Power of Attorney

redelizabeth01

Hello, hope all are well
My Father and Mother have POA for each other. Sadly my Father was diagnosed with  Dementia and Alzheimers few months ago.
My Mother is presently caring for him and also paying for care help to come to  their home.
We don't think she can manage much longer really and sadly we have all discussed the need for him to be cared for at a care home.
My Father and Mother own their house, which is worth about £350,000 and is Mortgage free and my Father has a few small pensions adding up to about £725 per month.
They have about £500 in a joint savings account
We are concerned about Mother having to  paying care home fees and the value of the house and of course my Father's pension, which he has always given to my Mother to run the house, really. 
We were considering whether to ask a solicitor to arrange to remove my Father's name from the house deeds using Mother's Power Of Attorney.
Can anyone give some advice about their experiences or suggest any ways of avoiding paying Care Home Fees please.
We just really think the system is unfair considering my parents have been careful with their wages all their lives and now the government are going to make them pay for their own care.
Thank you in advance for any help/contribution you think may be useful

Linton

Whilst Mother lives in the house it will be disregarded for assessment of Father's care home fees.

I believe using PoA to remove Father from ownership of the house would be problematic even if it would achieve anything.  A PoA only has the authority to take actions that are in the best interests of the donor (the person they are PoA for).  It iseems difficult to see how him losing his part ownership of the house can be construed as acting in his best interests.

redelizabeth01

Thank you 
Yes we did think it didn't seem right to remove Dad's name so totally agree
It is good news that the house will not be used for the costs whilst Mum lives there, thanks.
Do the authorities take his pension into account ? as this will cause problems for Mum.
thank you for your time and advice

tacpot12

redelizabeth01 said:

...
We just really think the system is unfair considering my parents have been careful with their wages all their lives and now the government are going to make them pay for their own care....

I know this is not a helpful contribution, but I can't not challenge your assertion that it is ok for your parents to have assets worth £350,000 and pay nothing for their care. They (and you) should be happy to spend their money so that they are looked after.

However, in the spirit of being helpful, I think you will find this Age UK factsheet useful: Paying for care in a care home if you have a partner (ageuk.org.uk)

This suggests that your mother needs to take advice as to whether she should (via the PoA) pass 50% of your father's private pension income to herself. The factsheet confirms that she is allowed to do this. Citizens Advice or Age UK should be able to advise her which is the better option, and you might look at the benefit calculator on EntitledTo.co.uk to get an idea of what her income might be under either option. 

Keep_pedalling

Is your mother the only named attorney and is your father the only named attorney for your mother? If so your mother needs to make a new one with new attorneys, but unfortunately it sounds too late to do that for your father.

Your real problem is not going to be paying for residential care costs but getting approval for LA funding. As I found with my mother you have to get pretty decrepit before you get past  financial sign off. In the mean time you could. Look at attendance allowance which he should be entitled to while being cared for at home.

Have your parents made wills?

Robin9

May I ask how old your parents are ?   

Brie

Frankly while I agree that we all need to pay our way I don't agree that your parents should forego having a decent house that they've paid for over many years in which to live.  £350k won't buy much of anything in many parts of the country so don't feel bad about them wanting to hang on to that.

The council should be paying towards care at home but you and your mom might find it a challenge, first to get it agreed and then to work. I've heard all sorts of stories about care being funded and carers supposedly coming twice a day or whatever and nothing much actually happening.  We paid for carers for MiL because she had sufficient income to do so and my guess is that private care probably pays better than that provided by the state.  

Once it was agreed that MiL needed to a care home the local authority had to step up and find a place that would accommodate her needs.  It might have been a bit easier for us than some as she had been hospitalised (numerous falls had taken their toll) and there was a big push to move her out of hospital.  The LA pushed to have her return home but with the support of the hospital staff who had looked after her for 2 months we convinced them that home was not a safe option.  

So how does the money get sorted? 

Dad should be getting attendance allowance.  I wrote a very strongly worded application for MiL to explain how she couldn't make meals or a cuppa tea, she could only walk a few yards at any time otherwise was in a wheelchair, she couldn't take a bus as she wouldn't be able to get on or off, she couldn't be left alone for more than very brief periods in case she fell or otherwise had an accident.  This got her the higher rate of attendance allowance.  It's only about £90+ a week but that might be 6 hours of care depending on the rates locally.  As I recall there was a sign off of this by her doctor.

Does mom get any pension?  Is she at state pension age?  If she is I don't think she's entitled to carer's allowance but there are likely other benefits like pension credit that might be available.  She (you) should investigate that further.

If your mom continues to live at home even if your dad is in a care home that house is not considered as an asset for the purposes of determining what money needs to be paid for his car.

It sounds like there is minimal money coming in but if that is intended to support both your parents (no matter whose name is on it) then it remains your parents' income.  So dad's pension can be used to support mom.  

You say there's very little in savings.  My understanding is that if your mom has an account in her name only then that is her money.  Anything that's in a joint account is likely considered to be split 50/50.  If dad has any other accounts that is likely considered his money.  As it's what is his that is taken into account it may be a good idea to tidy up the family finances so that his pension is paid into the joint account.  The best reason for doing this is so that mom can access the money she needs to live on rather than having to deal with dad's bank (sometimes difficult even with a POA).

I think it's standard across England (assuming that's where you live) that an individual is allowed to have savings of up to £23,500.  More than that and a contribution for care would need to be made.  So if dad has an account in his name only with £20k in it the LA couldn't touch it.  

Anyways - good luck with dealing with everything.  It's a difficult thing to do but sometimes difficult measure must be taken for the benefit of people like your dad as well as your mom.

redelizabeth01

Sorry for delay in my gratitude
Thank you for all the comments they have been really helpful

bunnygo

As others note the house is disregarded for your father's care fees while your mother is living in it. If she also ends up in residential care then it can (and should) be sold to fund that.

Is your father the only attorney for your mother? If so I urge you to make arrangements for a new LPA for her, so that if she needs help in the future there is something set up.