Care home fees - what do I do?

izoomzoom

Keep_pedalling said:

You can check who owns the property through the land registry.

https://onlinelandregistry.org.uk/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=AdWords&kw=property%20register&mt=p&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7vWmgtyg7QIVgp7tCh0AzQ0eEAAYASAAEgIsUPD_BwE

Unfortunately, I'm not from that area, and only visited the renovated house once, so have no idea where it is. I think it is rented out.

Gavin83

Sea_Shell said:

izoomzoom said:

Sea_Shell said:
So if I've followed this right, your Mum lent a substantial £££ to her relative (sister maybe?) who has then gifted/lent this same money to her grandchild for renovations on their own home.

Out of interest, does your mum have a will and who are the beneficiaries?  It's just you did mention that they felt this money was an "advance" on an inheritance.

I am the sole beneficiary of my Mom's Will. The grandchildren of my uncle have basically milked him for all they can get. I'd like to believe he is genuine in giving the money back, but he doesn't seem to have access to it. (He is elderly too). He has started to repay it. My mistake, is I should have pushed for this years ago, but I left things idle and now my Mom needs her money, so I have to get pushy about trying to get (some of) it back.

I don't see how you or the local authority can get this money back.

The relative clearly has assets so given the large amount it would still be worth going to court over. If nothing else there’s a house he could sell. I’ve seen cases where relatives of a person going into care have received a large sum of money and the council has taken them to court for it, even if it causes financial issues for the relative. 

Ultimately OP as long as the care bills are being paid the council won’t care. Ultimately given the issues here I wouldn’t be dealing with the financial side of your mothers care at all, it’s likely to get extremely stressful going forward. If the relative can pay the care fees that’ll be the easiest solution going forward but you need to make sure this money doesn’t dry up after a few months.

Also make sure your mother claims attendance allowance.

There is also the other issue that this loan is unlikely to be paid back in your mother’s lifetime and the repayments will likely dry up by then, if not before. Ultimately ignoring the care home aspect you might need to take your relative to court at some point unless you’re happy to write that money off.