Assets whilst in a care home

WGG1848

My M.I.L is in a care home. She is at present self funding. She does not have a house but has some £28,000 in a bond which is about to mature. This is her total assets. We have power of attorny.
We are thinking of re-investing £20,000 of this in a bond for 2 years, and the remainder in her bank account and a low interest account for in/out purposes.
At the stage her assets reach £23,250 the local council will we hope take up the full payment of her care home fees. She has already gone thro a financial assessment by the council.
Is this the best we can do for her in her present financial position?

ferrett100

In a 'previous life' I was a manager of a large care home - I always directed people with similar funding queries to Age UK or CareAware - they always have sound advice and can help with such matters. Their contact details are on the web.
Do you have a family solicitor that could help?
Care fees funding can be a nightmare for the uninitiated so sound advice is a must.
Good luck with it all.

Errata

At the stage her assets reach £23,250 the local council will we hope take up the full payment of her care home fees.

They will start to pay a proportion of the fees until her assets reach c£12k according to a forumula, not all of them. Have a look on the AgeUK website for detailed information.

WGG1848

Thanks for your interest.
I posted the query because I did not want to fall fowl of the financial assesment team, in 'tying up' so much of her capital, would this cause any problems.
In the event I phoned them and they thought it was reasonable in the circumstances.
So I have got her 4.08% for two years at the Yorkshire.

ianua1

WGG1848 wrote: »

My M.I.L is in a care home. She is at present self funding. She does not have a house but has some £28,000 in a bond which is about to mature. This is her total assets. We have power of attorny.
We are thinking of re-investing £20,000 of this in a bond for 2 years, and the remainder in her bank account and a low interest account for in/out purposes.
At the stage her assets reach £23,250 the local council will we hope take up the full payment of her care home fees. She has already gone thro a financial assessment by the council.
Is this the best we can do for her in her present financial position?

Has she been diagnosed with a health need......that is a illness or disability?

Torry_Quine

Remember that when her money drops she will still have to pay the majority of any pension she has and will be left with about £22 per week for personal spending.

Mojisola

Torry_Quine wrote: »

Remember that when her money drops she will still have to pay the majority of any pension she has and will be left with about £22 per week for personal spending.

Whereas the big wage earners on here - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3655837 - will tuck away their earnings in pensions and receive means-tested benefits.

WGG1848

She 89 and suffers from severe dementia. She is a widow. She has 44 year old son with Downs. He has no right to any of her assets, little as they are.
What little she had, before a stroke brought on her personal problems, has been used in giving them both a carring standard of life, which included a car. she did not own her own home.
Her son has now lost his mum and has lost a part of his life.
Present legislation requires, that questions are asked regarding how every penny she has, is accounted for. Whereas in the past she could determine what she thought was best for them both.
Non of her remainingassets can be used to support her son in any way.
We are trying to make sense and keep within the rules, bearing in mind what she would want for her son.

NAR

What a dreadful scenario. Other than contacting advice groups as already suggested I just want to wish you well in trying to do your best for your MIL.

ianua1

WGG1848 wrote: »

She 89 and suffers from severe dementia. She is a widow. She has 44 year old son with Downs. He has no right to any of her assets, little as they are.
What little she had, before a stroke brought on her personal problems, has been used in giving them both a carring standard of life, which included a car. she did not own her own home.
Her son has now lost his mum and has lost a part of his life.
Present legislation requires, that questions are asked regarding how every penny she has, is accounted for. Whereas in the past she could determine what she thought was best for them both.
Non of her remainingassets can be used to support her son in any way.
We are trying to make sense and keep within the rules, bearing in mind what she would want for her son.

She has a health need, and is entitled under the 1946 National Health Service Act to 'free care at the point of delivery' If her needs are above 'ancilliary or incidental' which they clearly are, all her care is the responsibility of the NHS. Lawfully, under the Health Act and the Appeal's Court Coughlan Judgement she should NOT be paying for her own care.

Pollycat

ianua1 wrote: »

She has a health need, and is entitled under the 1946 National Health Service Act to 'free care at the point of delivery' If her needs are above 'ancilliary or incidental' which they clearly are, all her care is the responsibility of the NHS. Lawfully, under the Health Act and the Appeal's Court Coughlan Judgement she should NOT be paying for her own care.

That is very easy to say (or type) but it's not so simple to get agreement to entitlement to Continuing Health Care (CHC).

Take a look at this thread where it took someone years to get NHS agreement to pay for a relative's care:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/800521

Factsheet #27 should give the OP an idea whether there is any chance of getting CHC:
http://www.counselandcare.org.uk/health-care