Care home cost assessment

nicful1985

Firstly sorry if I have posted this in the wrong place!

I'm looking for some advice about the assessment process for eligibility to pay care home costs. My Grandfather has Parkinsons disease and his condition has recently deteriorated to the point where he has to go into a home. He sold his house 3 years ago after the passing of my Grandmother and gave the money from this to his children (my mother, aunt and uncle). The authorities have begun to assess his income to judge how much he has to pay towards his care but they have informed us that they intend to include the money from the sale of his house. They are claiming that because my Grandfather had 2 weeks of care assistance when my Grandmother was in hospital we should have known he would eventually need to go into a care home and the money should have been kept for this.

My question is can they do this? This money has not been his for 3 years and in fact no longer exists as the people he gave it to have spent it on various things!

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Icequeen99

nicful1985 wrote: »

Firstly sorry if I have posted this in the wrong place!

I'm looking for some advice about the assessment process for eligibility to pay care home costs. My Grandfather has Parkinsons disease and his condition has recently deteriorated to the point where he has to go into a home. He sold his house 3 years ago after the passing of my Grandmother and gave the money from this to his children (my mother, aunt and uncle). The authorities have begun to assess his income to judge how much he has to pay towards his care but they have informed us that they intend to include the money from the sale of his house. They are claiming that because my Grandfather had 2 weeks of care assistance when my Grandmother was in hospital we should have known he would eventually need to go into a care home and the money should have been kept for this.

My question is can they do this? This money has not been his for 3 years and in fact no longer exists as the people he gave it to have spent it on various things!

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

I think you will need to get some specialist advice on this, but that certainly sounds correct based on the rules in my Local Authority. However I believe they have to show some element of intention to avoid care home costs.

My understanding is that you don't have to 'know' you will go into a care home in the future, but that there be a reasonable prospect which from what you say sounds like it might have been if he needed some help.

IQ

princessdon

Sounds very correct to me. They can go back years unless it was placed into certain trusts.

midnight_express

I hope the selfish people who took his money are now ready to either take care of him 24/7 or to pay his care home fees.

Torry_Quine

It seems that there was a reasonable expectation that a care home would be needed and so yes this is the correct decision. They can and do go much further back then this.

SandraScarlett

nicful1985 wrote: »

Firstly sorry if I have posted this in the wrong place!

I'm looking for some advice about the assessment process for eligibility to pay care home costs. My Grandfather has Parkinsons disease and his condition has recently deteriorated to the point where he has to go into a home. He sold his house 3 years ago after the passing of my Grandmother and gave the money from this to his children (my mother, aunt and uncle). The authorities have begun to assess his income to judge how much he has to pay towards his care but they have informed us that they intend to include the money from the sale of his house. They are claiming that because my Grandfather had 2 weeks of care assistance when my Grandmother was in hospital we should have known he would eventually need to go into a care home and the money should have been kept for this.

My question is can they do this? This money has not been his for 3 years and in fact no longer exists as the people he gave it to have spent it on various things!

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Has your Grandfather been cared for by one/all of his children since his wife died, and lived with them? If not, has he been living in rented property.


If he moved in with one of his children, and has lived as part of the family, without any other carers, then it could be argued that he, and they, expected this to continue, and it is only since his Parkinsons has got worse, that living in a Care Home has even been considered.


xx

Poppie68

Makes you wonder why someone would 'give' all their money away! Also wonder if any of 'them' have spent any of the money!

xylophone

As your grandfather was known to have PD at the time of the sale of the house, you might be on a sticky wicket here http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS40_deprivation_of_assets_in_the_means_test_for_care_home_provision_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

paddedjohn

princessdon wrote: »

Sounds very correct to me. They can go back years unless it was placed into certain trusts.

How could the authorities claw the cash back if its already been spent? (hypothetically)

Torry_Quine

paddedjohn wrote: »

How could the authorities claw the cash back if its already been spent? (hypothetically)

They would be assessed as if they still have the money so if if they had for example got £100,000 for the house then they wouldn't get local authority support until such time as that would have been spent in the normal course of events. this means in reality that the money will have to come from someone else.

Poppie68

Torry_Quine wrote: »

They would be assessed as if they still have the money so if if they had for example got £100,000 for the house then they wouldn't get local authority support until such time as that would have been spent in the normal course of events. this means in reality that the money will have to come from someone else.

Well thats ok then, is family have now got plenty of money so won't have any problems coughing up the funds needed.