Elderly person going into care home + savings

junglist_2

Hiya

Ok, first post here so first off hello.

I'm looking for a bit of advice as i'm struggling to find out the info I require with regard to retaining savings when an elderly person goes into care. Basically, my Grandma has suffered a series of strokes over the past few months and with great regret we are looking at admitting her to a care home where she can get the correct care that she desperately requires.

Obviously, this doesn't come free, however my mother and I are extremely weary of her entire lifes savings being swallowed up by said care.

She has a house that is bought and paid for, and cash savings to the tune of about £50k.

The savings are spread over bank accounts that are in joint names with my mother and grandmother. Is the government entitled to access these funds?

What are the best, if any, preventative measures we could take to retain as much of the savings as possible?

Any help with this would be very much appreciated.

lisyloo

Hello - welcome to the boards.

I'm not an expert but will try to give some help.

Firstly health care is free but personal care is not.
Where the dividing line is can be tricky.
There was a "landmark" case recently about a lady called Monica Cochlan so you might want to google for the Cochlan case.
Some people have successfully won cases about getting free care, although I expect it's a long drawn out process.
I don't know if this is an issue in your case.

Secondly you cannot deliverately "deprive" yourself of asset to get state benefits.
So she could not (for example) put the house into someone else's name so it's wasn't used to pay for her care. So unfortuntely(?) there is no easy answer.

I would certainly check out the age concern website as an excellent source of information.

http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/care_information.asp

junglist_2

Thanks for your post - most helpful I will have a look at the information you suggested.

The house isn't too much of an issue as there is somebody else living there, so as far as we are aware from the research we have gathered, the house will not be considered an asset so long as there is somebody else living there?

forevergrey

Regarding the reference to Coughlan, you may find this link helpful:

http://www.gpss.tripoduk.com/nhscare/

agal

junglist wrote: »

Thanks for your post - most helpful I will have a look at the information you suggested.

The house isn't too much of an issue as there is somebody else living there, so as far as we are aware from the research we have gathered, the house will not be considered an asset so long as there is somebody else living there?

I believe, though could be wrong, that it has to be a spouse or disabled child living in the house for it to be disregarded.

chesky369

"has to be a spouse or disabled child living in the house for it to be disregarded."
Not necessarily - the son or daughter of a person would count but only if they had lived there for some time prior - you couldn't just move in and pretend. In other words, if a daughter had cared for a parent and had been living there for ten years or so, then they wouldn't throw her out.