Advice please!!!

ukpobrien31

Evening All,

I hope this is the right forum!!!!

I'm after some advice/help please. My father-in-law's dad has been admitted to hospital after he collapsed at home. He is 95 and lives on his own. It has been recommended that once he recovers that he is put into a nursing home full time.

The dilema is this. The house he lives in has been valued at x amount of pounds but if he goes into a nursing home and as it is not government funded, his care will have to be paid for out of the sale of the house.

Is there a way around the situation with the house? My father-in-law was thinking that he could purchase the house from his dad at a lower than market value price so that all the money was not eaten up paying for his care.

I know this may sound a bit nasty but why should he have to pay it out of his own pocket for his own care after everything he has paid into the government his whole life.

Is there a legal way that this could be done?

Any and all help would be most appreciated.

Regards,

Pat.

rachaelc_2

I think you could purchase the house from your father in law for £1 if he is willing to do think. (Don't quote me tho) We were thining about this as my partners mother has alzheimers (sp?) but we looked into it and it has to be signed over to the next of kin for 7 years before they move into a home.

EdInvestor

Hi Pat

The cost of FIL's care will probably be around 12-13k a year after contributions from his pension and attendance allowance etc are taken into account.

You can buy an "immediate needs annuity" for a man of that age which will cover the cost of this, guaranteed for life, for something like 35-40k.

Check this site for an idea of the figures

You may need to sell the house to cover this, but obviously there will be a lot left over for an inheritance.You can't get away with paying nothing at all via the kind of plan you mention - this is known as voluntary deprivation of assets and isn't allowed.

GhostDog_2

Pat,

I'm a Social worker working in healthcare. Sadly what you've been told has an all too familiar ring....:rolleyes:

If your FIL's father lives alone in a property owned by himself and requires residential care he will indeed be expected to sell his home to fund his care.

A dilemma I am regularly faced with in my work but the fact is I presume he has worked hard to save for his old age? I guess what hurts is that others who have not been so prudent with their cash, or even worked, have their nursing home fees paid for them? :mad:

When your relative improves he should firstly be offered the opportunity to return home with a "package of care" - carers visiting him at home to provide the level of care determined by assessments made by therapists whilst he is hospitalised. This is ALWAYS the first option - the Government are aiming to keep older people in their own homes for as long as possible. :rolleyes:

If this is considered unsafe, a recommendation for residential or nursing care would be made considering his level of care needs.

Ask to speak to your hospital Social Worker and get them to explain "12 week disregard" to you. This enables your relative to have 3mths care in a residential or nursing environment before having to make any final decision regarding the sale of his property. If it is then deemed unlikely that he would be safe at home a charge would be put against the property until it's sale.

Your relative would be expected to fund his own care until his capital drops to (currently) £21k. when it reaches this level, Social Services would then pick up the cost of his care. :beer:

HTH

rachaelc_2

That is excellent advice, i hope you find that useful OP, always help to have someone in the game!!

Debt_Free_Chick

ukpobrien31 wrote:

I know this may sound a bit nasty but why should he have to pay it out of his own pocket for his own care after everything he has paid into the government his whole life.

Maybe think about this another way ..... if he were at home, he would have to "pay out of his own pocket". If he cannot care for himself, he would have to pay, either for care at home or care somewhere else.

The taxes he paid in the past have been spent - they are not sitting in "a kitty" to be paid out to him when he needs it. Whether or not we agree with that particular system, that is the way it is.

Put it another way, should current taxpayers pay more, whilst he has an asset that could fund his care?

Sorry .... it's harsh, but that is the reality today.

That said, I understand that there are two different levels of care. If he must have essential medical care, then I understand his house is not taken into account. Suggest you get down to CAB.

Regards

GhostDog_2

Yes DFC you are correct in there being a difference between healthcare and social care.

If a relative is assessed as requiring nursing care it will be "banded" appropriately by a nurse assessor at either of three levels. This part of his care would be funded by the RNCC contribution - the majority of people moving from hospital to a nursing home are categorised as "middle banding" and approx £80 per week is contributed towards their nursing care. This is paid directly to the nursing home.

If afore-mentioned relative was funding his own placement he would be entitled to claim (or continue claiming) Attendance Allowance at the higher rate at approx £80 per week. A quick calculation (and I'm no accountant! :rolleyes: ) would be something like....

Cost of placement = £650 per week (average depending on geography)
Minus - RNCC contribution of £80 per week, £80 AA per week, £100 pension (average) per week. An annual personal cost of approx £20k.

If a person is deemed as terminally ill or has an exceptionally high level of nursing care needs an application may be submitted by a nurse assessor for "Continuing Healthcare" in which the cost of his healthcare is covered by health rather than social care.

A very contentious subject and one that even healthcare workers struggle with at times.:o

I support families in legitimate complaints about this system but until healthcare is revised in a major way this is the methods we must use.