AIBU to try and prevent care home fees? Advice appreciated

[Watermelonsuns]

So my parents are elderly, both have health issues but managing well at home. My mum in particular would struggle if something happened to my dad. Recently a friend's parent had to go into a care home and as the parent owned their own house and savings they are self funding and the fees are crazy.
AIBU to try and find a way to protect my parent's property and savings in order its not all gone in care home fees in the last years?
Someone has suggested moving their property into my name but surely that would be an obvious way to avoid fees and would look dodgy? Is there another loop hole im missing? Aby advice from someone working in this area would be appreciated thanks

It’s a question on who pays for the 18 to pensioners.
They are one third

So we need an equal policy.
The number claiming as above attachment is the same.

I suppose in that case the beneficiaries of the will could force the new wife to sale as she only owns half and hasn’t got a lifetime interest in the beneficiaries half
but this is where it would get complicated and I’m not a lawyer 😂😂

think I’ll be sorting that out as our house is, well, worth a fortune, and I’d want my kids - and not a bereavement fueled late life crisis bimbo - to get enough to keep them secure. My eldest is ADHD/ASD with significant MH issues so may never have the security of a committed partner (hope to hell I am wrong), so I’d want to know she was set up. 🙏

Yep I don’t know why people try to complicate things with Trusts handing over the house to kids & stuff 😂

seperate tennants / mirror wills
job done 😂
50 percent of a house / inheritance Is better than 0

I just don't understand why people do this. And that includes my own parents (and yes I've made my feelings clear, although they ignored me). Why the hell shouldn't their assets be used to pay for any care required, rather than putting yet more of a tax burden on a shrinking number of workers? Especially when we're largely talking about unearned assets due to buying property at the right time.

Many of the homes in my area accept local authority funding, but also take people who are self-funding. The very good ones are only affordable to people who are self-funding. Some years ago, my friend's DM was in one of these and she loved it because she said it was like a hotel!

100 percent do it

if you remember Linda Bellingham ( oxo lady advert ).

she inherited from her late husband several million and property when he died and she was wealthy and successful in her own right

they had 2 kids

she got remarried ( didn’t have will) got cancer and died and new husband of I think 7 years inherits not only Linda’s stuff but what was her husbands

he immediately cut off the kids
they fought him in court and I think they you s flat worth 200k or something but nothing compared to what they should have inherited several million

I noticed that someone mentioned about dementia. For info, in these circumstances it is always best to apply for NHS Continuing Healthcare. It's not always easy to get, but definitely worth pursuing. Watch the film Care (BBC1 film 2018) starring Alison Steadman and Sheridan Smith.

Maybe the feel they’ve paid into the system since 16/18 until retirement and, if they’ve not received any benefits, earned a living and paid for their own home, they should be entitled to state care in their old age? Esp if they’ve paid higher taxes? And even more esp considering that there are people who’ve hardly paid in at all and received a lifetime of state support who will then get their old age funded too?

What on earth are you quoting completely random and irrelevant inheritance cases for?

I think as a country we've ended up looking at this from the wrong side of the coin.

I visit carehomes daily for my job, all over the North West. My Mother is expecting she'll need care at some point - after my Dad goes we know she'll just go downhill and give up. And she's fully allowed to spend penny of their savings, and sell the house and spend every single penny of it on getting somewhere top notch and really decent. I've seen "free" places and some of them I wouldn't put a dog in and I'm stunned they're not had complaints or been closed down. Yes, sometimes people do get paid for places in good homes where the care is excellent, but I wouldn't ever want anyone I cared about to take that gamble. It's just not worth the risk of the absolute awful places you COULD get. No chance. It's not "wasting" money if you see your inheritance go on a parent having to cough up for their own care and housing, it's actually choosing to spend it wisely on ensuring you don't spend your last days covered in your own filth in a windowless room and never having an activities planned apart from being dumped in a communal sitting room with Smooth FM playing on the telly.

OP, why wouldn't you want your Mum to have the best she can possibly afford?

🤯

bloody hell!!

Actually as DD is on PIP etc, I am thinking that the strategy has to be to get her to move back in - assuming she ever leaves - with whichever of us survives so that she satisfies the ‘disabled/dependent’ living in the property [and part owner] bit so that the other half of the property can’t be touched if DH either, esp if he didn't remarry [he swears he wouldn’t as he’s both tight and, as much as he loves me, marriage is too much hard work unless you are suffering for the sake of your children 🤣].

I have learned so much on here today … going to google linda bellingham now. loved her!

Because it’s pertinent to the advice to OP to suggest her DPs do mirror wills and switch to tenant in common on the title deeds of their marital property…

I made the post because someone said not as many people as you think need residential care. They are right.

I was meant to quote someone who was asking about her husband remarrying and new wife getting the house

i was explaing that changing the wills / mirror wills and joint tennants was the best way to protect your half and making sure it goes where you want it to

it’s also the way to ensure that SS can’t use 100 percent of the house for care fees

same thing basically

Linda Bellingham was a perfect example of not writing a will and her new husband inheriting everything inc what her late husbsnd had

its till has to be done early enough.....way before its needed....in order to pass the deliberate divestment test.

Read what i was replying too, instead of just hitting the KB ?

At this stage, there is nothing the op can do, IHT is a totally dfferent matter, as you ought know.

The super rich do not hide their money to avoid care home fees, they will want the best care available.

Yep it’ happens all the time
happened to my cousins
there mum inherited there mates fathers business / property

she remarried / died and new husband inherited everything
he had a new women in the house within 6 months

You're the one who isn't getting it OP. This has probably already been pointed out but hospices are charities that have to raise funds to support themselves. They aren't funded by the government.

Also, those who have care home places funded by the government are being funded by us, the taxpayer. The government doesn't have a secret money tree somewhere. We already pay enough in taxes, and cuts are being made to public services because there isn't enough money to fund everything. It's not helped by an aging population needing care, many who haven't got means to pay for said care. If your parents have savings and a house then this should be used to pay. I say that as someone who could miss out on any inheritance if my own 88yo mother needs care at some point.

Linda Bellingham did write a will, but left nothing to her children.

Your parents money will go to fund their care. And give them more choice of care. I have been involved in this happening and we were pleased to have control/choice. If they stay at home they will need to pay for care at home. There was some money still left at the end which was a nice bonus. I would suggest paying for upfront funeral plans so that is definitely covered.

Was it that she assumed her new bloke would look after them I’m sure I remember her family saying that no day would she have left them out of any inheritance

either way she was badly advised

I do remember it being in the press at the time
he was called the timeshare man or something wasn’t he

My dad created a Trust in his will. When he and my mum bought their house tenants in common wasn't a thing IIRC, so that's what their solicitor advised to achieve the same effect (not sure if it did). How many elderly ppl who have owned their homes for years go back and update these things to tenants-in-common 50-50?

Probably not many
I suggested it to my parents as I knew people who had done this

and they did there own research and then decided to do it

I didn’t inherit - my son did

Quite a few care homes are not open to council funded individuals, even if some of the private funded residents they take eventually end up as council funded and are treated no differently when they are.