What happens about care fees when a young person needs care?

[Gelatibon]

When people are moaning about their elderly parents' savings being spent on care, I generally take the view that the parents can't spend the money and why should taxpayers find it when they have money. I don't expect to inherit from my DPs for this reason and I'm fine with that.

However, a friend with youngish DC is facing a situation where her DH will need care. No one can tell her whether she (he) will have to fund this. OT wants to get him out of hospital, as does friend, but any discussion re cost is for "later"

Their savings are/were there to support her and DC, should anything happen to him or all of them if he couldn't work, but now it's looking like it might go on care.

I presume it's the same as elderly, use his savings first. You will I presume be allowed to continue to live in the family home. So so sad and a very difficult situation.

She needs to start putting any income into an account in her own name, just in case.

Yes it's not really much different, only difference really being that younger patients who unexpectedly become seriously disabled sometimes (but by no means always) have access to additional means through insurance payouts or compensation if they were injured in a road accident or workplace incident or whatever. Otherwise the rules are the same as a younger patient, care is means assessed so if he needs carers to come in at home or moves to a care home he would be expected to contribute through savings or other assets in his name down to the savings threshold. He would also be expected to claim any state benefits he's entitled to and contribute from these to the costs of his care. The value of the house will not be taken into account if his wife and children still live there (which is the case for elderly people too although most people seem not to believe this and seem to think an elderly spouse can be evicted to pay care costs).

Once the assets run out (or if there never were assets in the first place), if he's assessed as needing the care the state will provide and pay, although it might not meet the preferences and expectations of the family e.g. it may be they place him in a care home full of elderly rather than a specialist place, or assess him as able to live at home with adaptations and carer visits even if this means a reasonably poor quality of life. Physio and other therapies may be limited compared to what you'd ideally like. State provided care for seriously disabled adults can be quite piss-poor frankly and seems to rely on independent means or family or charity to plug the gaps, e.g. the state won't pay for powered wheelchairs in the majority of instances, only a manual which can seriously impede the ability of the person to move around. The state basically does enough to keep you alive e.g. fed, washed, toileted but not much aside from that...

I'd be careful about this. Depending on the amount it could be classed as deprivation of assets. Unclear also if her DH has capacity to consent to this diversion of his income and/or if the wife has a POA. If we're talking a lot of money it might be worth taking some legal advice...

Deleted my response as I realised the OP was asking about her DH with whom she has shared finances and not an adult dependent child