Council demanding o/s care home fees from family after death

crazygeordiegirl

Just looking for some advice if possible please .


Her care home fees were paid by the local council / part funded by her (her pensions ) 

She had no assets , around £300 in her bank when she passed away .

She had a life insurance policy , of which myself and my sister were beneficiaries. 

The council has come to us saying there was money for her care due to her date of admission into the hospice and we were liable for it , is this correct ? My sister has challenged this but they said because she had life insurance we had to pay it .

thanks in advance 

la531983

crazygeordiegirl said:

Just looking for some advice if possible please .

My mam died earlier this year . She was in a care home , then a short hospital stay and then passed away in a hospice .

Her care home fees were paid by the local council / part funded by her (her pensions ) 

She had no assets , around £300 in her bank when she passed away .

She had a life insurance policy , of which myself and my sister were beneficiaries. 

The council has come to us saying there was money for her care due to her date of admission into the hospice and we were liable for it , is this correct ? My sister has challenged this but they said because she had life insurance we had to pay it .

thanks in advance 

No, your mother was liable for it. If there is no money in the estate to pay for it, tell them to do a running jump, they cant force anyone else to pay. The complicator may be the policy though.

MyRealNameToo

How was the life insurance structured? Was it written in trust? 

Life insurance can either form part of the estate or not, if it does then debts need to be settled before distribution, if its not part of the estate then no. 

tooldle

How about the pensions? Surely these continued to be in payment up to date of death?
Having some dates would be helpful here. When did mum go into hospital and when was it known that she would not return to her room at the care home? What notice period did the care provider require, and when was notice given?

sheramber

Are you named beneficiaries on the life insurance policy or are you beneficiaries  of her estate?

Spendless

Why was there a charge for admission to a hospice? Isnt care in a hospice free? I dont know just curious? Do they mean notice should have been given on her room when it was clear your Mum wouldnt be returning. Id clarify what charges are being made and why? 

When my Nan died after 8 years in care. She had 3 life insurance policies, all sat outside the estate though Im unsure why. She was in the position where she was contributing to care but was no longer fully self funding.

How does the care home know about the policies anyway? Again not suggesting you should hide things just curious.

Either way Id be finding out more. I wouldnt blindly believe what youve been told because I know my parents were given incorrect info relating to financial issues when Nan first went into care. Not everyone knows all the rules surrounding care home payments, so also do your own checks. 

Smudgeismydog

Generally, hospice care in the UK is free of charge. 

Life assurance policies are frequently written under a trust, which means on death they do not form part of the estate. 

crazygeordiegirl

Thanks everyone .

It was for care home fees due in arrears (not hospice fees ) . Will go back to council and see what they say …

RAS

sheramber said:

Are you named beneficiaries on the life insurance policy or are you beneficiaries  of her estate?

This.

There is no point going back to the council until you fully understand whether the life insurance policy form part of your mum's estate or not.

If she nominated you and your sister as the recipients, then they are outside the estate.

If you don't understand the question either ring the insurers or talk to CAB or AgeUK, as a starter.

msb1234

When my stepfather died, he owed a couple of weeks of payments towards his care home fees, which like your mum he contributed to and the LA paid the rest. He too ended up in hospital but was returned to the care home for the last week of his life under end of life care. From the date he left hospital, the LA fully funded his care home. However, he was still responsible for the fees during the 2 weeks he spent in hospital. 

I contacted the LA and asked for a final bill for any outstanding fees, which they sent me about a month after he died. I then paid it. As these fees were based on his pension payments, there was enough in his account once his final pension payment was paid in to cover it. 

I can’t understand how there wasn’t enough money in her account to cover her final fees, as surely it was based on her pension income?

Spendless

Im still confused. Why is there arrears? Why wasnt the usual way of paying her fees happening?  Was the care home informed when she died in hospital? I'm wondering if payments for her room stopped then or shortly afterwards and a charge has been made for them keeping the room available for your Mum to return to, and they werent aware she'd passed. 

Also who paid for your Mums funeral expenses? If its you/your sister then Id have thought thst expense could be deducted from the life assurance property if it does turn out to be a policy that forms part of your Mums estate.