will, however, almost certainly mean that you are assessed as being able to pay the full cost of your care. Most people will then need to sell their house to achieve that.

sloughflint

Biggles wrote: »

In the case that was suggested where one spouse is in care and the other dies, then the house can no longer be disregarded,

Unless the deceased's share has been willed into a trust for example.

Thinking about it,the survivor's share is probably not disregarded as such, just calculated to be nil in value.

EdInvestor

http://alzheimers.org.uk/factsheet/469

My husband is going into a home. We have £70,000 in a joint account and own our own property. What should we do?

When you complete the financial assessment form, remember that the local authority is assessing your partner for care, not you. Split the savings in two and set up separate bank accounts. This is because the local authority may just keep dividing the money in the joint account for assessment purposes, regardless of how much of it has been spent on your partner's care, leaving you with less than your original half. While you still live in the property, the local authority should not put a charge on it, and certainly should not suggest that you move to free up some cash.

This guidance from the Alzheimers Society makes me wonder whether or not some councils have in the past wrongly put charges on property that should have been disregarded or wrongly pressurised spouses to move so as to free up funds to pay for care. Otherwise why would people need to be warned that such measures are not allowed?

That might account for Errata and Robert's comments.

localhero

EdInvestor wrote:

This guidance from the Alzheimers Society makes me wonder whether or not some councils have in the past wrongly put charges on property that should have been disregarded or wrongly pressurised spouses to move so as to free up funds to pay for care. Otherwise why would people need to be warned that such measures are not allowed?

That might account for Errata and Robert's comments.

I'm afraid the general public and a lot of the legal professionals (who really ought to know better) are terribly misinformed with respect to the rules on long term care.

Without going into the morals, the local authorities are financially stretched and will strive to recover as much as they can from individuals that require care.

Some will observe the rules, but others will be extremely cavalier and will often rely on the ignorance of the families to recover fees that weren't legally recoverable in the first place.

Anybody advised by their solicitors to settle a care bill that wasn't payable have a potential negligence claim.

Biggles

EdInvestor wrote: »

This guidance from the Alzheimers Society makes me wonder whether or not some councils have in the past wrongly put charges on property that should have been disregarded or wrongly pressurised spouses to move so as to free up funds to pay for care. Otherwise why would people need to be warned that such measures are not allowed?

That might account for Errata and Robert's comments.

I do hope Errata's family are able to recover the money that would appear (I say 'appear' as we don't know all the facts) to have been taken from them in error.

Errata

Thank you Biggles. I can assure you everything was done correctly and legally.

Cacran

I was the OP. There was no charge made on the property when my mums finances were calculated in order to work out what she needed to pay for her care. It was said that as my dad lived in the house, the value of the property would not come into it. My mums assets were the value of money in her own accounts and half the joint acounts. My mother uses all her state pension and half of her occupational pension to pay for the home and care that she needs.
If my Dad died first then the value of the house would be gradually taken to pay for her care.
I have been in touch with Alzheimers society who advise my dad to change his will, leaving everything to my brother and myself.
I do understand that if my dad was to go into a home, then all assets would be used to pay for their care.
Thankyou for all the replies.