Not sure whether this is the correct forum - care for my Dad

hannaht

Hello everyone

Not sure I'm in the correct place here but maybe someone could point me in the right direction.

I'm concerned about my Mum's financial position.

Dad has Alzheimers, he still lives with Mum but he is starting to deteriorate and I don't think it will be too long before he needs residential care and I'm worried about how we will pay for it, and how much money Mum will be left with to live on herself.

They own their own home and as I understand it, Mum will be able to keep the house as long as she lives, is that correct?

They have some savings in joint names, now will that all be taken to pay for Dad's care?

Also, Mum has a state pension but Dad was a teacher and so his teacher's pension is their main joint income, will that all have to be used to pay for Dad's care or will Mum be able to keep some of it as her living expenses?

If anyone can point me in the right direction where to go for information I'd be very grateful.

I'm not wanting to start a debate about paying for care, if Dad outlives Mum then obviously proceeds from their house and savings etc will be used to pay for his care, I'm just concerned about Mum having enough to live on for the rest of her life.

I'm not in a position to help to any great degree as I'm a stay at home Mum at the moment and we're not exactly rolling in money at the moment!

Huge thanks in advance

xxx

JuneBow

Hi Hannah,
First of all if your father has Alzhiemers, it is extemely likely that he will be eligible for NHS continuing care. So he should not have to pay for anything. It should be paid by the NHS.
Having said that, if you read this very long, but extremely informative thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=800521 it should not only tell you how difficult it is to get funding, but the procedures to go through to obtain that funding. It is worth taking a good while to have a look through the thread.
The Alzheimers society has also published a leaflet about NHS continuing care
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?categoryID=200203&documentID=399.
Long long read, but worth it.
Friend of mine had a parent with complex care needs and had a devils own job getting NHS to pay for it. Ended up having to get a professional to do it as she was soooo stressed out. Had to pay for the professional of course, but cheaper than having to pay for care!
If he is needing care, it is worth pointing out that the care must be funded in any setting, including your own home. So if your father would rather be at home in familiar surroundings, there should be help available.
If it is deemed (which it should not be - but often is) that he should be fully self funded your questions
a mum need not move out of the house.
b teachers pension unfortunately is his, so will have to be used to pay for his care. She may be entitled to pension credit of course.
c in terms of joint savings, it is important they are taken out of joint names now, otherwise they could all be used to pay for his care. If they are taken out of joint names only the portion in his name can be used. Not mums.
ps are you making sure he is claiming attendance allowance at the highest rate?
HTH

hannaht

Thanks so much for that info, I will have a good read now.

I didn't realise a carer at home would be an option and I don't think they claim any attendance allowance, I'll look into that too.

I'm very grateful for your help, thanks so much
x

JuneBow

hannaht wrote: »

I didn't realise a carer at home would be an option

Hope I did not give you the impression it would be easy to get this! Although if assessessed as needing NHS continuing care, Dad would actually be entitled to have this in any setting, getting the assessment is easier said than done. You could have a fight ahead of you. If it were me, I would fight it tooth and nail without batting an eyelid if it were my family. However, I do realise that not everyone has the stomach for it. My friend was so stressed about the whole thing she ended up paying someone else to do it.

You should make sure your parents claim AA. If Dad is awarded AA, you should also make sure that you claim carers allowance if you help look after him.
If you help look after Dad for more than 35 hours per week, earn less than £95, and do not claim any other benefits, you can claim this.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CaringForSomeone/MoneyMatters/CarersAllowance/DG_10012525

Gavin83

Ok, I'll answer your questions in order to be best of my ability:

Firstly your mum will be entitled to remain in the property for as long as she needs to. The property will be disregarded until such a time that your mum no longer requires it, either through death or entering a care home herself.

Savings is a bit more of a grey area. Generally the savings will be split 50/50 and only his 50% will be taken into account. If this is below £14000 then he will not be required to contribute anything from his capital. If it's above £23000 then he'll be self funding and anything between this he'll contribute a few pounds a week. However, depending if it is determined he has contributed a much larger amount to the savings then the split could be more than 50/50. I would suggest splitting the capital into seperate bank accounts to make the money easier to manage just before he enters the care home.

In regards to the private pension the council should give the option of allowing your mum to keep 50% of this pension for her own needs. In some circumstances she may be better off by allowing the council to take it all and claiming other benefits but this should be explained when a financial assessment is completed. However the important thing is she can keep half if she wants to.

As for information, the department of health is a good start, as is age concern. Also asking the local council if they could send you something may be a good idea.

As suggested also look into attendance allowance.

You shouldn't have to contribute anything yourself unless you choose a home that requires extra money, known as a top up, although the council should provide options that will accept their rate.

I wasn't aware you could receive funding for a home based carer but this may be worth looking into.

ukmaggie45

Has your Dad made out an Enduring Power of Attorney? The system has changed now, but if he made one in the past it will still be valid. Sorry, I forget what the new one is called, but there's 2 sections - one for money and one for health related stuff.

You might want to look at stuff about the Court of Protection for if/when your Dad is found to lack capacity to make financial and other choices for himself.

My very best wishes to you - it can be a very difficult time.

EdInvestor

hannaht wrote: »

They own their own home and as I understand it, Mum will be able to keep the house as long as she lives, is that correct?

Yes

They have some savings in joint names, now will that all be taken to pay for Dad's care?

These should be divided between them in separate names now. Only Dad's will be taken into account. See post above for allowable amounts.

Also, Mum has a state pension but Dad was a teacher and so his teacher's pension is their main joint income, will that all have to be used to pay for Dad's care or will Mum be able to keep some of it as her living expenses?

Mum will be able to keep half of his teacher's pension for her costs.He will have to give up his share plus most of his state pension (apart from a small pocket money allowance) as a contribution to his care, assuming council is paying.

hannaht

Thanks so much for allyour posts. The info re pension in particular is very reassuring. I have requested a claim pack for attendance allowance to be sent to my Mum, I phoned to tell her and her response was oh we're ok, we can manage!!! She's really bad at accepting help so I reckon this whole thing is going to be a struggle but we'll get there.

We did the lasting power of attorney thing last year, so that is all set up, we did one for Mum at the same time "just in case".

I can't tell you how grateful I am for your help. I just didn't know where to start, now I have lots of info to read through and make sense of!

Huge thanks
xx

margaretclare

You've been given good advice so far.

Has Dad actually been diagnosed with Alzheimer's? Because if so, he should already be in the care of the mental health services where he lives. Just as an example, this is what happens in the area where I live: http://www.southessex-trust.nhs.uk/servicedetail.asp?STID=26&SGID=1

This is a progressive disease and that's why it's so important that he's in contact with the local Mental Health Team (Care of the Elderly) where he lives. What is appropriate now may not be appropriate as time passes. This is all under the NHS.

HTH

monkeyspanner

Hi Hannah
I am sorry to hear about your Dad it's a difficult time for your Mum and the family. As you say there is a lot to think about and all the advice above is good. Could I suggest you look at this fact sheet which gives a comprehensive and easy to understand guide to funding care home fees.
http://www.counselandcare.org.uk/assets/library/documents/16_Care_Home_Fees_Paying_them_in_England.pdf

You will also find lots of good stuff on their site about care at home, and help for your Mum and Dad even if your Mum is managing ok at the moment.

The thread that June recommended has lots of good info about claiming NHS Continuing Healthcare funding. This is a possibility if your Dad has complex medical needs, dementia/alzheimers on its own is not normally enough except where there are severe behavioural problems. I would not want to put you off but to get it is an uphill battle and very time consuming. You will be blocked at every opportunity as the NHS hate to award funding.

It is good you are starting now as knowledge in this situation will save you a lot of hassle with this very complex system which no-one official seems to either fully understand or want to explain to patients or relatives.

chcfan24

Hi Hannah
Sorry to hear about your dad, it is a difficult time for your family.
I was awarded NHSCHC plus interest at a Retrospective Review 3 months after my dad died he had been in care for two and a half years after suffering the sudden onset of Vascular Dementia.

There is loads of information regarding NHSCHC on the internet which is bewildering when first starting down that road but I found it useful to start by downloading the National Framework and the DST this is the tool the assessors use to score the patient in the various categories. Once you have read the Framework or as I did read it every day and took it to bed every night, you will understand the process and how they score.

My dad scored several Severe scores because as the dementia had progressed over the years he suffered Incontinence and falls but the PCT still said he was well managed for about 6 months of his stay in care, but a well managed need is still a need not a cure.

My dad died in 2007 but I am still fighting for justice for him because he was worth it, but it is so shocking how many doors close in your face because they know you are telling the truth.

Best Wishes