Nursing home fees - valuation of jointly owned property by local authority

Doc_N

Sorry, but this one's a little complex.

Para 7.014 of the Department of Health's Charging for Residential Accommodation Guide (CRAG) states that:

Where an interest in a property is beneficially shared between relatives, the value of the resident's interest will be heavily influenced by the possibility of a market amongst his fellow beneficiaries. If no other relative is willing to buy the resident's interest, it is highly unlikely that any "outsider" would be willing to buy into the property unless the financial advantages far outweighed the risks and limitations involved. The value of the interest, even to a willing buyer, could in such circumstances effectively be nil. If the local authority is unsure about the resident's share, or their valuation is disputed by the resident, again a professional valuation should be obtained.

So where a resident in a nursing home has, say a 50% share in the house he used to live in, and his relatives own the remaining 50%, the local authority ought not to be valuing the resident's share at anything like 50% in assessing his capital.

Does anyone have any practical experience of the line taken by local authorities in this situation? Mine's taking the line that a 50% share has to be valued at 50% - regardless of the above.

Biggles

I would have thought that normal practice would be to assume the value as nil, though they might try it on to begin with.

However, if the 50% share is a recent arrangement, they may well assume deliberate deprivation of assets and place a much higher valuation on it.

Doc_N

Biggles wrote: »

I would have thought that normal practice would be to assume the value as nil, though they might try it on to begin with.

However, if the 50% share is a recent arrangement, they may well assume deliberate deprivation of assets and place a much higher valuation on it.

Yes, I'd have thought that too, and they may well be trying it on. There's no deliberate deprivation of assets, and the 50% share goes back many years to when the wife was still alive and they were tenants in common. Her share went in trust to the relatives, leaving him with his 50%. None of the relatives want to buy his share, and it would be unsaleable on the open market for obvious reasons.

Probably a case for the Local Government Ombudsman if they insist on their present stance.

Anybody else had similar experiences?

monkeyspanner

It is normally assumed that a share of a house would be valueless in the open market. The council is probably trying it on. Suggest you take advice from one of the charities eg www.couselandcare.org.uk

Biggles

monkeyspanner wrote: »

Suggest you take advice from one of the charities eg www.couselandcare.org.uk

www.counselandcare.org.uk?