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Who is supposed to underwrite/guarantee the care home fees
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laespanola
Posts: 2 Newbie
so my mum has been assessed as needing FT residential care due to dementia, she is currently in hospital and has a social worker assigned.
I have been "no contact" with her for about 8 years (there are reasons) and my sister lives abroad. There is a house which can be sold, and I have been asked to clear it, which I can do. I've been round there once to collect what paperwork I could find, to pass on to an appointed solicitor who is going to apply for a Deputyship in the Court of Protection. I also looked at 2 care homes recommended by and at the request of the social worker, and chose one. So far so good.
However - the solicitor won't sign anything for the LA guaranteeing repayment of any care home fees, until the Deputyship comes through - around 6 months?
The care home I chose has a scheme whereby they (not the LA) accrue the debt for the fees till the residence is sold, but Social Worker says they need me to sign as guarantor that I will repay the fees out of the sale of the house. Which raises various questions:
-what if the house doesn't sell for ages and the care home get stroppy?
-how can I guarantee repayment via a house sale, when the house, and any other assets, will be under the control of the solicitor anyway, so I am not actually connected to the ownership or selling of the house.
- more in general, how would an LA proceed in this situation if a person literally has no relatives around? (I know that's not the case, but in effect it may as well be)
The house might be worth about £250k and I saw that there was about £10k in a bank account. Nothing more, unless I discover something while tidying. i.e I would say dm's assets excluding the house are below the £14k level that I've been reading about.
Are the LA just trying to avoid offering a deferred payment scheme to mum, and hoping that I will take up the slack instead with my own guarantee. They don't seem happy with the 6 month legal delay either but surely this is standard?
Feel like we're going in circles with them, anyone got any advice about what I should do or say next? Thanks in advance.....
I have been "no contact" with her for about 8 years (there are reasons) and my sister lives abroad. There is a house which can be sold, and I have been asked to clear it, which I can do. I've been round there once to collect what paperwork I could find, to pass on to an appointed solicitor who is going to apply for a Deputyship in the Court of Protection. I also looked at 2 care homes recommended by and at the request of the social worker, and chose one. So far so good.
However - the solicitor won't sign anything for the LA guaranteeing repayment of any care home fees, until the Deputyship comes through - around 6 months?
The care home I chose has a scheme whereby they (not the LA) accrue the debt for the fees till the residence is sold, but Social Worker says they need me to sign as guarantor that I will repay the fees out of the sale of the house. Which raises various questions:
-what if the house doesn't sell for ages and the care home get stroppy?
-how can I guarantee repayment via a house sale, when the house, and any other assets, will be under the control of the solicitor anyway, so I am not actually connected to the ownership or selling of the house.
- more in general, how would an LA proceed in this situation if a person literally has no relatives around? (I know that's not the case, but in effect it may as well be)
The house might be worth about £250k and I saw that there was about £10k in a bank account. Nothing more, unless I discover something while tidying. i.e I would say dm's assets excluding the house are below the £14k level that I've been reading about.
Are the LA just trying to avoid offering a deferred payment scheme to mum, and hoping that I will take up the slack instead with my own guarantee. They don't seem happy with the 6 month legal delay either but surely this is standard?
Feel like we're going in circles with them, anyone got any advice about what I should do or say next? Thanks in advance.....
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Comments
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I would get in touch with AgeUK and be guided by their advice. They are the experts in this.
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/0 -
I think that some organisations try to foist responsibility onto people who do not necessarily have to accept it. I'd be tempted to hold back. On a side note, it amazes me the cost of such places. A BBC report today cited annual costs of £45,000 for a particular female. How can that be? A working man on that wage could easily keep a house, a wife and a couple of kids..Feudal Britain needs land reform. 70% of the land is "owned" by 1 % of the population and at least 50% is unregistered (inherited by landed gentry). Thats why your slave box costs so much..0
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If you don't intend to have continued contact with your mother, why step in at all?Signature removed for peace of mind0
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C_Mababejive wrote: »On a side note, it amazes me the cost of such places. A BBC report today cited annual costs of £45,000 for a particular female. How can that be? A working man on that wage could easily keep a house, a wife and a couple of kids..
That amount is nothing in comparison with what is being charged for my disabled brother who has 24/7 care in his own home and the amount being charged is an eye-watering £1750 per week !!!!0 -
If you have no interest in your mothers care, ignore all "requests". They will be obliged to resolve these issues to avoid bed blocking in the hospital.
If you continue to do what social services want now, they will expect you to continue to resolve whatever issues arise in the future.
You don't have PoA, how can you agree what would be done with proceeds of the sale of a house which is owned by your mother?
In any event, I would certainly refuse to be guarantor. This could be an open ended commitment which may leave you penniless."A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:0 -
£1,092,000 per year?That amount is nothing in comparison with what is being charged for my disabled brother who has 24/7 care in his own home and the amount being charged is an eye-watering £1750 per week !!!!"A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:0 -
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Thank you to all who replied. Good news, the local authority has agreed to make a deferred loan for fees allowing me to be bypassed - which was the correct decision.0
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Isn't it just ? Not sure how they can justify that amount and that care company have many people on their books but as they were chosen by social work I have to assume that they were the best option.
That seems a lot when presented as the per week charge.
If 24/7 care means someone is in the home for 168 hours a week then it averages out at about £10.50 an hour.
Considering that during the night people would be paid time and a half, or even double time. Then an average of £10.50 an hour doesn't seem unreasonable.0
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