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Elderly parents

Build an annex?

3 replies

chocolatepowder · 23/01/2021 10:13

Has anyone done this? My parent is quite frail now but has their faculties. They are desperately lonely so I spend hours driving backwards and forwards with my newborn baby. We have a big plot so plenty of room to build something adjoining. They have social services funded day care going in every day but also own house (well half of it). Parent is keen.

How did you fund it? Ideally I would need parent to provide some of the money but am worried about social services view on this. Really interested to hear pros and cons from people that have done it.

OP posts:
MereDintofPandiculation · 23/01/2021 16:00

You're worried about deprivation of assets? The problem is that you can't sell an extension to pay for care, and it could be argued that they're using money which should be set aside for their care instead to enhance the value of your home. The penalty for deprivation of assets is that assumed to still hold the assets you got rid of - which means that social services would do the assessment as if your parent still had whatever sum they'd paid into the extension, and in practice, once their own funds had run out, you'd end up paying the shortfall. I would take an accountant's view.

As long as they're living there, there should be no problem, provided you can demonstrate that their money went into providing accommodation for them. You would be able to demonstrate that you were saving public money by enabling them to stay in their own home for longer.

How long would they be able to self-fund if they went into care? What would the financial situation be when they needed a social service contribution to a care home - would you by then be able to buy them out and release the money they'd put into the extension to pay for care home?

Could you get a mortgage to build the extension, charge your parent a fair market rate, and use that to pay off most of the mortgage? Then, if you needed to, get a lodger to continuing paying off the mortgage one your parent went into care. Lots of paperwork, insurance and tax implications. Last resort, I think.

It really depends how much of their money you need to pay for the extension. The average person survives about 3 years in a care home. Have they got enough money left to self-fund for 3 years?

MereDintofPandiculation · 23/01/2021 16:07

I'd take professional advice on this, but presumably, if they have money left over, they'd be able to start contributing to their daily carers (or are they self funding already?) So I wonder whether you could seek social services "approval" in advance? Also, if the Council were saying that the £50k they'd put into the extension were part of their assets, I'd be arguing that they'd been living with you for x months and the market rent for the alternative, a 1-bed apartment in your town was, say, £350 pm and this sum should be deducted from the £50k.

You could also contact AgeUK

Are you going to have any problems moving them form one LA to another?

cptartapp · 23/01/2021 16:23

My friend did this. Several years on, her life revolves round that of her ageing parent completely. She's on antidepressants.
Now what I'd let my DC do.

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