Grandfather Gifting Money / Nursing Home

Buddy1245

Hi,

My grandfather doesnt own his own home but he does have around £70k in cash/savings bonds.

Unfortunately his health is taking a turn for the worse and he has made his own decision to go into a home.

He wants to give £50k of his cash away to my mum/uncle, leaving him around £20k to pay towards his care home. He hates the idea of the government taking all the money hes saved all his life for to give his children some kind of inheritance.

Is this legal?
My mum is worried that the government will come after the money from her (my uncle would spend his in a heartbeat) should my grandfather live longer than he expects.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

weanie

I am very sorry to tell you that your mum is correct. I think that all the payments, purchases and gifts he makes after he has made his decision to go into the home can be checked - but this will only be if and when he/your mum applies for financial assistance for the home fees. My mother died just as he money had almost run out and so there was no investigation but then they Social Services paid nothing either.

pollypenny

It is not legal - or moral.

We are the government in effect. Those of us, also pensioners, who pay tax will be paying for your grandfather's care.

Buddy1245

Thank you for your replies, i thought this would be the case.

He does get around £2k a month in private pensions as well which he would be using towards his care costs.

Ill pass the info onto my mum.
She doesnt want to do anything illegal but obviously my grandfather has very strong views of what he whats his money to be used for

alanq

AgeUK factsheet.
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/home-and-care/care-homes/deprivation-of-assets-in-the-means-test-for-care-home-provision/

chesky369

Your grandfather may have very strong views but those of the government are even stronger. Also, if you are correct about your uncle, it may mean that your mother is harassed even more, even if she returns all her share of the money. If they can't recover it from anyone else, pressure may be put on her instead. I'm not saying that it would be carried through but it would be rather unpleasant for her. You should tell your grandfather this.

Mojisola

Your grandfather will have his private pension and old age pension to put towards his care home fees. He should also be entitled to Attendance Allowance. When you add all that up, he may hardly need to touch his savings.

Buddy1245

Thanks, the factsheet was pretty helpful

Errata

Mojisola wrote: »

Your grandfather will have his private pension and old age pension to put towards his care home fees. He should also be entitled to Attendance Allowance. When you add all that up, he may hardly need to touch his savings.

Beat me to it
I can understand why grandfather feels the way he does, and it's only because he hasn't realised that it's the council, not the government, and the money the council uses to fund a care home place comes out of council tax. If the OP lives in the same LA area, they would indirectly be paying his care.
I wish that a way could be found so older people needing care didn't feel they were being 'robbed by the government', just like I also wish young people today could buy a house for the same price that the retired generation paid for theirs. I'm afraid both those wishes are cloud cuckoo land.

weanie

I think you make valid points Errata.
However, I do believe that the system of funding favours a particular lifestyle or life choice.
My parents went without what they regarded as luxuries in order to pay for their own home. Certain of their friends did not have mortgages to pay and chose rented accomodation.
My parents' family home was sold to fund my mother's care when her dementia became severe and she needed residential accomodation for the years before her recent death.
If my parents were able to live their lives again, I wonder if they might have chosen the fitted carpets, televisions, nights out and foreign holidays to spend their income on rather than frugal living and servicing a mortgage. Others of their age and income made this choice and then had their care funded as they did not have the opportunity of a house to sell to pay for their care.

Errata

Fair points Weanie. My parents were working class, worked hard to pay their mortgage, managed to have fitted carpets/TV's/nights out/foreign holidays and up to the end of last year their total care home bill for them both - paid by them - came to well over £100k.
The situation isn't either/or, there are a great many shades of grey in between. I'm only too pleased that their last years were spent being cared for in good care homes and not on the back ward of a general psychiatric hospital, or long stay ward in a general hospital as the generation previous to theirs was.