home sale to fund nursing home

ian123_2

Does anyone know a legal way to ensure the council cannot force the sale of my parents property to fund their nursing home fees thanks

margaretclare

ian123 wrote:

Does anyone know a legal way to ensure the council cannot force the sale of my parents property to fund their nursing home fees thanks

No one can be forced to sell their property against their will.

What the council could possibly do is to put a charge against the property - like a second mortgage - but they'd have to go to court to do that. Much easier to misinform people and scare them into thinking that they can 'force' someone to do this.

Have a search on Martin's site - this type of topic has been discussed numerous times. Head over to the Pensions board - there has been a recent thread, and some very good information given about the possibilities that exist. Depending on the cause of your parents' admission to a nursing home, your first efforts should be to get the NHS to pay for the 'nursing' part of their care. Then, claim all possible benefits i.e. Attendance Allowance for both of them. Then, consider an immediate needs annuity, and this has been discussed a lot on the thread I mentioned on the Pensions board. Here it is:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=295742

In addition, look on the AgeConcern and Help the Aged websites - they have a huge amount of useful information. There may also be an Older People's Advocacy office where you/they live.

HTH

Margaret

Torry_Quine

Unfortunately if you have a home it will be used to fund nursing home fees although you may not have to sell it right away and a charge will be put against it for when it is sold later. with fees costing thousands per month the money doesn't go very far.

margaretclare

Torry_Quine wrote:

Unfortunately if you have a home it will be used to fund nursing home fees although you may not have to sell it right away and a charge will be put against it for when it is sold later. with fees costing thousands per month the money doesn't go very far.

There are many avenues the OP can explore before taking this defeatist attitude. We haven't been told the reason(s) why both parents are in a nursing home i.e. why they need qualified nursing as opposed to 'care', and it's worth exploring whether nursing care can be paid for by the NHS (e.g. the Coghlan case).

What you say is what people are being misinformed and scared into thinking, but there are other avenues to explore first.

Margaret

ian123_2

thanks for the advice to all

Bossyboots

I don't think it is right that the council will have to go to court though. They can register a caution against the property, preventing it being sold without their knowledge and then make a claim against the estate when the time comes.

It is only if they want the capital released immediately that they would need to apply to the court, or if they think a transfer of assets has taken place to avoid paying the fees.