Care Home Funding (what if mum sold me her house!?)

Pee

Good luck with the discretionary trust. I'll be very interested to hear how you get on. If your mother puts the house into trust today and goes into care within the next couple of years I'll fall down speechless if it "works".

There is a reasonable argument that if you put a house into a discretionary trust when care home fees are not an issue then this would protect your house should you later need a care home. My own view is that it won't work and I wouldn't risk it.

I would also say with most things in life you get what you pay for and I know that I would rather be resident in the more expensive home around here, which is a converted nice hotel, or one with the family atmosphere rather than the one where the council pays for most of the beds and the staff don't have the time or the appropriate level of English to look after the residents.

always_poor_2

I could be wrong, but I thought that social services were entitled to look back at a person needing funding bank accounts for something like the last 8 years, and to investigate if assets have been disposed of wrongly to avoid paying for costs.

Also, I would be very careful about Mum 'selling' you her house for £1 - I would think it would be classed as financial abuse. I don't whole heartedly agree with people having to sell their homes that they've worked for all of their lives to pay for their care, but then neither do i agree that the tax payer should fund them.

Depending on how poor her health is, perhaps she may be able to apply for either CHC or FNC funding?

irishjohn

If your mother is unable to care for herself currently she should be claim attendance allowance and as a self funded resident she could use her attendance allowance and her pension(s) state and possible private to part pay her fees.

The house would have to be sold and the money invested to pay the remainder, and obviously depreciate the longer her stay. While there she receives full board and lodgings, with help available on the press of a button 24/7 - activities are laid on for her and her fellow residents, she is insured for any unlikely accidents which might occur while she is being cared for, she has no power bills, but continues to receive her heating allowance each year, no council tax is payable, and all her personal laundry looked after. In addition you may make use of the facilities to visit your mum any time. It's expensive at approx £600 a week, but how much is a room in a decent local hotel and how many of the above services are provided?

Last of all, my mum bcame a resident at 87 just 5 weeks ago, and unfortunately is very poorly and needs a level of care I cannot give as a son as it is too personal. But I am able to visit every day, help her eat her lunch and give her some love and company for the part of the day she is not confined to bed. I feel very fortunate that I have found a place of safety for her where some very caring people are assisting me in looking after Mum as her health declines and that I can rely on them totally. I would sell my house tomorrow if I could have my mum back in the peak of health but I know thats not a reality. Make sure you look after your mum and make sure she gets the very best of care, its the least you can do in return for her love and care for you.

Person_one

gandalftheking wrote: »

Thanks for the "daft" comment. I didn't know about discretionary trusts, and had found out about it elsewhere. Post reported.

Everyone else please consider this thread closed. I won't be back.

I don't think that's how it works...

Also, please read the forum rules, the admin team don't appreciate people reporting posts just because they disagree with the content, it has to actually be either spam or abuse.

spadoosh

Person_one wrote: »

I don't think that's how it works...

Also, please read the forum rules, the admin team don't appreciate people reporting posts just because they disagree with the content, it has to actually be either spam or abuse.

Thank you wanted to say something along those lines but would have been reported too. You have taken a far more politicaly correct route, cheers:beer:

puddy

whats a discretionary trust out of interest, a friend of mine said that one of her sisters is thinking of scamming by putting their house in trust for the grandchildren, is this what she means?

melancholly

for me, the question should be 'how can i make sure my mum gets the best care she can?'. anything else will just come across badly. i would far sooner someone had great care at any cost, even if that meant selling their home. after all, what's the point of having money sitting somewhere and living poorly? focussing on inheritance can very easily come across as greedy, particularly when the welfare of the elderly relative is barely even mentioned.

Despera

Just a thought.

Could it work out cheaper - if that's the OP's intention - to hire a nurse to take care of her mother in her own house? This way she will get the care she needs and the house will stay in the family. If OP's mother's house is very expensive then it might make sense financially to invest in home help instead of selling it.

margaretclare

Despera wrote: »

Just a thought.

Could it work out cheaper - if that's the OP's intention - to hire a nurse to take care of her mother in her own house? This way she will get the care she needs and the house will stay in the family. If OP's mother's house is very expensive then it might make sense financially to invest in home help instead of selling it.

You'll need more than one nurse. No one can stay on duty 24/7! Every human being needs to sleep, eat, do all the normal things. Plus needing off-duty time. So, you will be paying for a team of nurses and also, the normal household expenses - utilities etc - will continue. More food - the nurse/s will need to eat, may need a room to sleep in, laundry etc.

If Mum is physically immobile then getting in and out of bed etc may take more than one person at a time. No one is allowed to lift patients any more - too many bad backs as a result of outdated practices, plus possible damage to patient.

Gavin83

I hate it when people get angry because they don't get the answer they want.

Your mother is entitled to sell her home to you but it has to be at the Market rate and quite clearly this is more than a pound. Should you go ahead and do it then they'll pursue you legally for the fees and they will win.

Personally I don't have a problem with care home fees, they are a lot of money but represent the costs of running the home. Besides what else does your mum need the home for?

The other options available to you are to get a live in carer or look after her yourself, but im guessing these aren't an option for you.