Inheritance and care home fees

[Hateam]

Hello!

My mother-in-law is in a care home.

My wife, her daughter, is also in a care home for medical - non age related- issues. My council are paying for my wife's care as we have under £24500 in savings.

When my MIL dies (she's 94) my wife will inherit about £180,000.

We don't want this money going to Essex CC.

Is there anything we can?

Could my MIL's will be changed to remove my wife and replace her with me? She is still of sound mind.

Could the money go into an account in my sole name?

I am aware of the concept of deprivation of assets.

😂

hm. If you keep the gran's money, other taxpayers money will have to pay for your wife's care. Typical, usual, you name it.

You need to seek advice. Not sure if a DH'sassets would count as joint assets. But if your mil changed her will it wouldn't t be deprivation of assets because she has no obligation to leave money to her daughter. I think it's fair enough to wait to protect inheritance,

@Hateam
Hide the money!
Hide it far away and then maybe the ones that contributed nothing into our vanishing pot of money will have to start contributing, or maybe start asking their families for money, failing that, if it's chargeable and you can't pay, the families can look after them.

I'm sick of working to pay for everyone else!

Leave me and my money alone- if it's free for 1 person, it should be free for all!

I do understand where you are coming from. We are currently in a similar situation where my mum is trying to work out how to protect her money so that some can be passed for inheritance instead of it all going on care costs.

I can't see the answer to this question in your replies - apologies if I have missed it.

Do you and your wife have any children at all?

You don't "pay your stamp" to get residential and nursing care paid for. If you have your own property it's reasonable for it to finance your care if you're no longer living there. Perhaps those without their own property could go into workhouses or shift for themselves on the streets so they can be differentiated from homeowners?

For those that have asked, we have no children.

Because that's the law and has been since geriatric hospitals and Local Authority care homes closed in favour of private provision,

Do you want people who, for whatever reason, never worked to die sleeping rough or pay more, much more, tax/stamp so the state backfills kid's inheritances?

The cap has been pushed out AGAIN… this time by labour
it isn’t going to happen in all reality. It was all political talk and no intent 🙄🤬

Surely though they will only take money for care while it is there? Like with easy numbers (I know this isn't realistic amounts) e.g your wife has £1000. Care is £10 a week. When she goes in they won't go 100X10 is £1000, so we take all she has and that is her first 10 weeks and then after 10 week she has nothing so we fund her. Won't they go £100 in week 1, £100 in week 2 etc? If in week 2 you take her to the theatre and spend £100 on you both for tickets, travel and food then they will stop taking the weekly payments earlier, depending on other funding she has, such as pension or PIP?

I feel sorry for you op. I'm
Imagining you didn't know your wife would need early onset long term residential care for medical reasons and so not only are you losing the future you had planned, you also face losing financial security which others don't. I think it's perfectly reasonable to look for an alternative and I echo pps who have suggested seeking legal advice re your rights

this may be petty but i am oh-so-tempted to send this thread to ECC.

I really hope there is no convenient loophole for you to pocket the money and leave the council funding your wife's care.

I understand that op’s wife’s care is medical, so already funded by the NHS.

it is MIL’s money (she is in a care home with cash in the bank) he is trying to redirect.

legally, op, and morality aside, the only way to do this is via a trust, as pps have said. Explanations are all above.

but if your wife is mentally and physically disabled, how much will she get out of nice dinners out and London shows? Is that really best use of the cash for her?

You want to take your wife"s inheritance for yourself instead of it being used for her care, so that the taxpayer pays instead?
Unbelievable.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/money-work-and-benefits/nhs-continuing-healthcare/

Look at this op as well as other links, it's a NHS page

Also, self funded care allows for more choice and better care homes, often.

Wow, our health service is collapsing yet you want to use the inheritance money on luxuries rather than on care for your wife.

And yet council tax continues to increase for payers to fund social care needs...

I do feel people who can afford to pay for their care, should. However, I appreciate that people have worked hard to own property or have savings to leave to their loved ones. But what's the point of savings etc if not to look after oneself in old age?!

I also appreciate a lot of people don't pay for their care due to low-savings/income/lack of property. Your wife currently being one of them...

Do you really expect the taxpayer to fund your wife's care for over 30 years without any contribution from yourselves?

Yes, yes, you surely would have contributed to the system yourselves but not over 70k per year, which is approximately what private payers pay, at that minimum, in many nursing homes around the country.

Hmm?🧐
by stamp the poster means national insurance
That used to cover much of nhs.
NURSING care, IS covered by nhs. It will depend on level of nursing required. By dad has full funding due to his needs now, changing from about 40% funding about 9 months ago. Full funding will take him through to his death now.

CARE is not fully funded. Though that too can be covered in part by local governement

point is here, many people find funding in care/nursing homes unfair. If you get cancer, a hospice, even for a few months, is free generally. If you get admitted to mental hospital (as my dad has on 3 occasions in run up to transfer to nursing home) it is free. But If people get dementia, or cognitive decline, it is not free until they are nearly bedridden. Right now there’s no cure or prevention for dentistry. It is a disease of old age as primary risk. Unlike say lung cancer in a smoker. This is what is unfair. It is also unfair that there are very few state funded nursing or care homes left. So, people are FORCED to pay privately funded businesses that are creaming off profit from their patient and the state. It’s a bloody outrage frankly.

To expect the state to pay for elderly care like in the good old days is naive in the extreme. Will you pay more tax to cover this?

Yes, I would be absolutely happy to pay more tax to cover this. On average it would cost me the same as paying for it myself if the need arises. But less risky. Classic case for social insurance.

Don't worry another nasty,vindictive poster has already beaten you to it.

Agreed!

You said what the OP was considering was deprivation of assets and it isn't. Giving her DD the money now would be deprivation of assets as far as the mother is concerned, pointless as it would just mean the daughter is paying but regardless leaving money in a will is not deprivation of assets.

No where did you say if the mother gives them the money now it is deprivation of assets. You either didn't understand the question, didn't explain your answer properly or you are just moving the goal posts because you realise you got it wrong.