Nursing home fees following death of joint property owner.

daphnemoon

A relative is joint owner of a house he and his wife own. His wife is moving into a nursing home to live, he is over 60 and will continue to live in the house.

My question is, if he was to die would the LA expect at 100% of the monies go to his wife? In his will he is leaving his 50% to another relative, will this mean the LA accept the 50% and allow the relative to inherit their 50%. Or woukd this be seen as deprivation of capital?

I've searched for an answer and cant seem to find how the law is in the situatiin, any help would be appreciated.

unforeseen

It depends on how the house is held joint tenants or tenants in common

If joint then the house becomes the wife's as it doesn't form part of the husbands estate.

If joint then only 50%, assuming its 50/50, can be considered for covering the fees. However they may insist on it being sold at that point.

3card

unforeseen wrote: »

It depends on how the house is held joint tenants or tenants in common

If joint then the house becomes the wife's as it doesn't form part of the husbands estate.

If joint then only 50%, assuming its 50/50, can be considered for covering the fees. However they may insist on it being sold at that point.

Just a quick correction which i presume was an oversight

They can only take 50% of the property if the title is tenants in common.

This situation happened with my family where my Dad left his 50% of the house to myself and my Brother and later my Mom had to move into a nursing home and so the LA could only take 50% of the selling price of the house into account

Mojisola

daphnemoon wrote: »

In his will he is leaving his 50% to another relative, will this mean the LA accept the 50% and allow the relative to inherit their 50%.

Or would this be seen as deprivation of capital?

Deprivation of assets only applies to the person being supported by the benefit system - his wife isn't giving anything away so it isn't DOA.

He needs to absolutely confirm that the house ownership is clearly 'tenants in common' otherwise this clause in his will will fail and the whole house will belong to his wife.

unforeseen

3card wrote: »

Just a quick correction which i presume was an oversight

They can only take 50% of the property if the title is tenants in common.

This situation happened with my family where my Dad left his 50% of the house to myself and my Brother and later my Mom had to move into a nursing home and so the LA could only take 50% of the selling price of the house into account

Yes twas an oversight, meant to put tic

daphnemoon

Thank you all for the replies, i am still a little confused, sorry!
Where would I find the information regarding the joint/in common Ownership of the house! Is it on the deeds??

If he was to change his will now to leave his 50% share to his son am i correct in thinking that would be okay in the view of the LA? At the moment his will gives his half to his wife in the will?

Thank you again for your help getting through this seemingly endless process!

unforeseen

The info about joint/Tic should be in the deeds.

Only if the house is tenants in common does his share become part of his estate. As such he is free to give it to whoever he wishes in his will.

Be aware though that if there is a charge on wife's portion for care fees then the council will expect the house to be sold on the death of the last of the two or even when the husband dies as the son doesn't live there.

antrobus

The simplest solution is to see a solicitor. Get them to draft a will and deal with the issue of ownership.

The severance of joint tenancy is straightforward.
https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership/change-from-joint-tenants-to-tenants-in-common

Mojisola

unforeseen wrote: »

Be aware though that if there is a charge on wife's portion for care fees then the council will expect the house to be sold on the death of the last of the two or even when the husband dies as the son doesn't live there.

If there is, there shouldn't be.

While one of a couple is still living in the family home, its value should be ignored when doing the financial assessment.

unforeseen

Fair enough, but I would imagine that as soon as the husband died a charge will be put on the house