Care home fee rules

teddysmum

As far as I know (excluding the home you live in) any assets held jointly are considered to be 50/50, so the powers that be will continue giving no help until the person needing care's assets (call them A) are down to the £23250 (at the moment) allowance.


eg. If a couple have £60000 in a joint account (and the one needing care has nothing else), one may expect 'them' to take £6750 (leaving £23250) for A and £30000 for B.


However, taking just £6750 would mean joint assets of £53250, half of which is £26625 (ie over £23250), so they keep on taking until the half is £23250. This meaning they actually take £13500.


I've often wondered whether it would be considered to be deprivation of assets if a couple, knowing care for one was imminent, decided to split their money into two accounts of £30000, thus protecting person B's asset. After all person B would not be taking anything that was not theirs; just making it clear who owned what.

teddysmum

I imagine it will be based on the actual assets on the day the legislation comes in, the amount of help, when under the allowance threshold increasing as the assets are used up.

donmaico

teddysmum wrote: »

As far as I know (excluding the home you live in) any assets held jointly are considered to be 50/50, so the powers that be will continue giving no help until the person needing care's assets (call them A) are down to the £23250 (at the moment) allowance.


eg. If a couple has £60000 in a joint account (and the one needing care has nothing else), one may expect 'them' to take £6750 (leaving £23250) for A and £30000 for B.


However, taking just £6750 would mean joint assets of £53250, half of which is £26625 (ie over £23250), so they keep on taking until the half is £23250. This meaning they actually take £13500.


I've often wondered whether it would be considered to be deprivation of assets if a couple, knowing care for one was imminent, decided to split their money into two accounts of £30000, thus protecting person B's asset. After all person B would not be taking anything that was not theirs; just making it clear who owned what.

Precisely what I would hope to do.I don't want to be left with two properties to dispose of at a time of needing care because they would just as likely be sold at way below market value, as has been suggested above. Once sold the concern then would be where to invest the proceeds.There are all these investments houses such as Fishers advertising, but that could prove a very risky avenue to follow.