residential care costs

marmalize

don't know where to post this so feel free to move if needed..

basically mum and dad have separate bank accounts..
the house is in mums name only..
if dad goes into care who's money will pay the fees.. just dads or will moms savings and house be counted..

they currently receive no benefits other than dad gets basic rate Attendance Allowance..

thanks in advance.. x

troubleinparadise

The full answer to your question probably requires a lot more information from you, so just to keep it simple:

If Dad goes into care, it will only be his assets taken into account, so only his personal bank account, not Mum's. A joint account will be viewed as being 50% his.

The issue of the house depends on how it is owned (jointly or tenants in common), how old your mum is, and so on - there are circumstances where a house is disregarded when it comes to a financial assessment.

This Age Uk link is very helpful (as is the rest of the website):

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/home-and-care/

Any financial assessment by the Local Authority has the power to go back any length of time, so be cautious about moving funds around or large gifts being made to reduce capital, as it can be classed as "deprivation of assets" if funding is being sought.

marmalize

thanks...
it's mum thats worried if she has to put dad in care all 'her' money and the house will be taken into account too(they are both 79 years old)
they have always had separate savings accounts..(joint pension account)
the house is mums ..in her name alone from purchase some 30 odd years ago
if mums savings and house are 'safe' theres no moving funds issues as mum is happy for dads savings to pay for his care if needed...
she just didn't want to her savings/house to be used for his care costs.

thanks for your help..

teddysmum

I understand that the house is not counted if a spouse or partner still lives there, but it is if both need to go into care.


I was also told (on here) that the house is safe whichever partner goes into care, even if it is in the name of the person needing care . The person giving the advice gave me a link to check, but I can't recall what it was.

teddysmum

I understand that the house is not counted if a spouse or partner still lives there, but it is if both need to go into care.


I was also told (on here) that the house is safe whichever partner goes into care, even if it is in the name of the person needing care . The person giving the advice gave me a link to check, but I can't recall what it was.


One point: where the account is shared, they don't just take 50%.


The threshold for help is £23250 and suppose the account contains £50000. They don't just take £1750 (£25000-£23250), before giving help. They take £3500, so a half share is only £23250. Hence, a couple are penalised for having a shared account.


If there is a separate and a joint amount, they will take until the person's total of separate money and half whatever is in the account comes to £23250 or less. ie :No matter how much is taken from the joint account, the person will always be assumed to own half of what is left.

margaretclare

marmalize wrote: »

thanks...
it's mum thats worried if she has to put dad in care all 'her' money and the house will be taken into account too(they are both 79 years old)
they have always had separate savings accounts..(joint pension account)
the house is mums ..in her name alone from purchase some 30 odd years ago
if mums savings and house are 'safe' theres no moving funds issues as mum is happy for dads savings to pay for his care if needed...
she just didn't want to her savings/house to be used for his care costs.

thanks for your help..

'If she has to put dad into care.....' ?

Sounds a bit odd.

DH and I are your parents' age-group so I tend to see things from that perspective.

If your Mum 'put' your Dad into care she would still need a place to live. Whether the house is in her sole name or joint names, it would be left alone for her to live in until such time as somebody needed to 'put' her into care. It seems obvious to me that no good would be served by making a spouse homeless regardless of whose name the property was in.

If Dad has no title to the property he lives in, it's all in his wife's name, what happens if Mum dies before him or gets put into care?

DH and I had all this out when we married in 2002. This property was in my name. I insisted on changing the title to joint tenants. I didn't want to risk him being made homeless if I died first.

marmalize

sorry if it sounds 'odd' ..
we are caring for him at home at the moment(dementia plus other disabilities) but if he gets worse and we have to have careers or need residential care mum wanted to know that 'her' house would not be taken... frankly if anything happened to mum dad would have to have full time care somewhere anyway and the house would pass to him and be used to pay for his care along with 'his' savings..

Mojisola

marmalize wrote: »

don't know where to post this so feel free to move if needed..

basically mum and dad have separate bank accounts..
the house is in mums name only..

if dad goes into care who's money will pay the fees.. just dads or will moms savings and house be counted..

they currently receive no benefits other than dad gets basic rate Attendance Allowance..

Well worth reading the AgeUK link given earlier.

If your Dad is likely to need care, has your Mum thought about her will - if she dies first, does she want the house to go to your Dad to pay for care home fees or to go directly to the children or some other arrangement?

If your Dad doesn't have enough money to pay for his own care and no-one in the family is able to pay top-up fees, he will go to a home that charges the low rate that the council will pay.

It's worth visiting a few homes in your area and see which ones you would be happy for your Dad to live in.

margaretclare

marmalize wrote: »

sorry if it sounds 'odd' ..
we are caring for him at home at the moment(dementia plus other disabilities) but if he gets worse and we have to have careers or need residential care mum wanted to know that 'her' house would not be taken... frankly if anything happened to mum dad would have to have full time care somewhere anyway and the house would pass to him and be used to pay for his care along with 'his' savings..

You didn't explain this. The phraseology just seemed a little strange. It's clearer now.

You should really look into this in more depth. AgeUK is a good place to start. There are dementia charities - the Alzheimers Society https://www.alzheimers.org.uk

Your local Elderly Care at the town hall/civic centre would also have information and help. Lots of people out there who can give accurate information.

monkeyspanner

As long as your mum lives at home the house will be ignored in any financial assessment. Your mum's money will not be assessed. I am unsure of the pension position but the assessment should take your mum's needs into account. Around £20/week of your dad's income will be ignored. Attendance allowance will continue if he is self-funding in the care home but will cease after 4 weeks if the council assist.

Dependant on your dad's health conditions it may be posible to get him assessed for NHS continuing healthcare funding. This is provided where a patients primary need is health related.

Cranny44

If his private pension is paid into a joint account then 50% of this can be disregarded automatically under CRAG (charging for residential care) rules - assuming this would be in your mums favour she may be better off if she were to claim pension credit at times.
If its not paid into a joint account then you should be able to request the local council look at this on an individual basis if your dad is not able to consent due to dementia - as it is all about proving an intention to share/support, ie they may have separate accounts but have always shared paying the bills therefore his intention would be to continue with this.