Mum's finances if Dad goes into care

https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance

Attendance allowance is not means tested
They can both claim this separately

So your advice would be to transfer from joint accounts there are two, into two equal single accounts.

If it’s a joint account then it’s 50/50 so would be the correct thing to do. If it’s solely in his name then it would all be included in the financial assessment for care.

Nearly sure if it's a joint account the LA can only have access to half, to pay for the care of the person in the nursing home. Or is the account solely in your dad's name?

Parents married, Dad aged 91 in care home Mum 90 at home @ 100k in bank. My siblings want to 50/50 this money savings in the bank between the parents preventing this 50% going in the care home funds, I am advising them it's illegal as local authorities would see this and would expect payments until below the 14k to 23k threshold.

That is a good step. Others always have more influence, I think it is easier for them disregard the help of the loved ones.

i am so sorry you are having to cope with this. In my experience this is where Social Care always falls down through nobody’s fault. The systems are in place, the family are trying to help but the older person just will not co-operate. You have to be a really strong person to say ‘get on with it then’. You cannot win what ever you do.

Wouldn't be surprised if they're busy in the Treasury trying to find a way round this. This govt does seem to have pensioners with assets and inheritance very much in its sights. They can't make the joint owner move or sell if they are over a certain age, but they might try and claw something back with a charge on the property or something, so they can recover some of the care costs for the first person.

They can be paid carer’s allowance but they can’t get both carer’s allowance and state pension. Since state pension is (usually) greater than carer’s allowance, this effectively means they can’t get carer’s allowance. Government advice here

If mother is 75, she’ll be on the old state pension.

Tenants in common would likely be better so it can be protected from being absorbed into fathers care fees on the event of the mother's death before father. To be blunt dad should will his half to wife (iif he's in care home and if not joint tenants and with no prospect of going home) and wife (not in care home) should will it anywhere else but her husband. Of course there are moral/philosophical/social implications of this approach.

It would be worth doing a voluntary first registration of the house with the Land Registry as you do have the deeds. It is a fairly simple form and not too expensive, As someone upthread suggested get it done in both names as joint tenants.

As pp's have already said the home won't be taken into consideration whilst your mum lives in it. Joint accounts are generally treated as 50/50. If your dad goes into a home the council's welfare rights team or a charity such as Age Uk or citizens advice may help you with benefit claims for your mum if her sole income and capital is low. They wouldn't be treated as a married couple for benefit claims if one living in care and the other at home.

@Snowdrop2016 I don't have anything practical to add OP as it looks like it's all been said but I just want to send you some huge hugs. Having been in this situation really recently I appreciate how soul destroyingly hard it can be, not least watching the effect that all the worry and fear had on my mum. I hope things work out well for you and your family.

Does your dad have a work or private pension as well as the state pension? If so, you should check that he has nominated your mum for a widow's pension and any death benefits. When my father died, my mother got a suprisingly large proportion of his work pension as a widow's pension, but I know they all vary.

People of state pension age cannot be paid carers allowance. They can get an underlying entitlement to carers allowance which can give premiums on means tested benefits like Pension credit.

If your mum's state pension will be low then she would get topped up with pension credit possibly but also depends on her share of joint savings.

That’s entirely correct. The home is disregarded if still lived in by the spouse and in some either cases too

www.ageuk.org.uk/siteassets/documents/factsheets/fs38_property_and_paying_for_residential_care_fcs.pdf

Re:- his pension - did he take out a “widow’s pension” when he took it out? You can choose whether to or not.

It's probably a good idea to make sure that they are both listed on the deeds as joint tenants if she's in good health. This means that they cannot take the value into account if your mother is living there and on his death it will automatically become hers in full, not inheritance tax etc involved.

Do you have power of attorney for them? If not, try to get it set up as soon as possible, assuming they are both still mentally fit to sign the documentation. It makes life so much easier when one or both is not able to handle things.

If your father has been unwell for 6+ months or is terminal, he will qualify for AA at whatever rate is applicable. Carer's Allowance is only payable to carers under SPA.

If your father has been diagnosed with a brain disorder (stroke/dementia etc), he will qualify for SMI Council Tax discount, which starts at 25% depending on Local Authority.

AgeUK is a great source of information regarding finances and care costs.