Avoiding care home fees.

BML

I have always paid tax of one sort or another while also testing my entitlement to receiving a benefit. Like most folk I resent the idea that having saved to buy my own house the state should be allowed to take it away from me if I or my wife become affected with an illness that requires us to go into care especially when a large section of society live in council house accommodation and spend their money on bingo, booze or other forms of entertainment.
Today I saw a newspaper with the heading, "Couples aged 50+ Protect your home from care home fees." It then suggested the following. "It's not a good idea to leave your half share of the home to your surviving partner but instead leave them the USE of your share. This can be achieved by making new Grandparents wills."
Are those valid suggestions or nonsense?

gettingtheresometime

So do you think that someone on minimum wage should pay higher taxes so that whoever you choose can have an inheritance?

Wouldn't you rather have the choice of what sort of nursing home you go into or are you happy to live in anywhere provided someone else pays?

For the record the state doesn't take it away from you.....you just swop one set of living costs for another

BML

So do you think that someone on minimum wage should pay higher taxes so that whoever you choose can have an inheritance?
No, I just think that matters such as care homes should be financed by central taxation.

Wouldn't you rather have the choice of what sort of nursing home you go into or are you happy to live in anywhere provided someone else pays?
No, I would prefer that matters such as care homes should be financed by central taxation.

For the record the state doesn't take it away from you.....you just swop one set of living costs for another.
Irrelevant semantics.

Brynsam

BML wrote: »

I have always paid tax of one sort or another while also testing my entitlement to receiving a benefit. Like most folk I resent the idea that having saved to buy my own house the state should be allowed to take it away from me if I or my wife become affected with an illness that requires us to go into care especially when a large section of society live in council house accommodation and spend their money on bingo, booze or other forms of entertainment.
Today I saw a newspaper with the heading, "Couples aged 50+ Protect your home from care home fees." It then suggested the following. "It's not a good idea to leave your half share of the home to your surviving partner but instead leave them the USE of your share. This can be achieved by making new Grandparents wills."
Are those valid suggestions or nonsense?

They are nonsense, as you thought.

You are mistaken about your house being 'taken away'. If one of you goes into care, and the other remains living there, that quite simply isn't the case.

Keep_pedalling

It interesting that so many people think this should be payed from taxation, but those very same people would not vote for a political party that proposed to up taxation substantially to pay for such a scheme.

If you are in a position to self fund just think yourself lucky that no one is going to place you in an over my dead body care home because that is all a cash strapped LA can afford.

getmore4less

The standard approach is IPDI trust that ring fences a share of the house nothing fancy needed.

It also allows the use of all of the nill rate bands on second death upto £1m next year if the house is worth £350k+

elsien

Too many tick boxes in the original OP (benefits!booze!unlimited supply of council houses!) to take it seriously.

Mojisola

BML wrote: »

Today I saw a newspaper with the heading, "Couples aged 50+ Protect your home from care home fees." It then suggested the following. "It's not a good idea to leave your half share of the home to your surviving partner but instead leave them the USE of your share. This can be achieved by making new Grandparents wills."
Are those valid suggestions or nonsense?

I wouldn't trust this company - you don't have to be over 50 or a grandparent to make such a will.

The first thing to note is that if one of a couple needs residential care, the value of the house isn't taken into account - it's only if both partners or a surviving partner needs care that the house is counted as capital. Also very few of us actually need residual care.

If a couple want to, they can own their home as 'tenants in common' rather than the more usual 'joint tenants'. They then own a set percentage of the property and can leave their share to someone other than their partner, usually giving him/her rights to stay in the house and also sell up and move.

This protects half of the value of the house but someone inherits that at the expense of the survivor in the care home who may have to live in less pleasant surroundings than they would like.

seashore22

BML wrote: »

I have always paid tax of one sort or another while also testing my entitlement to receiving a benefit. Like most folk I resent the idea that having saved to buy my own house the state should be allowed to take it away from me if I or my wife become affected with an illness that requires us to go into care especially when a large section of society live in council house accommodation and spend their money on bingo, booze or other forms of entertainment.
Today I saw a newspaper with the heading, "Couples aged 50+ Protect your home from care home fees." It then suggested the following. "It's not a good idea to leave your half share of the home to your surviving partner but instead leave them the USE of your share. This can be achieved by making new Grandparents wills."
Are those valid suggestions or nonsense?

You may need to rethink that assumption. I don't resent it and will be incredibly thankful that I may have some choice about where I end up in my old age, if the need arises.

Mojisola

seashore22 wrote: »

You may need to rethink that assumption. I don't resent it and will be incredibly thankful that I may have some choice about where I end up in my old age, if the need arises.

I was so grateful that we had Dad's house to sell to fund his care home - I looked at the only one that would accept the council's rate without top-ups from family and I couldn't have let him live there.

BML

Bully for you and your lack of resentment.