Maximum savings before they can be used for care?

Sunshine_and_Roses

Unsure if this is the correct place to ask, please point me in the right direction or move the post if wrong.

I am POA for my parents, and youngest of their four children. They are fortunate enough to own their own home and have worked hard to have some savings.

My father has some health and dementia issues, and we are worried about what would happen to him if anything happened to my mum or she was unable to look after him. For example, if he needed to go into a care home, would they sell the house to pay for his care?

I have discussed this in passing with mum, and she would like me to look at options for her. One would be to 'gift' money to us children, but to keep for them in case they needed it, but dont know the legalities of this.

We also need to re-write their wills, as they are about 30 years old, and she would like monies to be put aside for the grandchildren. Also one sibling is in debt to them, and this may need to be written into the will. I was hoping to take advantage of Free Wills Month this month.

Has anyone been through this situation and could give me some advice?

Savvy_Sue

Well, the main advice is that it's their money, and they should use it to fund whatever help and care they need. Giving it to you to look after for them isn't going to work on any level - google deprivation of assets if you doubt me. Plus, as their attorney, you cannot use THEIR money for anything other than THEIR needs (with a very few limited exceptions like customary gifts).

The good news is that a house sale cannot be forced if one of a couple is still living in it. If neither is still living in it, then you have choices: you can sell the house which is no longer needed, or you can rent it out and use the income to fund the care, or you (the offspring) can fund the care. What you can't do is hide that money or give it away so that the state pays.

It's good that you have Power of Attorney, but your dad may not be able to re-write his will. If he sometimes has capacity, then it should be possible, as long as you pick a good time. If you know he's usually OK in the mornings, for example, or know that he's better when at home, it should be possible to arrange for a solicitor to visit.

Useful sources of information:

Age UK

Independent Age

Edited to add that if someone's dementia causes them to be sectioned, then their care would normally be paid for, also if their care needs are high enough to warrant it, but the bar is extremely high. Plus, I'd always want to have choices over which care home I go to, and that might well need paying for, rather than relying on what the local authority is prepared to pay for.

Pickles53

If you don’t already know about it, can I strongly recommend Talking Point, the forum for the Alzheimers Society. You can join via their website. They have a section on legal/financial issues and a lot of members who are dealing with exactly the same types of questions/issues. They can give you chapter and verse and exact references to the relevant legislation.

Sadly this seems to be an area where many professionals including solicitors and social workers are less clued-up than they should be about issues like deprivation of assets, so you do need to do your homework. As local authorities increasingly struggle financially they are looking very carefully at any arrangements made after it was reasonably foreseeable that care would be needed, especially if there are significant changes from previous practice eg large gifts.

Having read some of the heartbreaking stories of people desperate to get the right care for their loved ones where they are dependent on local authority funding, I can only say that I was relieved that my mother was self-funding and so we had the freedom to choose what was best for her when the crunch came. That was worth more in ensuring both her quality of life and that of her family than any inheritance.

pollypenny

I am sorry to read about your father. However, he is lucky that he will be able to be in a place of your choice, if it comes to care.

As Sue said, the house will not be sold as long as your mother is there. However,if he does not lay for care, who do think should? Me?