Kent Solicitors

Question:

My parents own their home and are concerned that should they need to go into a care home the home which they have paid for will be used to fund their care in old age and not passed down to their children.

Is there any way my parents can avoid this?

The house has been left to their children in their wills but can they gift it now or can we buy it off them to avoid the house being sold to pay for care?

Answer:
There is no easy route to depriving oneself of capital and throwing oneself on the tender mercies of the local authority

The governments view appears to be that people should save to support themselves in their old age and that the tax/ratepayer should not fund their care fees so that they can pass on wealth to their children.

If an elderly person asks a local authority to fund care fees, they check into his / her past finances to see if he / she has intentionally deprived herself of assets and if so, seek to claw it back by way of contribution / payment of nursing home fees

For further details please refer to The Charging for residential accommodation guide (CRAG) in support of The National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/2977): Update April 2005 -
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4107292 and in particular para 6.057 onwards.

Labels: Charging for Residential accommodation, Inheritance