Over 60 resident relative. How to avoid losing the family home to care home fees

Mojisola

MightyWhitey wrote: »

My Mother is 85, owns her own home and wants to avoid selling the family home to fund her care, to the local council.

This is a misconception - if a resident is self-funding, they pay the care home bill just like a person staying in a hotel - the council has no need to get involved and doesn't.

Before your mother decides that she wants to end her life in a home that takes the council rate (if she is one of the few who needs residential care), take her to visit a few homes in her area.

I was really grateful that we had the money from Dad's house to pay his care home bills - there's no way I would have enjoyed any inheritance from him if it had meant he had to go into the only local home that took council rate residents - I visited it and it was awful.

Silvertabby

Mojisola wrote: »

This is a misconception - if a resident is self-funding, they pay the care home bill just like a person staying in a hotel - the council has no need to get involved and doesn't.

Before your mother decides that she wants to end her life in a home that takes the council rate (if she is one of the few who needs residential care), take her to visit a few homes in her area.

I was really grateful that we had the money from Dad's house to pay his care home bills - there's no way I would have enjoyed any inheritance from him if it had meant he had to go into the only local home that took council rate residents - I visited it and it was awful.

This. I accompanied a friend when she was looking for a care home for her MIL. Extreme ends of the spectrum were:

Council. A shared bedroom with 2 other ladies. Shared toilet/bathroom with both sexes. Smell of boiled cabbage and wee.

Private. Single room with en-suite. Everything spotlessly clean and a menu to make a starred hotel sit up and take notice.

lisyloo

Mojisola wrote: »

This is a misconception - if a resident is self-funding, they pay the care home bill just like a person staying in a hotel - the council has no need to get involved and doesn't.
(

If a resident is self funding but has no liquid assets I.e. property only, then the council do get involved.
They can provide a loan (called a deferred payment agreement) and they pay the bill in the meantime.
One advantage is that the resident gets local authority rates during this time.
My MiL fees went up from £825 to £925 in the same place once her property was sold.

lisyloo

Silvertabby wrote: »

This. I accompanied a friend when she was looking for a care home for her MIL. Extreme ends of the spectrum were:

Council. A shared bedroom with 2 other ladies. Shared toilet/bathroom with both sexes. Smell of boiled cabbage and wee.

Private. Single room with en-suite. Everything spotlessly clean and a menu to make a starred hotel sit up and take notice.

Also note that council places may not be near family or even spouse.
Married couples can be split up.
Council attempted to split up my MiL and FIL after 60 years of marriage when there was availability in the same home.

Alter_ego

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

It can under those circumstances. The OP could not be classed as dependant and has the means to buy a place of their own.

I can't find any reference to "Dependent" in the regulations.

Mojisola

lisyloo wrote: »

If a resident is self funding but has no liquid assets I.e. property only, then the council do get involved.
They can provide a loan (called a deferred payment agreement) and they pay the bill in the meantime.
One advantage is that the resident gets local authority rates during this time.
My MiL fees went up from £825 to £925 in the same place once her property was sold.

This must be something local to you.

We had a DPA for Dad - the council paid up to their limit and I paid the rest of the home's fees out of Dad's savings.

lisyloo

Mojisola wrote: »

This must be something local to you.

We had a DPA for Dad - the council paid up to their limit and I paid the rest of the home's fees out of Dad's savings.

I don’t think its local but a different situation.
My MIL was initially LA funded entirely, but when FIL died and their property became available she became self-funded.
They didn’t switch the rate until after the DPA, so effectively by going via the LA we got their discounted rate for a while.

She didn’t have any savings for a top up so we went to “panel” and persuaded the LA to pay the fees over their budget. I think One of the reasons we won was because she was bed blocking in hospital and LA can be fined for that.
Sometimes people do get into places above the LA budget if nothing else suitable is available but it’s a fight. My SIL was in “over my dead body” mode.

I didn’t think someone could use their own savings for a top-up according to the rules.

segovia

SonOf wrote: »

It is more complex because if they feel you have taken an action in an attempt to create deprivation of assets then they can disregard what you have done and treat it as if the asset is still available.

Your mother is 85 and your interest seems to be more about protecting your inheritance than consider her welfare. Do you really want her to be subject to local authority care?

Or on the other hand, seeing as you would be living with her, perhaps she could remain in the home and you provide the care?

There are very few local authority homes, most are now private.

They have a two-tier pricing structure, one price for the council which is the maximum the council is prepared to pay and another price if you have the private funds from the equity in the property as deemed by the council. In a nutshell, everyone gets the same level of care but some just pay more for it

Mojisola

segovia wrote: »

There are very few local authority homes, most are now private.

They have a two-tier pricing structure, one price for the council which is the maximum the council is prepared to pay and another price if you have the private funds from the equity in the property as deemed by the council. In a nutshell, everyone gets the same level of care but some just pay more for it

Many don't. If you can't pay their rate or can't get someone else to top-up the council's rate, you won't be offered a place.

AnotherJoe

“

There are very few local authority homes, most are now private.

They have a two-tier pricing structure, one price for the council which is the maximum the council is prepared to pay and another price if you have the private funds from the equity in the property as deemed by the council. In a nutshell, everyone gets the same level of care but some just pay more for it
Originally posted by segovia

Mojisola wrote: »

Many don't. If you can't pay their rate or can't get someone else to top-up the council's rate, you won't be offered a place.

Isn't that what segovia is saying? If you have the private funds they will take you?

And ?obviously? if you dont have the funds, they wont take you.