Council tax support claim - joint accounts with partner who has moved to care home

Rich2808

My father moved into a nursing home last month permanently and the costs are being fully picked up by the NHS - it is end of life care so is expected to continue until he dies.

My mother has made an application for pension credit as she would be eligible based on her savings and income backdated to when he moved to the nursing home - but we were told we wouldn't hear the result of the application for up to six weeks. They have a joint bank account and savings account - although my fathers pensions are now paid into a separate account in his own name and my mothers attendance allowance/own modest state pension is paid into another account in her sole name.

The joint savings account has about £13,000 in it and the joint bank account around £250 i.e. less than £16,000 savings limit. She has no other savings.

When I tried to apply for council tax support online for her it asks for balances on all accounts - but makes no differentiation between sole accounts and joint ones. So I stalled the application to get more advice first.

When I am asked for the balances on the joint accounts do I input 50% of the balances or 100% on the online form. When we applied for pension credit they asked me to quote 50% - but the CTS claim asks for the total balance and seems not to allow you to say if an account is joint or sole? Is it different if the joint account is held with a partner as opposed to someone else?

Also would it be better to close the joint savings account and split the proceeds 50/50 between two sole accounts before applying. In practice it is really all my dad's money from his pensions and my mum doesn't save her money but spends it!