Care Home Fees - Putting house in trust

LeadFarmer

My 75yr old mother received a phone call from a company called Securus Planning wanting to visit her and discuss putting her house in trust to safeguard against care home fees. Ive told her to ignore them, as they were cold callers.

My questions are...

1) Can a house be put in trust to safeguard against care home fees? If so, wouldn't this mean she risks going into an undesirable care home if the day came?

2) Who are Securus Planning? They appear to be a bunch of cold callers who no doubt overcharge vulnerable victims?

Tabbytabitha

If this were possible, would her family be paying her care home fees? If not her family, who would be?

LeadFarmer

Well I understand the Local Authority pay for someone with assets under the threshold (£23.5k??).

But I wouldn't want her going into any old care home, and seeing as she has savings above the threshold she would have to pay for it herself until they ran out. Which kind of makes protecting her house meaningless as when her savings run out she would have to move to a cheaper and maybe undesirable care home, which we wouldn't want.

It seems that Securus Planning use cold call techniques to just bag as many clients as they can.

NeilCr

A lot of information here

Worth a read

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/arranging-care/care-homes/

Perhaps a phone call to AgeUk may help you with the best way forward

Red-Squirrel_2

I think your instincts are right.

These people don't cold call elderly people out of the goodness of their heart to save them money!

If your mum ever does need care then having funds behind her to choose one she's happy with could make a world of difference.

Catswhiska

Besides the LA would see it as deprivation of assets anyway. Your instincts are right

PasturesNew

LeadFarmer wrote: »

.... received a phone call...

That's where this needs to stop.

The fact she is being cold called means that "it's going to be scam of some sort".

LeadFarmer

But if someone has put their house in trust, is it excluded from their assets with regards paying for car home fees?

Red-Squirrel_2

LeadFarmer wrote: »

But if someone has put their house in trust, is it excluded from their assets with regards paying for car home fees?

If they have done it with the intention of avoiding care home fees it can be classed as deprivation of assets and they would be assessed as if they still had the money.

LeadFarmer

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

If they have done it with the intention of avoiding care home fees it can be classed as deprivation of assets and they would be assessed as if they still had the money.

So I guess if you put your house in trust whilst still very health and not elderly then this might be regarded as ok?

I guess doing so could deprive you of being able to pay for a nice care home if you can't get at the money?

Rambosmum

LeadFarmer wrote: »

But if someone has put their house in trust, is it excluded from their assets with regards paying for car home fees?

No. Unless 7 years have passed between the trust being draw up and the care home being needed. And even then it isn't so clear cut.