Care home funding

pioneer22

Hi,

So my Nan is in hospital following a stroke, we're currently looking at moving her from hospital into a care home she wouldn't be able to live at home we don't think.

She has £41,000 in the bank + income of around £1600pm from a pension.

House is in a great location on the outskirts of London mortgage free value around 450,000 but it needs a lot of work doing to it. New kitchen etc.

Does anyone have any advice or experience of next steps? I would assume rent+pension to fund a care home.

Ozzuk

I'd assume the provider would insist on the house being sold to fund care. Too risky to rely on rent (especially if works needed to make it rentable). What about if there are issues with tenants? Care will still need paying. Better to sell, get best care possible with no stress/hassle.

elsien

No one can insist the house be sold. It is up to their person or their power of attorney how a place is funded. You could look at attendance allowance. And if your Nan has health needs ask for a continuing healthcare assessment which could either give a nursing top up 00 fully fund the place depending on her needs. Is there a power of attorney at all. If not if your Nan does not have capacity someone would need to apply for a deputy ship to manage her money on her behalf. There is information online"

Browntoa

Sell house , either be realistic with the selling price or via auction.

Has anyone got her power of Attorney ? Or is she capable of making decisions still ?

If she is capable but no Power of attorney then get that sorted asap

elsien

Also to add that you need to check out care home prices and how long Nanes money might last for because once her savings / assets get below 23 1/2 thousand then either family will have to agree a top up on her behalf or she will need to move somewhere cheaper which accept local authority rates if she does not qualify for health funding Age UK has some very good fact sheets on care home funding and self funders which you may find useful

Silvertabby

You are probably looking at care home fees of £1K per week, and so are unlikely to get enough rent to cover the difference between £1,600 per month pension income and fees of £4K if the house is in such poor condition.

If she really does need to go into residential care, then topping up the fees from her savings will give you about 12 months breathing space in which to sell the house.

Don't know if this still applies, but when a friend was looking for care home for her mum (tiny pension, no savings, but property owner) she was told that the Council would only pay £500 per week towards the care home fees of £800 per week (to be repaid once the house had sold) and that the family would have to pay the remaining £300 per week from day one. If this is still possible, then just paying the top up from the £41K savings will give you a bit longer in which to sell the house.

Mojisola

Silvertabby wrote: »

Don't know if this still applies, but when a friend was looking for care home for her mum (tiny pension, no savings, but property owner) she was told that the Council would only pay £500 per week towards the care home fees of £800 per week (to be repaid once the house had sold) and that the family would have to pay the remaining £300 per week from day one. If this is still possible, then just paying the top up from the £41K savings will give you a bit longer in which to sell the house.

Every council should offer a deferred payment scheme while the house is being sold.

pioneer22

Browntoa wrote: »

Sell house , either be realistic with the selling price or via auction.

Has anyone got her power of Attorney ? Or is she capable of making decisions still ?

If she is capable but no Power of attorney then get that sorted asap

Thanks, no power of attorney, I don't know if she has capacity to be honest. I will get family to get a yes/no answer ASAP.

maisie1234

I have just gone through something similar. General/Ordinary POA could be the way to go. Its only applicable if she still has capacity.

Keep_pedalling

I agree with the others, selling is the best option. Your Nan is fortunate in that she has assets to self fund for many years, so she is not going to be lumbered with a very limited choice of care homes.

With her pension and savings you actually have in excess of a year of fees covered so that should be plenty of time to market and sell the property to fund future years.

If she has not appointed any attorneys via an LPA that is something which needs to be done without delay. If she does not have the mental capacity to set an LPA up then deputyship needs to be applied for via the courts.

elsien

If she doesn't have capacity, someone needs to make a deputyship application asap as there is a bit of a backlog at the OPG and it can take months. This would be needed to manage her accounts and sell the house. In the meantime someone could apply to DWP to be appointee for any pension/benefits.

With regards to any third party top up should it come to that. The person cannot pay it themselves and it is voluntary, it cannot be insisted that a family pay. If the family is not able to pay, that's when the person would need to move somewhere cheaper, but that's further down the line if it ge S to the point when she can no longer self fund.
What does she want to happen, and have any proper assessments been carried out to see if she can return home with support?
Have you contacted the hospital social worker - that should be your starting point.