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My mum has been poorly and after a spell in hospital is being assessed to go into a nursing home.
My step dad can't cope with her and is happy for her to go wherever as long as it is paid for out of "her money".
How much money is "her money" we don't know.
We know that he has around £200k stashed in various accounts of which he is loathe to spend any.
When the assessors look into financial matters will they take "his" money into account.
We really don't want mum dumped in the cheapest place he can find.
They are married and both in their 80s.
Once the care people come after "his" money we know it is all going to kick off.
Can he keep "his" pot and not provide care for his wife?
I am next of kin purely as I'm most likely to answer my phone.
When my dad went into care it was part funded by L.A and NHS. The assessment of means , iirc, included money in a joint account but not in an account solely in my mothers name, nor the value of the house.
Iirc , again sorry, he was under the capital threshold but basically paid his pension over.
This was all arranged by social services and nhs as it was straight from hospital to care home and it was agreed that this was the only option. You may need to explore that bit to ensure any LA funding, they were loathe to agree it at first but my dad was basically bedridden and dying slowly.
Legally is it all “his” pot or a joint asset from marriage? One for the lawyers on that aspect.
Might be worth contacting the citizens advice bureau
He/they will need to fund some of the care from their pot. Sounds like a right tight arse ! Most funding will come via social care but there will be an assessment.
He needs to get his act together as it's 'their' money they are married. You need to ensure she's not dumped off into some crappy home.
Should be fine - all get's swallowed up if the other partner has dies though - been through this with MIL - LA had a charge over the property for her Nursing care.
What a £%&*
He'll probably device her to avoid paying.
The local authority cannot include capital or income belonging to your partner in your financial assessment and they cannot be charged a contribution towards your care. This is because it does not have the power to assess couples according to joint resources - each person must be treated individually.
The document also explains joint account assets;
If it is funded from her own money, not the LA, she will probably be eligible for Attendance Allowance, which is just over £100/week.
To fund my Mum's care we got a loan from the Local Authority, secured against her house.
In the OP's case, as she is married, the assessment is made on her money and a share of anything in a joint account, not in her husband's accounts. Over £23k ish and you've got to make contributions.
. Over £23k ish and you’ve got to make contributions.
No that is not strictly correct; over £23k and you have to pay it in full. Under £23k and you can still be expected to contribute
Meant to add, over 23k, then you will have to top up any pension/attendance allowance etc that you get already. MIL had to pay 'in full' but in effect it was a top up after pension, disability and attendance had been taken off. Care home costs are easily a grand a week if not more.
Hi,
If you are in England the current rules say that if you have over £23,250 in assessable assets you will be liable to pay the full costs of your care. If you have below £14,500 then the local authority will need to pay for the whole of the cost of care. Between those two figures is a sliding scale where the local authority pay more as you pay less.
Obviously the key to this is assessable assets. If you mum and step dad own their property jointly and he is continuing to live there the value of the property will be disregarded for the purposes of a financial assessment (he needs somewhere to live).
For the Capital assessment. Her sole accounts will be taken into account - that is Bank Accounts, Building Societies, ISAs, stocks and shares, national savings, premium bonds etc. The only capital that is sheltered from the assessment is money held in Insurance Based Investment bonds.
Any joint accounts are treated as 50/50 so half of the balance will count towards an assessment.
They cannot assess any assets held in your stepfather's sole name, unless they have been placed in his name deliberately to avoid care costs.
The financial assessment will also take into account income. Essentially all income will be used towards the costs of care with a £28.50 per week rebate to allow the person in receipt of care 'pocket money' for newspapers, hairdressing etc.
It is essential that you (they) take advice at this point as rewriting Wills and getting Lasting Powers of Attorney in place at this stage can save thousands of pounds in future care costs and a huge amount of hassle.
Happy to help if I can, jus DM me.
Rules in Wales, NI, and Scotland are different.
Hope that Helps
Nick.
Local authority may take the view that the cash is in his name for the purpose of avoidance. Which would be a shame.
But I'm guessing they'll put a charge on the house first.
@martinhutch If there is a spouse (or someone over 60 or under 16) living in the property they can't put a charge on it it has to be disregarded.