joint accounts and paying for care home fess

Chg26

Does anyone have experience of having partner go into care and are self funding?
Accounts held jointly and wondering about how to go about splitting 50/50, been in care for couple of months now, can i create an account for myself or change one of the account to a single one and then split the money evenly now at this stage or will be frowned upon when we get to the threshold, when we would then be assessed ( I do have POA)
My concern is using my 50% to pay for the care, but as accounts are joint there is no clear split. 

Brie

When MiL went in to care she and my OH already had a joint account for about 5 years.  The money in this was hers  (her pension income plus savings) to which he needed access so that he could buy things she needed as she wasn't mobile and this made life much easier.  When she went in to care the local authority needed a financial statement so they would know that she was self funding but also at what point they might become responsible for paying the fees.  They took the value of the account at the time the statement was made to them and split it 50/50 without any consideration of the source.  My understanding from them was they would require an update at regular intervals so they would know when her 50% dipped below the tipping point for funding.  Un/fortunately this was never reached as she died a couple of months after moving into the care home.  

You should of course monitor the joint account yourself and see what is the source of funds.  If you are having more paid in then your partner then you might want to siphon that off so the account remains at 50/50.  If your partner is funding it more you might not want to do anything. 

The thing to remember is that when one person goes into care their income may still be required for the other person who is not in care.  This is particularly important where one (usually the husband) has a significantly higher income which has supported his "wife" in their home for some time.  Just because he is in care doesn't mean that she can't have enough money to continue to heat their home.  Hope that makes sense! 

MCT56

Hi, from what I have read on the subject it can be financially advantageous to split joint accounts allowing the care costs to be paid from the account of the person in the care home as this can accelerate the point at which council funding can be sought. I’m not recommending anything but there’s examples of this on hoop.eac.org.uk and ageuk websites. If you decide on that option just ensure you can evidence what money was moved where, when and why and keep proof - bank statements. Councils pay close attention to what money is moved in or out of accounts when someone is assessed for help with funding. I,m not an expert on the subject but have been through the process on behalf of an elderly relative and had to obtain 6 months of bank statements and sign mandates giving the Council to authority to access all bank records. It’s worth reading up on all the rules on the subject which are readily available on trusted websites. Hope this helps.

Numbersup

Im looking into all this at the moment . No expert, but  picking up a lot of  of how it works .From what Ive read on other information  sites  and  forums  ,  its by far better to have two separate accounts ,  as with the detailed accounts of expenditure youll have to keep as POA , it will be much easier to see whats gone where and whose got what left. Some people say that councils  just automatically  split  50-50  anything in joint names  as its usually too complicated to work out who should own what , and they presume that people generally have joint accounts  because they want to share everything .  Maybe if one of you had just had a  huge pools win  or had just sold your house from an old relationship , and the money had gone into a joint acc,  they may make adjustments  if you have clear paperwork proving it. If you think you fall into the category of 'its just impossible to work out and prove'   Id just split it now and keep careful records of both accounts.  If you have less than 10k savings I believe you can claim 50% of your other halfs private pension to run the house etc , but  all his other income will have to be left in his half to pay for his own care till hes down to c£14k when he can get council help. 

Numbersup

Sorry   , I meant if you have less than £10 k  in savings  you can claim  pension credit to top up your own pension if you dont get a full one , whilst your OH is self funding .     once hes   being funded by council, you can claim  half his  private pension