Mother going into care,owning half the house question 13 April 2012 at 10:47PM in Over 50s MoneySaving 23 replies 8.9K views

Inlimbo

Hello,

Sorry in advance if this is in the wrong section.

My mother has vascular dementia and will probably soon have to go into care.
We each own half of the house that i currently live in with her(i pay the mortgage),would we have to sell the house to pay for her care costs?
Where do i stand on the matter? I'm right in thinking it cannot be transferred to me also as that is "deprivation of assets"?

Thanks alot for your time.

Savvy_Sue

Welcome. May I ask how old you are - as that is a relevant question!

How long have you jointly owned the house, and did mum ever pay anything into it might be other relevant questions.

Inlimbo

Hi,thanks for your answer.

I am 34 and have jointly owned the house for 12 years. My mum has never had to pay anything into it. Since day one it was always taken from my bank account.
Thanks again.

seven-day-weekend

I don't think you would have to sell the house if it has been half yours for twelve years, and you also live in it. I don't think you can be forced to sell your half, and who would buy half a house?

sleepless_saver

Have a look at this Age UK factsheet (pdf) - section 8 deals with valuation of jointly owned property for care home financial assessments.

Also have a look at section 11 - for if you ever do want to sell.

Inlimbo

Thank you both for the replies,i'll see how it goes with the LA regarding it.

Savvy_Sue

I haven't looked at the factsheets, but ...

Inlimbo wrote: »

I am 34 and have jointly owned the house for 12 years. My mum has never had to pay anything into it. Since day one it was always taken from my bank account.

what was the reason for putting it into joint names? Did Mum put in a large deposit maybe? Because if not, and the house had always been in your sole name, then there would be no question of the house or part of the house being considered part of your mother's assets, would there?

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I don't think you would have to sell the house if it has been half yours for twelve years, and you also live in it. I don't think you can be forced to sell your half, and who would buy half a house?

I wondered if you were right, but of course you are - the situation which can be really difficult is when someone who does NOT own (part of) the house is left there alone when another person is taken into care, and continuing to think about it, I think that's where there's an age question.

So apologies for asking that when I suspect it wasn't actually relevant.

Inlimbo

Oh it was in joint names because it was purchased on a "right to buy" using my mum's discount she had built up.
So i guess that technically counts as putting something into the property,can't believe i didn't think of that!

Thanks again.

realshannon

There is loads of help on here but from my experience (and loads of others) just a little word of warning, I found the social worker and NHS very reluctant in giving us any advice when this happened to us quite suddenly. We didnt have a clue and trusted them to help us. We were basically told that because our MIL had a house, that meant she wouldnt qualify for any help. The point is I think I am trying to make is that dont rely on what they tell you as gospel, you really do need to research this yourself and know your rights, Age UK site is good and she may even qualify for Continuing Care from the NHS or Nursing Care, but thats a whole new subject and there is stacks of here and elsewhere to help you. we trusted the social worker when we were so stressed with our MILs illness, thought they were on our side, but its a fob off. On the house side of things for you, I thought that if someone else was living in the house as their main residence they couldnt put a Legal Charge on it so you maybe lucky (in that respect). best of luck, this is a very stressful time, once you know your rights you will feel better having that knowledge

Mr_Ted

Inlimbo wrote: »

My mother has vascular dementia and will probably soon have to go into care.
We each own half of the house that i currently live in with her(i pay the mortgage),would we have to sell the house to pay for her care costs?
Where do i stand on the matter? I'm right in thinking it cannot be transferred to me also as that is "deprivation of assets"?
Thanks alot for your time.

Hi,
You should not even be needing to think about such things as the condition your mother is suffering is an illness and as such the NHS is responsible IN TOTAL for her care.
Dont let them fob you off as they do, ask for their own proceedures to be actioned and a full and proper assessment carried out.

http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/201...e-home-refund/

Check this out, as it is possible it is a landmark decision, or should be?

For far to long the NHS has been denying and failing to carry out correct due process and procedures not only to the detriment of the individual with an illness but it also because of the failures of the NHS, PCT's, Local Authorities and the Judiciary has created a nightmare scenario for families when they try to obtain what is legal and justly due to them totally free by avoiding their responsibilities, not informing people of their rights and making incorrect judgements.

I would certainly check out the www for CHC,(Continuing Health Care) facts and the issues and problem ascociated with your rights!

GOOD LUCK, it wont be easy although it should be!

ticktack_2

Mr_Ted wrote: »

Hi,
You should not even be needing to think about such things as the condition your mother is suffering is an illness and as such the NHS is responsible IN TOTAL for her care

Excuse me, but that may be misleading. You presumably don't actually know whether the OP's mother will or will not be assessed as entitled to NHS care. No one can know, until the person has been assessed.

There's some information about it on the Alzheimer's website at http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=399

"When does the NHS pay for care?

Alzheimer's Society booklet When does the NHS pay for care? explains what NHS continuing healthcare is, how to get an assessment and how to complain if you think you have been wrongly charged for care.
Applying for NHS continuing healthcare is not an easy process to go through or to understand. We cannot tell you whether a person with dementia is eligible for NHS continuing healthcare."

That booklet, "When does the NHS pay for care?" can be downloaded at http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/download_info.php?fileID=75

http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/201...e-home-refund/

Check this out, as it is possible it is a landmark decision, or should be?

It's not a landmark decision, it's just the outcome of an appeal. Some people win their appeal, some don't. As with any other appeals process.