Deprivation of assets query

solanum55

Hello,
It looks like Mum will be going into sheltered accommodation and selling her house. She can afford the sheltered accommodation from her pension income and so is thinking of giving the money from her house sale to the grandchildren/great grandchildren to help them with housing costs.
If after a year or 2 she goes downhill and needs full nursing care, will the authorities come looking for her house sale money? If so where will this leave the grandchildren who will have spent the money on house purchases?
Thanks Steve

lessonlearned

The short answer is yes they may well do.

There is no defined timescale for this kind of scenario. I have no idea “how far back” they would go.

To my knowledge, unlike when someone has died and the 7 year rule applies, there is nothing in law to stipulate how long ago one would have needed to dispose of assets.

However, my guess is one or two years wouldn’t be long enough.

p00hsticks

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/social-care-and-support-where-to-start/paying-for-care-support/deprivation-of-assets/

Keep_pedalling

She would be very foolish to give her major assets away. The 7 year rule applies to IHT not to DoA for which there is no time limit.

Mojisola

solanum55 wrote: »

If after a year or 2 she goes downhill and needs full nursing care, will the authorities come looking for her house sale money?

If so where will this leave the grandchildren who will have spent the money on house purchases?

The council can assess her as still having the money and refuse to pay for her care.

How would the family manage her needs if this happens?

margaretclare

She would be extremely ill-advised to give away all her assets. She can't know what she may yet need for herself in time to come.

I've thought of helping one of the GC, but helping is all it is. I wouldn't dream of denuding myself.

Browntoa

It's 100% deprivation of assets

It will be very foolhardy to attempt to do it

Silvertabby

If you think there's any chance that your mum will need nursing home care in the future (only about 30% of elderly people actually do) then she will need this money to pay for her care.

Otherwise, let her give her money away - with your assurance that you will take her into your own home to care for her if needs be.

MataNui

Browntoa wrote: »

It's 100% deprivation of assets

It will be very foolhardy to attempt to do it

Well, its not 100% deprivation of capital. The local authority would need to prove that:
1. She could reasonably see that she would be needing paid for care.
2. Avoiding paying was the main motivation in giving away the money.

Now i am 100% sure they would try it on if she was to need care at a later date and the fact she is currently going into sheltered accommodation may add weight to them arguing for point 1. But...going into sheltered accommodation could also be argued from the other side (that actually she is mitigating any future costs of care) and she can afford the current care package herself. Also if the money was indeed spent by the grandchildren to get onto the housing ladder that would be a strong argument against point 2.

So, 100% sure the council would try it on (if she needs additional care in the next 5 to 10 years) but no where near 100% sure they would win any appeal. Seems like a bit more of an edge case to me.

Browntoa

At her age it would be deprivation

Disposal of a large asset at this point would not pass scrutiny of the courts , might have worked if it had been done many years ago.

Councils regularly challenge these and win , she should be expecting to have provision for care within the next few years

Browntoa

https://www.aprilking.co.uk/2017/01/30/deprivation-of-assets-guide/

Legal opinion