Paying for care - Help required please.

Saphie

Hi my mum and dad are getting quite old and have began to worry about going into care. They brought there ex-council house very late in life (both in their 80s) To qualify for their mortgage I was incuded on the mortgage and deeds of the house more as a financial gurantee than anything else. The only reason my parents bought the house was having lost one daughter to a heriditary heart condition, unfortunately I have the same condition. So they thought that at some point in my life I will inherit the house and can use the money to make life easier for me. They have recently brought up the subject of if they have to go into care that they will lose the house, as they have hardly any savings to pay for their care only the house which they think they will have to sell to fund this.

This is really upsetting them as they wanted the house to go to me and not the state as they have both paid taxes all their life, they seem this to be very unfair.

I have been told by a close friend that if the house was put in to a "Tennants in Common" agreement and registered the percentage of ownership as follows - Mum & Dad both 1% and myself 98% - Then if they were to go into care then the local authority can only put a charge on their 1% and not the full value of the house?

Can someone please tell me if this is correct?

Thanks

Saphie

pollypenny

I am very sorry for you in your condition and have a little sympathy with your parents.

You will,need to seek legal advice about the way Tenants in Common can be arranged; the usual thing is for the married couple to be so.

They may never need care of course, so the problem may never arise. However, if they do it is only fair that those who can do pay for that care. I don't want to sound harsh, but they will have bought their council house at a huge discount if they lived there for some time.

If you live in the house there are different rules and your poor health may well count.

Mrs_Money

Saphie,
You seem to have got it all correct as far as I can see - TIC is certainly the way to go, I think you need to visit a solicitor now - the sooner this is done the better. I have heard it's a simple procedure and does not take very long.
The only possible problem I can see is that your parents may be seen as deliberately depriving the Local Authority of the funds (if they eventually do need care) but, as you are already on the deeds, perhaps this won't be a problem.
I know they're expensive, but do go to a solicitor with your parents and while you're there make sure both their (and your) wills are in order. This is crucial.

Good luck with it all.

Mojisola

If one of a couple needs to go into a care home, the house is disregarded when they are assessed as the spouse still needs somewhere to live.

If both need to go into a home - or the surviving spouse does - and there is a close relative over the age of 60 or below the age of 16 or a relative under the age of 60 who is disabled living in the house, the house will not be taken into account. The local authority will pay for the care home.

bryanb

Mojisola wrote: »

If one of a couple needs to go into a care home, the house is disregarded when they are assessed as the spouse still needs somewhere to live.

If both need to go into a home - or the surviving spouse does - and there is a close relative over the age of 60 or below the age of 16 or a relative under the age of 60 who is disabled living in the house, the house will not be taken into account. The local authority will pay for the care home.

This is 100% correct.
Also in the case where OP is on the house deeds councils normally ignore the house as they are aware it is almost impossible to force a sale. This was the case for me 6-7 yrs ago.

Savvy_Sue

What you could do over the weekend is go to the Land Registry site and order the house deeds: you may find that you are already named on the house deeds. That will make life simpler, but you still need some good advice.

However old they are, are they actually finding it more difficult to cope? If so, are there things which could be done to make the house more user friendly for their physical limitations? It may take a while, but if they need grab handles etc fitted the local council may do this for them after assessment by an OT. My parents had a stair lift fitted, which they paid for themselves, but I think it was the OT who organised a bath lift for Mum. Would having a cleaner help? What about help with shopping? And so on.

With the right help, many people can stay at home, and certainly no-one can force them to go into a home.

monkeyspanner

This is an understandable concern for many older people. However, not all people need residential care and Social Services will try to avoid this being necessary. It is also a sad fact that your parents may need to use their resources to supplement any care home fees in order to get a place at a good care home rather than the low cost homes which councils are willing to finance.

If you are on the mortgage and deeds and/or have made a financial contribution to the mortgage or upkeep of the house you should be able to demonstrate a beneficial ownership of part of the house which will then not be in your parents assessed capital.

TIC may be a way to go but you would need to take legal advice. It may also be worth your parents investigating altering their wills so that each of their shares would be left to you.

As you have a medical condition and if you were resident in the property when both your parents (or surviving parent) needed residentitial care the whole property value could qualify for exemption even if you are under 60.

It is unlikely that the council could force a sale but they may be in a position to put a charge over part of the value of the house.

pineapple

I can recommend Care Aware for good independent advice. They were very helpful to me and my parents.
http://www.careaware.co.uk/