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.

While we’re all in the same water, instead of complaining that some aren’t drowning fast enough, maybe look at those who are responsible for filling the pool.

Interesting thanks. I thought I had read 25% somewhere (maybe that was including in home car though…and was figures for all ages). Glad it is so low. I know it is rising though - due to various factors. Also just read on this thread Scotland have home care - but it is free and yet in England people pay. All seems complex - but I guess you only find things out if they directly affect yourself.

Very well said, I agree.

Yes, good point. I hadn't thought of that.

But the point is she can’t. OP is talking about an inheritance of £180,000. Unless it’s already protected then all assets will go towards MiL’s care. OP is talking about asking his MiL to leave whatever is left to himself rather than his wife - thus diverting the funds to avoid having to pay care fees for his wife.

This is how the rich stay rich and the poor get poorer… the rich have financial advisors to tell them how not to pay tax etc meanwhile the poor can’t pass assets on because morally it’s wrong. Fuck that

if I work and pay my taxes all my life then I want to leave something to my kids to help them up.. in this case op wants to have some money to give his disabled wife some form of living, not just existing.

no judgement here op , get the Same advice the rich get and enjoy the fruits of your mil hard work

While the tax payer continues to foot the care bill ?

OP, I totally get it.

No way would I be happily handing over a hard-earned inheritance to fund care for a loved one who is unfortunate enough to need it at a young age. How is that fair? Especially when thousands of able bodied young men and women are claiming benefits that are being funded by the taxpayer.

I hope you manage to ringfence the money some way, OP.

Could very well be. Still doesn’t absolve the OP of trying to divert those funds into their own name to avoid paying the care fees that would potentially give his wife a better standard of care.

Nobody wants to pay for care home fees.

An inheritance is a lucky windfall, yet you think its more reasonable for you to want to avoid paying care fees for it, when presumably if such care is means tested, someone who'd saved from years of hard work would have to pay from their own savings. Is that any better?

I suspect if your MIL was 94, your wife is in her 60s herself so not young, and in reality while she may have initially needed medical care due to brain injury, it will become increasingly difficult to distinguish between that and the care costs many face as they age.

Are you sure the care she receives now is means tested?

His MIL is perfectly entitled to do this
Maybe she hasn't realised it would be swallowed up so quickly.
OP can ask his MIL
she can say yes
She can say no
It's her money
It's her choice
As I've previously stated not one person is legally entitled to see that will until someone dies so there are no assets to deprive

It is entirely possible that they are being funded through a combination of pension and investment income and that the £180000 is the likely residue once she dies.

I assumed it was this.

Your MIL may wish to leave any inheritance left to your wife to provide for her daughters care (that's her choice!). As people have said it may be taken by MIL's own care home fees in life and costs add up quickly!
If your really concerned speak to your MIL about her will. But as a son in law this isn't really your place and likely to be seen as grabby. It's up to you if you wish to over step and risk affecting your relationship with your MIL

I do sympathise, my nan is self funding her care. But it is what it is and if you have the funds you pay!

It’s not a question of legalities, it’s a moral issue. The intention is clear.

OP is talking about asking his MiL to leave whatever is left to himself rather than his wife - thus diverting the funds to avoid having to pay care fees for his wife.

Surely any care his wife receives, if means tested, will be based to a degree on their shared assets, excluding the property op himself lives in? I don't see how leaving the money to the op rather than the wife will affect it given assets are jointly owned when married.

Any assets which are solely in one partners’ name are not included in the financial assessment for care fees. One partner is not expected to subsidise the other from their personal funds - only from those assets in joint name.

it's not nasty and vindictive to think if someone has the money for care, they should be using their money for that as opposed to "day trips and visits to nice restaurants and the theatre" 😑

By the time an elderly person needs care, realistically they have no further use for their house or large quantities of savings. All they need for the remainder of their lives is care. So it's really no detriment to them at all to use their assets to fund it. The only people to lose will be the would be beneficiaries of the elderly person who are chasing a chunk of free money. Given you're one of these people who insist in linking wealth with working ones 'ass off' (because the poor don't work hard of course!) then why would you defend that? The beneficiary's won't have worked their asses off for that money, so why should they get it at the cost of the tax payer?

A friend is going through this with her husband
Money in joint names they count 50%
Money in sole name belongs to the account holder only

The care the OP's wife will receive will be same whether she self-funds or not. Pretty much the only advantage which comes with self-funding is being able to choose your nursing home. The OP's wife is already in care, being able to afford probably less than 3 years of care from an inheritance will almost certainly make zero difference to her. However, if the money is put in trust for her benefit (which seems to be the best option here) then she can benefit in the long term with wee treats and luxuries that the care home does not provide.

If you, or someone you loved, found themselves seriously disabled and facing the next 30 plus years in care do you not think it would be nice to go out and enjoy yourself as best you can once in a while?

Exactly this. OP needs to have the conversation with MIL now and see about trusts.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

Why should someone else pay while you enjoy your money?

It's a question of facts though
Whether you agree with it is another issue
Just because you don't personally agree with it it doesn't make it deprivation of assets
Deprivation of assets is when a person disposes of their own assets to avoid paying for their own care
That's not what's happening here

The care system in this country is truly broken and successive governments have promised but failed to fix it and make it fairer for all sides. The comments here which suggest you ‘pay up’ idona disservice to the majority who have contributed to a system all out lives but which then fails to meet a certain needs in our later years. Local authority care providers are now in name only - these are now privately run companies selling their services to local authorities, interested in nothing more than making a profit for their owners. Which they do handsomely by also exploiting their migrant workers, who must pay many thousands to these homes to secure a work permit that in reality costs a few hundred pounds. Given where any contribution you are compelled to make will end up the profit column of self serving care own owners, I don’t blame you for seeking to protect what generations before you have worked for.