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.

Fair comment to those who say MiL can change her will; that's right as it's her money.

I’ve lost my inheritance from my grandma as she’s gone into a care home and we’ve had to spend all of it on looking after her.

It’s shit but you can’t guarantee an inheritance and just how care home fees work.

Also, the people who can pay are being overcharged to help subsidise those who can't.

We all know this has to paid for but It's not a fair system atm.

You can appeal a CHC decision, or try again later on. Both my DF and DFiL got it.
Our wills are set up so me and DH own half our house each, so if I die first my half of our house goes straight to my children, so if DH then needs care costs only his half is taken into account, and vice versa. We did it for blended family reasons but also means our kids shld end up with some £ if one of us ends up in a care home.

Too late for me. Its not a nice thing to happen.

Is this the same Essex county council who gave someone £500000 to set up Facebook and social media accounts for COVID information

Im with you. I don't want to give the government any money that have earned and paid tax on while someone who hasn't worked gets to get care for free. Why should we??

But the OP's wife hasn't received the money, and her mother will have the money until she (the mother) is dead. So there is no deprivation of assets.

I agree with this. I find it quite abhorrent that people are saying the lady in question should fund her own care ‘because she can’ when it is infact, a disability. There’s a whopping difference between old age care that everyone would require, and care for a life with a disability. I think the welfare state should pay and see nothing wrong with this. The tax payer pays for many other disabilities PIP DLA etc so why is this any different whatsoever.

I suppose the lesson here for anybody who is interested is, please kindly encourage older people to think about and face up to uncomfortable conversations about money.
An LPA made so siblings are equals is a good start.

I would get your MIL to re-draft her will to leave your wife a Life Interest in the INCOME only from her estate, with you as remainderman. what is called an immediate post death interest trust.

This would allow you to invest the money and your wife have the interest, on your wife's death you would become entitled to the money.

You have yourself and a solicitor as trustees, in the wording you can make it clear your wife has no claim on the capital, only the interest received.

While I do think this is a bit cheeky, do posters really think that other people aren't doing this?

Plus the vitriol against the op who is dealing with a really difficult situation is unpleasant. How awful for someone so young to be incapacitated and need care for the rest of their lives.

Strange how on MN the default is not to report benefit fraud and yet someone has tried to report him already when he's done nothing wrong!

Op you need specialist legal advice. I know my friends got this as one of their adult children was in long term care and they were concerned what would happen if he directly inherited alongside the other siblings.

Correct, and the MIL can direct it via her will as she wishes, it doesn't have to go to the daughter.
Basically it is the MIL decision.

For those thay say the state should pay for all social care - which of your taxes do you want to go up to fund this? Because the costs will be enormous. They are already bankrupting some councils.

It only counts for the mum, if she doesn't leave it to the daughter, or leaves it in trust, then it is never the daughters to spend.

This is true, but it's not just taxes!
Very few people want to work in care homes, the work is very demanding can be onerous and is very badly paid. We already have a labour shortage, how are we going to staff them? Will everyone have to do national service in a care home🤷🏻‍♀️

Not at all, deprivation of assets only applies if you deprive yourself of something you already have. If the MIL leaves her estate in trust then that is a valid decision of her will, and no amount of huffing and puffing by the LA will change that outcome. There was never anything to deprive in law.

Who are you talking about?

The LA can't pursue a dead woman for deprivation of assets ( the money is to be willed - in other words only transferred to someone else after the Mother has died) and they can't pursue the younger woman for deprivation of assets she never actually possessed (if the Mother wills her money to someone else, or places it in a trust).

.

This is the solution I have seen countless times on Mumsnet, given to parents who want to leave their money to disabled children.

If the MIL had posted, no doubt she would get the same advice.