care home fees and over 60's

rose28454

My Mum is going into respite care for a few weeks after a fall. However it may mean that soon she has to go into care. My 62 year old sister lives with Mum for about 3-6 months of the year and travels the rest of the time or lives in Switzerland. Would she qualify as the over 60's relative living with Mum in respect of care home fees or would she have to live there all the time?

Errata

This is what Surrey Council has to say

4. What if a relative continues to live in my home?


We will not take the value of your home into account while it remains the home of any of the following people:

• Your partner or spouse
• A relative aged over 60
• A relative aged under 60 who is incapacitated
• A divorced or estranged partner - if they are a lone parent
• A child under 16 who is maintained by you.

However, we will include its value if any of the above people move into the property with the intention of gaining the disregard for you.
We do have discretion to ignore the property's value if someone not listed above lives there; for example, if that person is your former carer who gave up his or her own home in order to care for you. In other circumstances we will take the value of your home into account after the '12 week property disregard' period. If you own the property jointly, we will take the value of your share into account.