Elderly care help please

Ruby_woo

Thankyou everyone who has helped x

troubleinparadise

The threshold amount for savings etc (excluding house) is £23,250 - not £23,500 as previous posts have stated.

This factsheet from Age UK gives useful information on care at home and finances:

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS46_Paying_for_care_and_support_at_home_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

Should Mr Smith need residential care, the jointly owned house as an asset will be disregarded in any financial assessment.

A person's home will not be taken into account as capital if it is occupied by:
1) a husband, wife or unmarried partner
2) a close relative under the age of 16, or over the age of 60
3) a relative under the age of 60 who is disabled.
The local authority may also ignore the value of the house if it is the permanent home of a carer.

If Mr & Mrs Smith own their house as joint tenants, then should Mr Smith predecease Mrs Smith, she will then own the entire house. Should Mrs Smith then need care residentially, the house will be taken into consideration for funding.

If the house is owned as tenants in common, then either person of the couple can leave their share of the house to whomever they wish. The LA sometimes tries to enforce a sale of a half share of a house - but that can be challenged successfully. That situation might arise should Mrs Smith pre-decease Mr Smith when he is in residential care.

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