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Help Needed On Avoiding Care Fees
Comments
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One thing that strikes me is that peoples opinions are so often formed by the life they personally have led
Yes, this is true, and it's inevitable.I remind people at this point of my comment earlier in the thread that the ONLY person I have personally encountered who believes that a persons house should be sold to cover any nursing home care they need doesnt possess one (Reason - he came from a poor background basically - "green-eyed monster" stuff - and he personally has had "spend today and never mind about tomorrow" as his spending criteria).
That may be your viewpoint - or opinion!! - based on that one instance. It's not necessarily the case with everyone. I would far rather see this house used to fund my or DH's care, should we ever need it, than for it to sit here year after year, deteriorating and being vandalised, if we can't return to it ever again.I do believe strongly that people should try HARD not to be influenced by their own background and experiences when deciding what opinion to have on anything!!!!!!!! One must try to be as objective as possible always in forming opinions - not base them on ones own personal experience of life if at all possible - because other people have had different experiences. It is a counsel of perfection I know - but the one to at least aim for (aim for the sun and one might at least hit the moon!).
And on what do you suggest a person should form their opinions, if not on their experience of life?I have found a lot of the stuff on this thread very judgmental to date. Can we just stick to pure FACTS only now - not someone's own personal opinion!
Please outline which facts are acceptable to you.
I posted a link, way back on page 2, which to my mind (oooops, naughty, my opinion again!) actually set out the position very clearly indeed. IIRC it came from a local authority somewhere. An enquiry at the OP's mother's LA might actually reveal that they have a leaflet on the subject giving all the facts as they apply in that area - I know the neighbouring authority to us have such a leaflet because I've seen it, at CAB.
Margaret[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Æ[/FONT]r ic wisdom funde, [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]æ[/FONT]r wear[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ð[/FONT] ic eald.
Before I found wisdom, I became old.0 -
EdInvestor wrote: »Equally in the case of avoiding paying for care, people perhaps need to know that quite a lot of taxpayers don't really see why they should pay extra to fund someone else's inheritance.
Exactly. I am a taxpayer and I would object to this quite strongly. Especially as those people are likely to be a darned sight better off than I am. Although I'm not poor, I'm nowhere near rich.And they also may need to know that the authorities will investigate any avoidance efforts, just as the taxman will check on how they have made additional money by doing so and seek to tax those gains.
Just as it should be.
Margaret[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Æ[/FONT]r ic wisdom funde, [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]æ[/FONT]r wear[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ð[/FONT] ic eald.
Before I found wisdom, I became old.0 -
But probably less than a year after her partner's death, my suspicion - and it is only that - is that MRR's mother may be worrying as part of her grieving. And one worry may lead to another when the full implications of transfer are investigated.
So my suggestions of looking at what would need doing to the house in order not to NEED residential care are an attempt to side-step that worry, and as it were to sneak round the back of it without opening several other cans of worms.
If it's clear that in the medium to longer term this is not a house which can ever be made sensible for MRR's mother's needs, then moving has to be considered. But it doesn't have to be into residential care! And that's something which MRR's mother may or may not be able to take on board, emotionally, at this time, if she is 'terrified' of her daughter's 'inheritance' being swallowed up by those costs.
This really is very sensible advice, which should be given serious consideration.
Margaret[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Æ[/FONT]r ic wisdom funde, [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]æ[/FONT]r wear[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ð[/FONT] ic eald.
Before I found wisdom, I became old.0 -
nicolajane1 wrote: »Her mum will have already paid for her care, by means of her tax she has most probably paid all her working life, I feel very sorry that she may have to pay for her care, in scotland i believe the care for elderly is free, which i think it should be. Why should this lady use her home she has worked hard to buy most likely, to pay for care which she may need. Stop the benefits to the low life and lazy and we will most likely pay for all the elderly care that is needed!!!!! And yes this has happened to one of my relatives who before she died had paid nearly £70,000 in care fees and that was only for a few years. It wasnt the inheritance issue it was the fact the someone who never works gets it paid for, and someone who has worked all their life paid tax together with her husband, doesn't. what's fair, you decide!!!
There is no suggestion that this lady needs to go into care in the foreseeable future, and may never need to! It's just something she's afraid of, and I agree with SavvySue - bereavement can have very strange effects on the mind of the most level-headed person, that's why it's not recommended to make any major change or decision while the bereavement process is still being worked through.
Someone once said 'We have nothing to fear, except fear itself'. There's a lot behind that. The fear of something that may never happen can be paralysing, all-consuming, and can take any joy out of life and any sense of looking forward to a future.
I have pointed out previously the number of years that my husband and I, both of us, have worked and paid tax, and although we stopped work in 2002, we're still paying tax. I cannot get uptight about the number of people who 'get it all without working for it', although there are such people, I don't deny! What they actually get from 'getting all without working' - unless there is some serious reason why they can't work, as in the case of my late husband - I can't imagine. They don't get personal pride, self-esteem, self-respect, pride in their own achievements and the confidence to hold their heads up in any company, of that I'm certain. Material goods whether plasma screens or expensive cars do NOT bring those things.
It has already been explained, more than once, that you do NOT pay for your care in advance, no matter how much tax and NI you've paid. Would that it were so - but it's not like a credit balance at the bank, that can be drawn on when needed. Our tax and NI went to pay for things that were happening at the time, and our state pensions now are being paid for by those in the working world (thank you, folks!)
Margaret[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Æ[/FONT]r ic wisdom funde, [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]æ[/FONT]r wear[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ð[/FONT] ic eald.
Before I found wisdom, I became old.0 -
An update on the costs:
http://www.bettercaring.co.uk/index_pub.cfm?content=Calculator/weeklyCharges2.cfm
Care homes are now on average more expensive than sending your child as a boarder to the best public schools in the country.
This seems odd, since rather than employing costly upmarket teachers, care homes tend to pay the basic wage to their staff (wages always account for the majority of costs).Nor do they usually occupy the kind of stately home premises with extensive grounds and playing fields that you expect at a top school.
Somebody looks to be making quite a bit of money out of this lark.Trying to keep it simple...0 -
Well - one way to deal with the whole thing of having any money tied up in ones home that could be used to pay care home fees - is to take equity release - and perhaps MargaretClare could give us how-to details - having done this herself.0
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Well - one way to deal with the whole thing of having any money tied up in ones home that could be used to pay care home fees - is to take equity release - and perhaps MargaretClare could give us how-to details - having done this herself.
Yes, we did equity release in 2003, but I hasten to add, it was not for the purpose that ceridwen suggests - we never gave that a thought. It was to pay off the original £45K mortgage with which I was left following widowhood and redundancy. We (my second husband and I) could have carried on paying it until we're 83, but we saw no point in paying a mortgage into our 80s just in time to die and leave it to someone else. We could see pleasanter uses for the money, and indeed, that's one of the reasons we're able to save - no mortgage to pay.
That said...
The first stop for anyone considering equity release should be the SHIP website (safe home equity plans). [SIZE=-1]www.ship-ltd.org/
HTH
Margaret
PS: BTW, I was thinking of the strange effects widowhood can have on the mind, and the disastrous decisions that may be taken while in this state. SavvySue, I was planning to enter a convent, one that's set up specifically for older women! I went on pilgrimage to Lourdes, landed back at Luton and from there, straight into my pre-novitiate as a postulant nun. I lasted precisely 2 weeks. It most definitely was not for me. But there were a lot of widows there, women who'd always wanted to be nuns but had been prevented when they were younger. I can't imagine why I ever thought I could live that life - but there you are, just one example of what widowhood does. It'll give you a laugh this Friday morning if nothing else does.
[/SIZE][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Æ[/FONT]r ic wisdom funde, [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]æ[/FONT]r wear[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ð[/FONT] ic eald.
Before I found wisdom, I became old.0 -
EdInvestor wrote: »An update on the costs:
http://www.bettercaring.co.uk/index_pub.cfm?content=Calculator/weeklyCharges2.cfm
Care homes are now on average more expensive than sending your child as a boarder to the best public schools in the country.
This seems odd, since rather than employing costly upmarket teachers, care homes tend to pay the basic wage to their staff (wages always account for the majority of costs).Nor do they usually occupy the kind of stately home premises with extensive grounds and playing fields that you expect at a top school.
Somebody looks to be making quite a bit of money out of this lark.
The ratio of staff to residents in care home is very different from that found in boarding schools. And of course, we live in a capitalist society......................I'm smiling because I have no idea what's going on ...:)
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There are around 10 million pensioners, of which 250,000 live in care homes according to the Department of Work and pensions.
I make that 2.5% of pensioners needing care.
This is a vanishingly small number so perhaps you should just tell your mother to stop worrying......:)Trying to keep it simple...0 -
Quote:
Originally Posted by sleepless saver
I know they can't if you're a spouse, or over 60, but couldn't see anything abut carers?
Quote:
They're not 'carers'. They're joint owners! You can't force somebody to sell something that belongs to someone else, and no one would be interested in buying a half or a quarter of a house.
Margaret
Margaret:
Have just picked up the advice/opinion you are giving on another part of the board which I think answers the question I should have asked. Thank you so very very much.0
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