Help Trying to remove house to pay for carehome fees

elsien

Fiveinourhouse wrote: »

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.

As already stated, the council cannot sell it but will expect it to be sold on her behalf if care cannot be paid for any other way.
But the questions you haven't answered are crucial.

Is she considered to have capacity to make the decision as to where she lives? If yes, she can give authority for the LA to talk to your husband about it. And she can decide to go home even if everyone else thinks that is a very unwise decision.
If not then where she goes will be a best interests decision and family should be consulted.
If there is no power of attorney and MIL does not have financial capacity then to sell the house someone will need to apply to the court of protection for a deputyship. It is not a quick process.

If she meets the CHC criteria then she would not need to pay which is why you need to find out about this.
If she is a self funder then she/you would choose the home. But bear in mind that the local authority have a maximum amount they will pay so when her money goes down to the 23K mark then if she is somewhere more expensive either family will have to agree to pay the third party top up if they can afford it or she will have to move. The LA may agree to fund a small top up but it won't be much.

If she is in hospital and still has some health needs but is fit for discharge, a step-down/discharge to assess bed may be considered. This is a short term place of 6 weeks to allow further assessment and options to be considered. These are generally wherever available and some are better than others.
The hospital will have a discharge team who can discuss this with you (with MILs permission) but their priority will be to get her out as they need the bed and they won't be too fussed as to where. At the end of the 6 weeks a long term decision would be made. This can give a bit of breathing space and time to consider all the options properly.

So, is there an allocated social worker, why a care home, and what assessments have they done?

And one final thought - is it possible MIL has said she doesn't want your husband involved because they would have to respect that?

elsien

Age UK have a number of leaflets in addition to the paying for care link someone posted earlier. Go on there and have a good read.

Edited to add: it may not be too late for MIL to do a power of attorney now, depending on her circumstances. I would strongly suggest this option is promptly explored, both fur finances and health/welfare.

Pollycat

tacpot12 wrote: »

Given that your mother-in-law has been in hospital and the local authority want to move her to a care home it is possible that her care costs should be paid for by the NHS. This is not an area where I am an expert but I understand that the purpose of the CHC Nursing Needs assessment is to determine if her nursing needs are sufficient for the NHS to pay for her care.

CHC is very hard to get.

I recall a very long running thread from someone who had a 'years-long' battle before CHC was granted.
But may be worth looking into, depending what the OP's MIL's care requirements are.

Fiveinourhouse wrote: »

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.

If you (or your MIL) are fully funding her care, then you can choose which place she goes into.
But bear in mind that when the self-funding stops (when her savings fall below £23,250 or your husband can no longer afford the full fees), the Council may not be willing to pay for a 'bells-and-whistles' care home and will move her to a cheaper place.

Robin9 wrote: »

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.

I'm not sure either.
That sounds odd.
May simply be a matter of mis-communication between the OP and the Council.

Robin9

Also talk to the hospitals REACT (Rapid Elderly Assessment Care Team) - they initiate a lot of the support and are responsible for the first 6 weeks after she has left hospital.

My MIL has a had a 4 visit a day care package ro enable her to live at home and as she nears the end of her life is now having a night time carer. Along the way she has had Community nurses, physio, speech therapy, opticians and dentists. There is a lot of help out there and its been a battle - the NHS is so disjointed it struggles and wastes a lot of effort.

Marcon

Fiveinourhouse wrote: »

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.

So no application for help with fees has been made to the council, or will be made? If that's the case, how did the council become involved at all?

elsien

I'm wondering if information is coming via other family members, hence the confusion if the family are not close or have different agendas.

badmemory

Does your husband actually know how much care homes cost as he would be looking at a minimum of £400 a week & much more for a really nice one but don't look at the price, he will need to visit.



If he had a POA he could apply for her to get attendance allowance if she is self funded (not if LA funded) normally at full high rate if in need of a care home. That would help reduce the income shortfall.


For future reference, just because someone has a POA does not mean that it should be used, it should be registered though, so that it can be used at times like this. Martin has said that he has one! You & your husband should have one for each other. You can DIY both kinds at only £82 each.

tacpot12

Your husband may still be able to get a POA if his mother has capacity to grant it.

CHC can be very difficult to get, but if he takes on this fight and wins the care fees can be refunded which would be a major bonus, so it could be worthwhile fighting for it.

xylophone

Does his mother still have capacity?

https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

Glen_Clark

Fiveinourhouse wrote: »

We aren’t looking for her money. We just want to make sure she’s not robbed.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Deborah

How is asking her to pay her own care home fees robbing her?
Sounds more like you want to rob me to pay for her so you can have her money. :mad:
My mother's house was sold to pay for her care, and my siblings and I made up the shortfall so she could go in a nice care home of her own choosing.
Frankly, one wonders what sort of siblings want to bung their mum in a cheap home at someone eleses expense so they can have her money.:(