Help with Parent's money

Trebor16

pollypenny wrote: »

Yet another thread where someone is trying to get us - the taxpayers to pay for their parents' care, so that they can inherit.

OP, my husband and I have tried to give our two the best start in life, university and help with house-purchase etc. However, we are now retired and enjoying our lives.

If we need to go into a care home we will will pay and the kids have zilch to inherit - tough!

I do not want to pay for your parents, thank -you.

Sorry, but if someone has needs which are primary health needs then the NHS should be paying. Its not about expecting the taxpayer to pick up the tab but all about the NHS meeting its legal obligations. Sadly they try their hardest to avoid this and often work had in hand with local authorities to misrepresent the facts to families, often taking advantage of the vulnerability of the family at such times.

Too many hard working families, who have scrimped and saved and paid for their homes, have een hoodwinked in this way. Meanwhile those who have rented and have not been fiscally responsible get their care paid for.

thacky

scotsbob wrote: »

You bet they will.

Remember all those laws that the UK government passed "to prevent terrorism" well one of them gives your local council officials access to every bank and building society account in the UK. They can search the details of bank accounts as easily as you can search on Google.

Is this true??

McKneff

I understand where everybody is coming from but take the OP's parents,

They presumably have paid their taxes all their lives (as me and mine have) we were brought up with the promise that we would
be looked after in our old age. Obviously this is not going to happen.
Taxes have been paid and used for the generation before us, what i object to is paying for the care of the generations before us and bloody well paying for my own too.

monkeyspanner

McKneff wrote: »

I understand where everybody is coming from but take the OP's parents,

They presumably have paid their taxes all their lives (as me and mine have) we were brought up with the promise that we would
be looked after in our old age. Obviously this is not going to happen.
Taxes have been paid and used for the generation before us, what i object to is paying for the care of the generations before us and bloody well paying for my own too.

The detail of this system may have changed over the years but people with financial resources have always been expected to pay for their own care. Previously those that could not afford it went to council run and financed homes now this service is provided by privately run care homes as well with council assisted funding.

There was only ever a promise after the introduction of the NHS that health care would be free at source and this has probably improved in the last few years as a series of court cases have forced the NHS to provide the continuing healthcare system. Admittedly this funding is extremly difficult to obtain and the proportion of people obtaining it varies a lot from area to area across the country.

pollypenny

monkeyspanner wrote: »

I don't think you need to worry about paying for someones parents care home fees via your taxes except if they have no assets. With government finances as they are it is entirely unlikely that a more generous system will be provided by the state.

As I said previously, I have no objection to paying tax to contribute to the general good of the country and/or to pay for care for someone who has no assets.

That is what our contributions are for - not just for ourselves.

However, I object to paying for someone who can well-afford their own costs, but has, by devious means, given their resources to their children.

My father paid his own fees. we couldn't have wanted otherwise.

littlemissbossy

I just thought I'd dib in here.

My inlaws have been in a nursing home for about 18 months, its a lovely place and they are as happy as two whingy old codgers (with nothing else to do) can be.

They moan they are too hot, too cold and theres never enough sugar in their tea and not enough biscuits. But we know if they're moaning they're ok.

I knew nothing about attendance allowance/pension credit/meals on wheels/sheltered accommodation/hiring bath lifts/nursing homes/local authority funding but boy I do now.

I have become an "expert" on the rules of the DWP and the LA's finance department purely by being "like a dog with a bone" till I got it.

I found Age Concern/UK? a great help they have booklets on everything, they come out to visit you and are very compassionate, also social services have been great too.

When my inlaws moved into their nursing home we were stunned by how much it costs and have to admit to feeling gutted that "our inheritance" was about to disappear. Their home costs over £22k each per year eek but do you know what I don't care I know they're safe, there isn't someone trying to repair their roof, sell them a chair lift, or asking them to watch the tap in the kitchen while they rob them.

It is daunting and worrying but there is help out there you just need to ask, this forum is also pretty good too!!

HTH

Oldernotwiser

Trebor16 wrote: »

Too many hard working families, who have scrimped and saved and paid for their homes, have een hoodwinked in this way. Meanwhile those who have rented and have not been fiscally responsible get their care paid for.

Why do you think that people who've lived in rented accommodation are "fiscally irresponsible"? Many people have never had the opportunity to buy their own home, despite working just as hard as the home owners.

pollypenny

littlemissbossy wrote: »

I just thought I'd dib in here.

My inlaws have been in a nursing home for about 18 months, its a lovely place and they are as happy as two whingy old codgers (with nothing else to do) can be.

I found Age Concern/UK? a great help they have booklets on everything, they come out to visit you and are very compassionate, also social services have been great too.

When my inlaws moved into their nursing home we were stunned by how much it costs and have to admit to feeling gutted that "our inheritance" was about to disappear. Their home costs over £22k each per year eek but do you know what I don't care I know they're safe, there isn't someone trying to repair their roof, sell them a chair lift, or asking them to watch the tap in the kitchen while they rob them.

It is daunting and worrying but there is help out there you just need to ask, this forum is also pretty good too!!

HTH

What an excellent post, LMB.

We found exactly the same with my father.

He was safe, he had company and good food, and i spoke to him every day on the phone, went down to visit once a month. Would have been better if sisters could have done the same, mind. This meant we didn't have to worry about him.

Although, he had his pensions and attendance allowance, his capital was diminishing rapidly. However, this was by far the best option.

Few of us are in a position to have our aged parents to live with us and I certainly would not expect to do so when/if I need care.

Money_Saving_Dude

pollypenny wrote: »

I understand where you are coming from, Claire.

However, when you are on a pension yourself and still seem to pay a heck of a lot tax, it's galling to find those who are trying to evade responsibility to pay for themselves.

Yes, in some dream world, everyone would pass on their 'hard-earned money' to their offspring.

Your parents nay never need to go into a care home anyway. Be optimistic.

Well done. You are simply spreading the message of the rich -- look after yourself. Don't ask the taxpayer (= the wider society) to fund it. That way, as I earn a *lot* more than you (in fact, that should be lots and lots and lots and...) no one is going to come to me and ask me to pay, proportionally, the same of my income as you pay.

Brilliant! You are getting the message of the rich out loud and clear!

So all the effort you've put in all your life to build assets is taken away at a stroke, because of ill health. Meanwhile, the rich look at you and think £30k a year, peanuts. As long as you are not forcing me to pay what should be my rightful contribution to society I may only have to pay £30k a year later in life.

Wow, winner! The British are so stupid.

As I said -- well done for falling for the propaganda.

Money_Saving_Dude

thacky wrote: »

Is this true??

Well. Do you remember the old man who heckled at a Labour Party conference a few years ago? He was 75 or 80. Two burly 'security guards' hustled him away. He was detained by the police at the venue and held under The Prevention of Terrorism legislation.

Try to save at least half your property -- Google 'tenancy in common.' That way they can only legally get at half a house. And some say that if the other half is not for sale (because it has been left to your kids and they refuse to sell), half a house actually has zero value. So you may be able to prevent a LA from getting hold of an asset that has probably taken a lifetime to obtain.

The other thing that people may want to look at is trusts. The rich have used trusts in the past. But the 2006 Finance Act effectively made the tax position of these unattractive. Now who was the chancellor who did that? 2006 -- och, I can't remember. But trusts still have some benefits in ring-fencing assets.

You may be paying less tax than in previous years, but they are still finding ways to claw it back. And it's regressive. So if everyone has to pay to park, the poor are paying more of their income for that. And commuters, and...

Just look around you. We live in a pay-for-everything culture. What amazes me is so many people seem to think that's a good thing.

Is that because education is so poor these days that people don't understand finance?