Inheritance/care home costs if dad sells his house to buy a new house with myself and partner.

Mjsmithuwe

Basically my dad wants me to have ownership of the house (I am married and live in a different house) but know there are all sorts of care fee and tax implications.

What we actually want to do is do his house up together and ours and then sell both properties to then live together in a house with an annex for him. What we want to know is how this effects care fees if he got ill? How would the means assessment be produced? Also when going for small mortgages would he have to be on them or not? Its all rather confusing and any information on the best way forward would be very welcome.

Browntoa

Look up "deprivation of assets"

Any of the above cold be questioned if it was considered to be to avoid care home fees

There could also be tax implications 

You also realise that the combined asset can be included in any divorce settlement down the line

Albermarle

If he always pays any care costs privately then the council are not interested in your financial situation.
Only if you think you might be asking the council to pay then they may want a detailed breakdown of your Dad's situation and maybe ask some awkward questions.

Often it seems the 'fear' of care costs drives people into making bad decisions.
Most old people do not actually go into a care home, and those that do usually are only there for a a couple of years .
It can happen that someone has an elongated stay and drains a lot of the family resources , but is not as common as is portrayed in some media .

Mojisola

Mjsmithuwe said:

What we actually want to do is do his house up together and ours and then sell both properties to then live together in a house with an annex for him.

If you do this, won't he have a lump sum (the difference between the money of his house and his share of the new house)?

This can be saved/invested to pay for care if he ever needs it.

His age and the state of his health at the moment would also be taken into account if there ever was a query about deprivation of assets.

Mjsmithuwe

So to clarify:

his health is fine he’s only 64 and currently still
working. For many years my mum was Ill and we all Cared for her. He wants to provide a better future for us all and enjoy a more calmer life away from everything and the idea of all going in together means we can be there for each other. What I need to know is will the council demand we sell a joint purchase place together if his name is on the new larger property. Would they take issue is what I need to know?

Jeremy535897

It will depend on the facts. There is no deprivation of assets just because two generations buy a house to live in together, but a share of a house may form part of the assets taken into account for the means test where the house is not occupied by a spouse/partner, disabled relative or child under 18. See https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-a-care-home/do-i-have-to-sell-my-home-to-pay-for-care/

It would not be possible to get round this by him contributing a disproportionate share of the funds (for example contributing 90% of the cost for 10% of the ownership) without the deprivation of assets rules becoming relevant, if it is clear that avoiding paying for care home fees is a motivator for the imbalance.

If there is a mortgage on a jointly owned property, the owners will be jointly and severally liable for it, and it will normally be treated as due in proportion to the ownership shares (but if one defaults the others are liable).

The question of care fees causes a lot of worry and concern, but in general those with sufficient assets try to fund care themselves, as the accommodation is likely to be preferable to that which is state funded.

Grumpy_chap

Mjsmithuwe said:

What we actually want to do is do his house up together and ours and then sell both properties to then live together in a house with an annex for him. 

If the plan is to sell two houses and buy one joint house (with annex), then beyond simple cosmetic coat-of-paint, there is likely little value in expending time and money on doing up the two properties before selling.  It is unlikely to add much to the sale value (quite possibly less than the cost invested) and far simpler to just sell as is and let the new owners do up the properties as they choose.

Fijay

Grumpy_chap said:

Mjsmithuwe said:

What we actually want to do is do his house up together and ours and then sell both properties to then live together in a house with an annex for him. 

If the plan is to sell two houses and buy one joint house (with annex), then beyond simple cosmetic coat-of-paint, there is likely little value in expending time and money on doing up the two properties before selling.  It is unlikely to add much to the sale value (quite possibly less than the cost invested) and far simpler to just sell as is and let the new owners do up the properties as they choose.

I am thinking of selling and this is the advice two estate agents have given me. A couple of rooms in my house are really quite scruffy and I have a Dark Brown carpet (shock horror) in the hall.  The agent said, you could spend £10,000 doing it up, and yes, you'd probably get most of your money back, but that's all you'd get.  You'd also have spent the time and energy getting the work done with nothing to show for it in the end.