Avoiding nursing home costs

ManicRuss

My parents are elderly and own their freehold home outright.

My father's health is failing rapidly and so everything will be left to my mother. They intend for their house to be left to me once they both go.

My mother's concern is that once he goes, if her health fails to the point that she needs to go in to a nursing home that they will sell the house to cover the costs.

She has mentioned the idea of transferring 50% ownership of the property to me so that they can't sell it.

Does anyone know how that can be done and what costs would be involved?

TIA

G_M

Google "deprivation of assets".

Basically transferring ownership in order to claim benefits, or care home fees etc, will not work as the council/government will say she deliberately contrived to do this.

If you move in with your mother, and make the property your own home (ie sell your own place) this might work, though I suspect this would still fall within 'deprivation of assets'.

The best alternative is if your mother is diagnosed with a medical condition requiring full time care (as opposed to 'old age'). Then the NHS may pick up the bill.

Alheimers has recently been classed by the courts as such a condition.

Mojisola

What they can do is for the first to die leaves you their half of the house. They need to own the house as tenants in common - https://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/guides/public-guide-18

To protect the survivor's home, your share would need to be put in trust.

withabix

Your father and mother need to see a Solicitor to get their house ownership by them changed to 'Tenants in Common'.

Your father then needs to change his Will to leave his 50% of the house to you (and/or other siblings). Your mother needs to do the same thing with her Will.

This means that when your father dies, only your mother's 50% of the house can be treated as her asset (and vice versa if your mother died first).

If your mother then went into a nursing home, the value of 50% of the house would still be counted and eventually Social Services could force the sale of the house or put a charge on it.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-1594984/Tenants-in-common.html

All legal and not Deprivation of Assets.

ManicRuss

Cheers all - kind of conflicting advice there so I'll see if I can clarify the situation.

I currently live at their property as they need my help. I'm not on the electoral role or anything but it's where I live right now.

To cut a long story short my dad has less than weeks left. My mother's health isn't the best but it's extremely likely that he will 'go' first.

The house belongs to them outright. His Will is short and sweet - everything he owns goes to her.

If I'm understanding this right, he would be better off saying in his will that he is transferring his stake in the house directly to me.

So once he has gone, my mother and I become 50/50 owners of the house.

Also if I'm understanding this, it means should she need to go in to care then they can sell her 50%?

If so would it make more sense for my father's will to have the house left to me in its entirety?

They want to avoid using solicitors etc where possible as they don't have much cash at the moment and they aren't able to leave the house much and neither do they want visitors due to his health.

pmlindyloo

This is indeed all about the house being in 'Tenants in Common'. Property Trusts and wills.

Be warned that solicitors can charge a considerable amount of money for this.

If you 'google' this you will see many adverts from companies offering to do the same for a fraction of the cost that a solicitor may charge.

Some of these may be perfectly reputable and some may not.

Ask your friends/relatives if they have any recommendations for this type of work. Word of mouth is often the best way to find someone who knows what they are doing and won't charge you a fortune.

withabix

ManicRuss wrote: »

would it make more sense for my father's will to have the house left to me in its entirety?

He can't because it isn't his to give in his Will, it is theirs.

Your mother automatically owns the whole house if your father dies, UNLESS they become Tenants in Common, irrespective of what any Will says.

Your father can only own 50% of the house.

All of the above posts assume that your mother and father are married.

ManicRuss

withabix wrote: »

He can't because it isn't his to give in his Will, it is theirs.

Your mother automatically owns the whole house if your father dies, UNLESS they become Tenants in Common, irrespective of what any Will says.

Your father can only own 50% of the house.

All of the above posts assume that your mother and father are married.

Ah right - thanks. Yes they are married.

Looks like the 'Tenants in Common' thing is the way to go however the 'This Is Money' link seems to suggest the house can still be sold to pay for her care costs should she need them, is this correct?

withabix

Yes ManicRuss, that is correct, but only 50% of the sale price can be used to pay for her care costs if the Tenants in Common thing is done.

I am currently in the same situation, although a bit further down the road - my mother was widowed three years ago and has been in a nursing home for the last few months.

She is currently paying £600/week (£31,200 per year) from her savings and montlhy pension income. When that runs out in about three years, Social Services will then be able to use upto 50% of the value of her home to pay her care costs, at the weekly rate at that time. They can't just take the whole lot - only charge against it until it runs out (or until she only has £23000 left - that is the current threshold for paying for your own care).

The other 50% belongs to me (in Trust).

martindow

OP, sorry to hear of your situation.

Playing devil's advocate here, but wouldn't changing the ownership to tenants in common and writing a new will just a few weeks before one of the couple dies constitute deprivation of assets? These actions are clearly designed to protect the value of the house. Won't the LA take a long and critical look at this if care fees were to become payable in the future?

ManicRuss

OK thanks for that - she doesn't have very much in savings (certainly not enough to sustain such payments) so it looks like her 50% would be sold

What happens if the house can't be sold? If a buyer cannot be found?