Care home fees and home owners.

chrisdown1

Hi, I am new to the forum and not actually sure I am in the right place here but perhaps you could re-direct me if needs be.

My question concerns my parents, who are in their mid 70s and the subject of possibly going into a care home is uppermost in their minds right now. My mum is not listed on the deeds and her concern is what will happen to her should my dad go into care. She is very concerned about many aspects concerning the fact that she is not legally the home owner should anything happen to my dad.
Does anyone here have any experience of what happens to a married partner who is left in the marital home with regard to the above outlined scenario?. particularly with regard to paying care home fees..
Many thanks in advance.
Chris.

sleepless_saver

Have a look at the Age UK factsheets on this link, especially the one about paying for care in a care home if you have a partner.

Your mother's position is quite secure - no one will throw her out of her home.

Not directly relevant, but if your parents haven't made wills or powers of attorney, this would be a very good time for them to get round to these essential tasks which will make life a lot easier for everyone. PoA is a great help when someone has to go into care and needs to be made when the person still has capacity.

Mojisola

There's lots of useful information here - https://www.ageuk.org.uk/publications/home-and-care-publications-/

What should happen is that a home is disregarded if a spouse is still living in it.

Mojisola

Read this and take warning from it - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3870949

chrisdown1

Mojisola wrote: »

Read this and take warning from it -

Do you mean, take warning, as in make sure my ole mum never signs anything such as mentioned in the above link?
If so indeed I will, this is just the sort of information I was looking for, thank you.
Chris.

xylophone

http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/elderly-care/paying.html

Mojisola

chrisdown1 wrote: »

Do you mean, take warning, as in make sure my ole mum never signs anything such as mentioned in the above link?
If so indeed I will, this is just the sort of information I was looking for, thank you.
Chris.

Yes, council staff are under immense pressure to save money in any way they can and, judging by the post I linked to, some are willing to achieve this by any means.

If you can, make sure your Mum and Dad have someone else with them when they are seen by social services and council people.

margaretclare

Do I understand the OP to be saying this is a definite possibility/probability or just a 'what if' either one goes into care?

It used to be fairly common for the man only to be on the deeds on the grounds that he was the breadwinner. It is possible to get her name put on the deeds, a fairly simple process by contacting the Land Registry.

xylophone

margaretclare wrote: »

Do I understand the OP to be saying this is a definite possibility/probability or just a 'what if' either one goes into care?

It used to be fairly common for the man only to be on the deeds on the grounds that he was the breadwinner. It is possible to get her name put on the deeds, a fairly simple process by contacting the Land Registry.

Just make sure that there would be no possibility of "deprivation of capital" considerations coming into play.

It might be worth considering whether a tenants-in-common ownership might be the way forward although this depends on family circumstances, wills etc.

I would agree with the poster who suggested updating wills /considering POAs etc would be a good idea. See a solicitor experienced in wills and trusts.

chrisdown1

margaretclare wrote: »

Do I understand the OP to be saying this is a definite possibility/probability or just a 'what if' either one goes into care?

It used to be fairly common for the man only to be on the deeds on the grounds that he was the breadwinner. It is possible to get her name put on the deeds, a fairly simple process by contacting the Land Registry.

Hi,
Yes mine is a "what if" enquiry, both my parents live in their home independently but as they are in their mid 70s the whole care home/how do we pay for it, issue is at the forefront of their minds quite a lot. Added to that the fact that my mum is not on the deeds so technically not the home "owner".
My position is not so much that I want to secure my "share" of the sale of the house one day, I feel that the proceeds of that sale will ensure high quality care for my parents in a home should they need it, its more to do with my mum not being registered as a joint owner and any legal complications arising with regard to paying care home fees, if my dad goes into a home first.
Chris.

margaretclare

chrisdown1 wrote: »

Hi,
Yes mine is a "what if" enquiry, both my parents live in their home independently but as they are in their mid 70s the whole care home/how do we pay for it, issue is at the forefront of their minds quite a lot. Added to that the fact that my mum is not on the deeds so technically not the home "owner".
My position is not so much that I want to secure my "share" of the sale of the house one day, I feel that the proceeds of that sale will ensure high quality care for my parents in a home should they need it, its more to do with my mum not being registered as a joint owner and any legal complications arising with regard to paying care home fees, if my dad goes into a home first.
Chris.

Thanks for this.

This is a 'what if' that seems to exercise the minds of an awful lot of older people - for 'older people' read anyone 60 onwards.

I have to say, DH and I are in our mid-70s and it is not something we give much, if any, thought to. We're too busy getting on with our lives and enjoying life for the time we have left. But we do seem to be a bit unusual in that respect, to judge by what you read on these boards and elsewhere.

If both mum and dad are in good health then it's quite likely that neither will need to end their lives in permanent residential care. This is something I'd like you to get over to them, before this worry blights their remaining years together. It is only a minority of people who end their lives in this way. I repeat: a minority. Life is uncertain, many things can happen which you just can't foresee, but life is given us to be enjoyed, it's the only life we have (as far as we know!) and is it worth worrying about something that many not happen?

Having said all that, I simply would not live in any house unless my name was on the deeds. As the Land Registry website explains, there are 2 ways of registering title to a property: http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/faqs/as-joint-owners,-what-should-we-consider-when-registering-a-property

In the case of DH and I, when we married 10 years ago we got the title put into joint names, not tenants-in-common. In his case, he always said he didn't want any part of my estate, that wasn't what he was here for, and would have been quite happy to go on living here with title in my name only. I wasn't happy with it, so that's what we did.

HTH