parents going into care - house and savings

LindaJane47

Not sure if this is the right forum, but..... my parents both have alzheimers and my mum in particular isn't really safe at home any more.

We are going to have to tackle the situation sooner rather than later....... which I am dreading

ok, so they own a house, and have savings and shares - probably about 500k in all. Their income is probably around 15k a year altogether.

I'm assuming they will have to pay for their care if/when they have to go into a care home, but would any funding be forthcoming? is there anything else we can do?

Hope someone can give me some advice.

Linda

haras_nosirrah

If it is nursing care rather than social care then they may get awarded continuing care.

If care could be provided by carers rather than nurses then it would be self funding with that amount of savings

One of my friends dads was awarded continuing care with dementia but he couldn't sit up, eat, talk, walk. Essentially vegetative state. He survived 2 months in the care home.

Even with the continuing care my friend was paying a top up of 300 a week as the funding was only enough for the grottiest place and they wanted better for her dad so she paid the difference

greenglide

The law around care costs changed in April and it changes again in April 2016 bringing in a cap in the total costs that a person has to spend before the local authority pays.

However I think this will only be for "care" costs and not for "hotel" costs which is reasonable enough.

I assume the local authority will have to agree that the care was needed according to their standard before the clock starts ticking.

Costs are extremely variable. Most people on here tend to quote south east prices which are quite high!

If they have £500,000 to keep them then it is easily enough to keep both of them for 10 years or more ignoring any income.

I would look at Age Concern and similar - they are far more clued up on the processes for care homes than this forum.

Mojisola

LindaJane47 wrote: »

I'm assuming they will have to pay for their care if/when they have to go into a care home, but would any funding be forthcoming? is there anything else we can do?

There's people with a lot of experience of this situation on the Families Board.

Your parents will be completely self-funding from what you say.

elsien

Age uk have some very comprehensive fact sheets you can either google or phone up for. They also have a very helpful advice line - it's often busy but I'm told there is a queue of one so if you redial straight away you may get through. I don't have the number to hand but can post it later if it'll help.
What tends to happen is that people have the assessments to see what their care needs are, then a financial assessment, and if they are self funding family are given a list of homes and left to get on with it.

PasturesNew

Self funding you get to choose which home. Ask the local authority for their "list of approved homes" and then go through and visit some and get their prices. These are more likely to be "affordable" than the shiny/posh/private ones.

Look at how much £500k/year could bring in from investment.

Do a spreadsheet to guesstimate how long the money might last.

Care costs SEEM a lot, but when you add up what you're not paying (bills on house, maintenance, gardening, repairs) and the peace of mind you get from knowing there'll be no strangers knocking on the door, there's somebody there 24/7 to feed them, do the washing up, do all the washing/cleaning. There's all the social side/activities too, entertaining them without them having to be taken out of their house and accompanied. Then other stuff like access to haircuts, sorting out hospital etc appointments, drugs, general welfare and well-being.

Mojisola

Are they claiming Attendance Allowance?

xylophone

Care costs SEEM a lot

£60,000+ per annum (somebody personally known to me is paying this) is a lot.... a year's higher rate AA doesn't even cover one month's care, but helps.

This person is also entitled to the winter fuel allowance. Having a DB pension as well as state pension and income from savings and investments reduces the amount that needs to be contributed from capital arising from the sale of the family home.

An immediate needs annuity was considered but rejected after cost comparisons.

OP, in the situation you describe the house will almost certainly need to be sold and your parents will self fund from the proceeds and their savings.

You might wish to investigate the INA option https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/immediate-need-care-fee-payment-plans

You will wish to obtain details of homes accepting patients with dementia - might this need to be an EMI home?

http://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?22197-Whats-the-difference-between-EMI-Care-Homes-amp-Nursing-Homes

See also http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=2710

LindaJane47

Thank you all for your replies. I had already thought they would be self funding with that much money and of course the house will have to be sold. I also need to sort out power of attorney so that I can invest it as wisely as possible so that it will last as long as possible. I am dreading the conversation with them but it will have to be done at some point

greenglide

If they are already showing signs of dementia then getting power of attorney could be problematic.

You really needed to have this arranged years ago on a "just in case" basis, the conversation might have been easier then.

People normally get a "property and affairs" POA which means you can look after the money, sell the house etc. If the dementia is getting bad you may need a "health and welfare" POA but this is harder to get.

If you are acting as an attorney there are severe limits as to where you can invest their money, you are not allowed to take risks with it.

xylophone

Re Power of Attorney - do your parents still have capacity?

https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/overview

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=154

https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy/overview