Help Trying to remove house to pay for carehome fees

suki1964

SandraX wrote: »

Scary stuff. People have worked all of their lives, paid a high percentage of their wages to pay of the mortgage, massive maintenance costs/etc - Tores belating that they are rewarding hard work and then this happens. She should have sold the house and moved into social housing and gifted the money a few years ago.

I'm really sorry and hope it works out for you and your OH

Who do you think should pay for care, if the person needing the care isn't funding it?

You?

SandraX

TELLIT01 wrote: »

If you have to take on the council be prepared for a very hard time. My friend's mother had to go into care and the council changed the locks on the house and refused to allow the family access even to remove their own property from the house. The friend was happy to have somebody from the council present to ensure that they did only remove their own stuff. It was mainly clothes as the couple had been moving around quite a bit and it was easier to leave their 'spare' stuff at the mother's house.
The house was broken in to after the council had secured it but the council said they weren't responsible for repairing the damage.
Even when it became clear that the house was held in a legal trust (I don't know the details), and all documentation was supplied by the trust solicitors, the council tried to fight every inch of the way until the solicitors told the council they would take them to court. The council finally backed down.

I know people that work in the coucil and some have symphaty but be weary of those that do not as they are very vicious as they have power and stand there in your face with their name tag around their neck looking all smug. Thankfully they are in a miniorty bu be aware.

tacpot12

SandraX wrote: »

Scary stuff. People have worked all of their lives, paid a high percentage of their wages to pay of the mortgage, massive maintenance costs/etc - Tores belating that they are rewarding hard work and then this happens. She should have sold the house and moved into social housing and gifted the money a few years ago.

I'm really sorry and hope it works out for you and your OH

I don't have a problem with requiring people to pay for their own care when they can afford to do so, and the majority of people who have worked all their lives can afford to do so, if they bought their home with a mortgage.

A mortgage is pretty much the only way that someone with no money can buy a valuable asset, as well providing a home for themselves and their families. Most assets have some cost of ownership, and while home maintenance is not cheap, there are options to reduce the costs, e.g. DIY. Do you really need at £15,000 kitchen makeover, or is this a choice you can make because you are being "rewarded" for being in work?

The mortgage route is a much better option than renting. If you rent all your life, you might not have to worry about maintenance, but you will never own the home and could be evicted from it. You will also not be able to sell your home to pay for your care, and so will have to rely on the state provision which, while safe, isn't going to be super comfortable.

As a home owner you can rent or sell the home to ensure that you can spend your final days in a carehome of your choice. This is another way in which working and having a mortgage will have been rewarded.

gettingtheresometime

SandraX wrote: »

Scary stuff. People have worked all of their lives, paid a high percentage of their wages to pay of the mortgage, massive maintenance costs/etc - Tores belating that they are rewarding hard work and then this happens. She should have sold the house and moved into social housing and gifted the money a few years ago.

I'm really sorry and hope it works out for you and your OH

My take is that I having living costs, regardless of how old I am so that might be a mortgage, rent, a hotel bill (should I do choose) or a care home costs.

Who do you suggests pay those costs ?

An inheritance is not a right.

calleyw

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

My take is that I having living costs, regardless of how old I am so that might be a mortgage, rent, a hotel bill (should I do choose) or a care home costs.

Who do you suggests pay those costs ?

An inheritance is not a right.

I agree with you. It seems that some people assume once you get a certain you should not have to pay for anything.



A care home is expensive but they take over everything so no worrying about the boiler breaking down or being able to afford to heat your home. No cooking or cleaning, no home maintenance etc etc.


Most of the people who want to protect the family home are not doing so for any other reason then they want to keep what they see is there rightful inheritance.


Yours


Calley x

Dox

Fiveinourhouse wrote: »

Please can anyone help? My mother in law has been in hospital. She owns her own house. They are now looking to move her into a carehome but the council are planning to sell her home to pay the fees.
What can we do to stop this? We don’t live close but my husband is trying his hardest to stop them taking her home. He’s tried phoning people today but no one will actually take his calls.
Can they actually do this? We aren’t looking for her money. We just want to make sure she’s not robbed.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Deborah

Given the situation you describe, they almost certainly can do it and, with all due respect, why shouldn't they? The alternative is that cash-strapped taxpayers are asked to pick up the bill for her care costs when the sale of her house - which she no longer needs - would either cover these or go a long way towards doing so. How is that 'robbing' her? She needs to buy something - in this case a service - and it seems reasonable that she should pay for it.

I can understand that it's unwelcome, but as you aren't looking for her money, why is it such a big issue when you stop and think it through (although taking the emotional bit out of that thought process is miles easier said than done).

Fiveinourhouse

Just to clarify a few things. My husband fully intends to pay for his mother’s care and certainly doesnt expect to get it for nothing.
It’s messy as families often are. My husband comes from a difficult background and my mother in law worked very hard to pay for her own place. Historically family members have taken what little savings she had and items of worth from her.
When she was writing her will she asked my husband to have power of autorney but at the time he felt it wasn’t wise (a mistake). He made it clear that we as a family wanted no gain financially. We have been blessed as my husband is the only one in his family that hasn’t lived off benefits or in prison. He became a Christian and built a new life.
Having said all this ideally we would like to sell the house and put the money into an account to pay for both her care and any other things she needs or wants.
My husband is concerned that they will sell the property for peanuts and keep the money regardless of how long his mother is in care.
She had wanted to leave the property to her other grand children so ideally any money left would go to them.
Basically he doesn’t trust the council to act in his mothers best interests and no one is willing to communicate with him. Unfortunately we aren’t local which is an added complication.

Fiveinourhouse

Oh and on a personal level I’d just let them sell it then at least we don’t have to worry about managing the sale or my mother in laws finances and any family issues resulting. But then it’s not my mum.
I did however promise to help my hubby because I love him. Hence the post.

Fiveinourhouse

tacpot12 wrote: »

I don't have a problem with requiring people to pay for their own care when they can afford to do so, and the majority of people who have worked all their lives can afford to do so, if they bought their home with a mortgage.

A mortgage is pretty much the only way that someone with no money can buy a valuable asset, as well providing a home for themselves and their families. Most assets have some cost of ownership, and while home maintenance is not cheap, there are options to reduce the costs, e.g. DIY. Do you really need at £15,000 kitchen makeover, or is this a choice you can make because you are being "rewarded" for being in work?

The mortgage route is a much better option than renting. If you rent all your life, you might not have to worry about maintenance, but you will never own the home and could be evicted from it. You will also not be able to sell your home to pay for your care, and so will have to rely on the state provision which, while safe, isn't going to be super comfortable.

As a home owner you can rent or sell the home to ensure that you can spend your final days in a carehome of your choice. This is another way in which working and having a mortgage will have been rewarded.

So can we have some say in which care home she goes into? If she’s selling her home to pay for it then I’d like a really lovely place. What happens though if the money runs out? Her house is only a tiny ex council place.

Robin9

I'm not sure why the council are getting involved if your husband is prepared to pay for her to go into a home of your choice ?

She will have a social worker allocated to her - contact him/her. We have found my MIL's social worker very helpful and are in regular touch.