Care home fees

sneedham

Hi. Mom is in hospital and definitely requires more care than I can give her as I work full time. Hospital are assessing her to determine which type of care she needs, but it's likely to be residential. She doesn't have enough medical needs for CHC. She has virtually no savings but has a warden controlled flat that is rented out. The flat could be sold but it will only reach around £60k. There is a clause in the self funding guidance that says... Must ensure there is enough funds available to cover all her costs. Of course there is no way of knowing how long she will live but that amount wouldn't last very long. On top of this is the interest charged with DPA which needs to be found. Additionally, I understand that her pension would need to be used toward part payment but once the tenant leaves in order for the flat to be sold, she will be responsible for council tax and leaseholder fees/ground rent which will be over £500 per month that she won't have. I'm frantic with worry about how to deal with this. Can anyone offer any advice?

Keep_pedalling

Sorry you find yourself in this difficult situation. Unfortunately these sort of flats are notoriously difficult to sell snd it is not that easy to get a tenant out if they have no where else to go or they simply refuse to go so if possible it might be better to keep renting it out in using the income to contribute to her care costs.

In the first instance talk to the social worker who will be dealing with her case to talk through this rather complex financial situation. 

Markdavid1962

Sorry for your situation, we had a very similar situation with mum in hospital and needing residential care, Dad needed care also due to dementia and mum could not look after him anymore
My only advice is check the care home's inspection reports and when you a short list of care homes try and speak to visitors at the care homes. Some care homes we found are terrible.
Also check the council website, they should have a funding calculator, it will give you an idea of the financial position, Social services will assist and do an assessment
If you mum qualifies for any benefits (like PIP) these will be taken in to account. 
The funding basically took private pension and state pension from my parents as Mum and Dad did not have a property to sell

elsien

While your mother is self funding, make sure she’s claiming attendance allowance. 

Is it necessary to sell the flat? Would  the rent cover the care home fees, service charges et cetera?
age UK has some care home fees guidance; The first thing I would say is that you personally are in no way responsible for paying any of this And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Ditto Voluntary third-party top ups - The keyword is voluntary and again you are not obligated to pay.

Have a look at the information around deferred payment agreements. it’s not unusual for people to start off self funding and then the likely authority starts to pay at the 23 1/2 K cut-off. All you can do is be completely honest about the service charges, et cetera, and if she doesn’t have the money to pay, there is actually very little that anyone can do about that unless you are a guarantor.
What  is the warden control place going to do? They could potentially repossess the flat, but that’s probably not going leave your mum worse off. Ditto council tax.
The  local authority can argue with themselves about that one. there’s a big difference between refusal to pay and being completely unable to. Worst case scenario, they take it to court (which is not a good luck against someone in a care home) and then do some sort of payment plan which will be minuscule because she has nothing to pay.
Try not to stress and just concentrate on your mum. 

Kim_13

elsien said:

While your mother is self funding, make sure she’s claiming attendance allowance. 

Is it necessary to sell the flat? Would  the rent cover the care home fees, service charges et cetera?
age UK has some care home fees guidance; The first thing I would say is that you personally are in no way responsible for paying any of this And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Ditto Voluntary third-party top ups - The keyword is voluntary and again you are not obligated to pay.

Have a look at the information around deferred payment agreements. it’s not unusual for people to start off self funding and then the likely authority starts to pay at the 23 1/2 K cut-off. All you can do is be completely honest about the service charges, et cetera, and if she doesn’t have the money to pay, there is actually very little that anyone can do about that unless you are a guarantor.
What  is the warden control place going to do? They could potentially repossess the flat, but that’s probably not going leave your mum worse off. Ditto council tax.
The  local authority can argue with themselves about that one. there’s a big difference between refusal to pay and being completely unable to. Worst case scenario, they take it to court (which is not a good luck against someone in a care home) and then do some sort of payment plan which will be minuscule because she has nothing to pay.
Try not to stress and just concentrate on your mum. 

While third party top ups are voluntary, it would be prudent to look at care homes at the lower end if there will not be such a top up, as the council will not fund a place costing more than is necessary for the resident's needs to be met. If someone is only able to self-fund for a short time then it is not worth the disruption of having to move them again once capital reaches £23.5K.

dnpark38

2 months ago I started not to able to continue caring for my wife at our home, Social Services arranged a stay for 4 weeks in a care home for assessment at the Councils expense. This actually took 6 weeks and completed last week and was to continue at this care and the council will provide funding. It will mean we have to pay a small top up.
The overall money the home receives is a lot less than what a person  approaching the home direct would pay.
So  for us approaching social services as been the best way.
It is an Anchor home and is Ok for my wifes needs and a good choice.