Protecting my house

theartfullodger

So all us taxpayers should pay?  Merely asking a calm polite question, not in any way a criticism.

I've told my sons they should assume there's nothing to inherit as I'm drinking all the assets.  Serious point, I want them to feel the need to be self-sufficient.

Hope you both remain in good health as long as I wish to remain thus  (currently 73)

Best wishes to all.

easterbunni

If your daughters really want to keep your house, they can buy it from you for market value, then you can spend the money on a nice care home.

wannabe_a_saver

If you and your wife both go into care, then it won't be your home any longer.  Your daughters have homes so it won't be their home either. 

So why bother protecting it?  Wouldn't you rather have the cash to spend on your own comfort in your final years?

Its pretty rare for both of a couple to need residential care though, it probably won't happen, and if just one of you needs it then the house is disregarded as long as the other spouse still needs to live there. 

Billy_B_North

Tony1463 said:

Hi 
Can anyone tell me the best way to protect my home,what I mean is if we have to go into care .
At the moment my wife and I live in our home which is paid for ,we are worried about if we ever have 
to go into care and made to sell our home .
we have 2 daughters who have there own home .
is there some way we can put our house into there names to avoid selling our house?
what is the best way to do this and how do you go about it ?
also what kind Of costs would be involved,
or has anyone got any information of the best thing to do .
thanks for any help 
Tony 

Saving enough to cover your care costs and / or taking out insurance would be the normal way.

If you are looking for a way to pass a house in to your children despite the requirement being that it should fund your care then please don’t, you can’t expect others to fund your care if you have the means to do it yourself.

xylophone

If only one of you needs care, regardless of whether you own your home as joint tenants or tenants in common, it will not be taken into account in any means test.

Regardless of how you own your home, if both need care then it will be taken into account in any means test.

If you give away your home with intent to obtain or increase a means tested benefit, "Deprivation of Assets" considerations come into play.

https://www.carehome.co.uk/advice/deprivation-of-assets-to-avoid-paying-for-care-home-fees

if you own your home as tenants in common, you may each make a will that  creates an Immediate Interest in Possession Trust in your share for the surviving spouse while leaving the beneficial interest  in the share to your daughters.

Thus if one of you dies (in or out of care) while the other is still occupying the property, if the survivor also has to go into care, only the half owned by that survivor can be taken into account in the means test.

Explanation here.

https://www.marlowwills.co.uk/life-interest-in-possession-trusts.aspx

The IPDI with your offspring as "remaindermen" also protects the transferable "Residence Nil Rate Band"  (IHT).

https://techzone.adviserzone.com/anon/public/iht-est-plan/Tech-guide-iht-on-death

You would take professional advice from a solicitor with expertise in wills and trusts.
https://content.step.org/step-directory

coffeehound

While certain regions of Britain benefit from free care in old age while others don't, it seems unfair to berate the OP for wanting the same.  Welcome to the UK, folks.

davidmcn

coffeehound said:

While certain regions of Britain benefit from free care in old age while others don't, it seems unfair to berate the OP for wanting the same.  Welcome to the UK, folks.

In Scotland it's only the personal care element which is free - accommodation etc is still means-tested as elsewhere, which in practice I think is the major cost anyway.

theartfullodger

Tony1463 said:

Hi 
Can anyone tell me the best way to protect my home,...............
Tony 

Donate it to the state, great protection!

GaleSF63

davidmcn said:

coffeehound said:

While certain regions of Britain benefit from free care in old age while others don't, it seems unfair to berate the OP for wanting the same.  Welcome to the UK, folks.

In Scotland it's only the personal care element which is free - accommodation etc is still means-tested as elsewhere, which in practice I think is the major cost anyway.

And it's not easy to get. 

AdrianC

Tony1463 said:

Can anyone tell me the best way to protect my home,what I mean is if we have to go into care .
At the moment my wife and I live in our home which is paid for ,we are worried about if we ever have 
to go into care and made to sell our home .
we have 2 daughters who have there own home .
is there some way we can put our house into there names to avoid selling our house?
what is the best way to do this and how do you go about it ?
also what kind Of costs would be involved,
or has anyone got any information of the best thing to do .

You are asking the council tax payers of your area to subsidise a very, VERY expensive gift to your daughters.

Why should they do that?

Inheritance is what is left when you die.
Right now, you have a £x00,000 asset. Once you need that residential care, of course, you will no longer need that house. It just becomes a valuable asset that you will need to sell to raise the cash for your accommodation.
The law is that you pay for your own residential care until your assets are down to £20,000. If you need residential care for that long, then you have simply spent your assets in your lifetime.