Elderly Dad having to go into home

bertiebb_2

Have no idea at all how this works?

Whats the deal with payment - does it depend on how ill he is?
Unfortunately, hes got money in savings (£30K) plus he part owns his flat. (Worth only £120K but he owns 40% of it).

Tried to tell him for years to spend his money but it all fell on deaf ears.....

I hope hes willing to spend his money to pay for a nice home but I fear hes going to be really upset that hes got to pay.

POA - haven't got that at the moment. His mental capacity is diminishing so might be an idea I guess.

Keep_pedalling

Why unfortunate? Having no money in your old age is a pretty crap position to be in and £30k is not exactly a lot for an emergency fund. 

If he has to go into residential care then the LA will do a financial assessment so initially he will be fully self funding with the amount of assets he has, although that will not last long because once his assets fall to £23,250 the LA will be paying the bulk of it. 

Who owns the other 60%? 

If he still has sufficient mental capacity you should get that LPA sorted as a matter of urgency otherwise you will need to obtain deputyship which is a more expensive and longwinded process.

tacpot12

I can't advise on the best way for him to manage paying for his care, but it's likely that you will need a POA, and should get one asap if he still have the capacity to make one. 

I'd try to get that done first, before dealing with how to pay for his care.

p00hsticks

bertiebb_2 said:

Whats the deal with payment - does it depend on how ill he is?

Yes, it does. If his reason for going into care is medical (and I don't think dementia and general infirmity due to old age counts) then (generally with difficulty) you can get Continuing Health Care paid for by the NHS. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/money-work-and-benefits/nhs-continuing-healthcare/

 Otherwise you either pay for your own private care or have your finances assessed by the Local Authority who may partly fund your care but expect you to contribute to the cost if you have assets of over (i Think) £23,000.

 POA should be your main priority at the moment before his capacity goes, as it will be a real struggle to deal with his affairs without it.

p00hsticks

bertiebb_2 said:

I hope hes willing to spend his money to pay for a nice home 

I'm afraid that, depending where in the country he lives, £30k plus 40% of a 120k flat isn't going to go that far paying for care.....

sew_what

Make sure you apply for Attendance allowance now (if you haven't already done so!)

Savvy_Sue

p00hsticks said:

bertiebb_2 said:

Whats the deal with payment - does it depend on how ill he is?

Yes, it does. If his reason for going into care is medical (and I don't think dementia and general infirmity due to old age counts) then (generally with difficulty) you can get Continuing Health Care paid for by the NHS. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/money-work-and-benefits/nhs-continuing-healthcare/

 Otherwise you either pay for your own private care or have your finances assessed by the Local Authority who may partly fund your care but expect you to contribute to the cost if you have assets of over (i Think) £23,000.

 POA should be your main priority at the moment before his capacity goes, as it will be a real struggle to deal with his affairs without it.

You can get CHC for dementia but it can be a battle - it can be a battle anyway but that's another story. 

Our relative went into a home nearly 2 years ago for end of life / palliative care. There should have been an assessment within 12 weeks to work out what their care / nursing needs were. It took over a year for that to be done, by which time their needs had reduced. After another 3 months we were told that the NHS would cover costs between admission and assessment, but they were liable to pay backdated fees for several months and then going forward. 

@bertiebb_2, did you live with your father, and if you did how old are you? Our relative's house isn't included in the assessment of their money, because there's an adult child over 60 living in the property. 

elsien

CHC assessment looks at the severity and complexity of need not at the labels.
Most people qualify for the nursing top up rather than full funding.
People who get full health funding primarily because of dementia are those people whose behaviour is impacted and who are far more challenging to support.

Who owns the other 60% of the property and is anyone else living there? 

Your  dad will be self funding to start with but you need to think about how long the money will last because if you put him in an expensive home, when the money runs out to the local authority will be looking to move him somewhere cheaper unless there’s a very good reason why not.  

I’m saying that because I know someone whose family chose a really expensive home presuming the local authority would pay to keep them there. The person only had enough money to self fund for a few months. It was very difficult for them having settled to have to move again so quickly, but that was down to the family trying to game the system and losing. 

elsien

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-a-care-home/

bertiebb_2

Hmm. Sounds like a bit of a nightmare.

Dad lives alone in his flat. The housing association own the other 60% and he pays rent on this portion.

POA could be a problem at the moment based on how hes been last few weeks. Doesn't recognise me - thought I was a doctor today :-(

elsien

I'm sorry - it's a cruel illness for people to have.

Have you looked into the practicalities of having carers in to keep him at home for longer, or is he getting past that stage now?  You might want to look into how the housing association would value the property for a sale as well.