Financing a move into residential for disabled (not elderly)

piglet22

My mum has MS and currently lives in a 2 up 2 down about 40 miles from us. Her health has deteriorated and she is likely to become wheelchair bound in the near future. The house was owned by my mum until 2011 where upon she transferred it to me. At the time it was apparent that her spending was out of control (signs of compulsive purchases and hoarding) and she was getting ripped off by door to door sales merchants who sold her an over the top kitchen, soffits and a front door before I got power of attorney and the transfer. We mortgaged the house in order to pay off the debts.

At the time it was a 60% mortgage but now more likely 45%.
My mum is approaching 60 and we feel that the accommodation offered by social services is more for the elderly. Indeed she is currently in respite with people some 30 years older than her. With this in mind we went to see a Leonard Cheshire home for the disabled. They were extremely helpful and my mum loved the place and they have a vacancy.

Here lies the problem. The social worker has sent a really pessimistic e-mail advising that it is unlikely that Leonard Cheshire will accept local authority rates, that they are much dearer than older people services and because of the house it is likely she would need to be self-funding. I understand the council can still have a claim on the house but it is in a real state because of my mum's hoarding. I have no idea how much it would cost to get it into a saleable condition and to sell as is may take some time. The social worker has made it clear that should we sell the house to fund, once the money runs out it is likely my mum will have to move because of the funding.

My concerns are

a) We would rather not sell the house at this stage. If we could let it out and contribute the proceeds, this would be a much better option but I fear that the rental income is going to be miniscule.

b) know the council CAN put claim to it but is it definite they will?

c) What happens in the interim, say we agree to sell the house to fund? I am aware of the 12 week disregard but that isn't very long to sell a house. Is it the case that they will put a charge on it until sold and we pay back out of the proceeds.

If anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

Indie_Kid

I can't advise you; but have you posted this in disability and dosh? You may get more answers there.

CommunityCareMG

Dear piglet22,

There are a number of different strands to your problem, none of which are easy to explain in a brief post.

I am assuming throughout this that your mother has mental capacity to make decisions in regards to everything you have mentioned.

Care Assessment and Care Home accommodation

Social Services will have carried out a care needs assessment for your mother. This assessment ought to have identified what her needs are and what is considered necessary to meet those needs. Assuming that staying in her own home and receiving care has been ruled out due to her expected deterioration, then I assume that placement in a care home is considered to be the most appropriate way to meet her needs i.e. the local authority consider her eligible for accommodation under s21 of the National Assistance Act.

As a general rule, your mother's wishes and preferences must be taken into account (re her choice of accommodation) but not necessarily satisfied. The relevant legislation is the National Assistance Act 1948 (Choice of Accommodation) Directions 1992.

While your mother has choice as to the home she wishes to go into but, a couple of factors are likely to arise. One is that the local authority (as seems to be the case) consider that it is too expensive for them to fund. However, they need to be able to demonstrate a suitable alternative before dismissing her preferred home on cost grounds. From your comments, I would suggest that being with people of similar age is a requirement to meet her social (psychological/emotional) needs as if placed with people much much older, she is likely to find such needs are not met. It is arguable that any alternative accommodation would need to meet this need (as well as her others). Before the Leonard Cheshire home is dismissed, a suitable alternative would need to be identified.

Unfortunately, I am running out of time but 'top-ups' may also be an issue i.e. the council of the home asking you or other family members to pay the difference between the local authority rate and the charges made by Leonard Cheshire.

Her Assets

I note that you say your mother transferred her home to you in 2011. If this is no longer her asset then it cannot be taken into account in assessing her ability to contribute to care costs.

However, the council are then likely to suggest your mother has deliberately deprived herself of that asset. These "deprivation rules" include the proviso that such deprivation must be with the intention of avoiding care fees. If it is then the council can still take account of that asset in their financial assessment.

If the deprivation was not deliberate or was for other reasons, these rules may not apply.

However, i must stress that it is a complex area of law and for everything you have described, I would strongly recommend seeking legal advice. There is no reason to think that an outcome acceptable to everyone is not attainable.

Thanks