Council claiming unpaid care home fees after resident has passed away

[mummarunner]

Hi, hoping someone can point me in the right direction as the internet is a minefield.

My dad passed away recently. He had been in a care home since 2015 and had received NHS continuing healthcare from 2019. The council have now decided there are unpaid care fees dating back to 2018 and want to place a charge for this on what is now mum's property (previously jointly owned house). The amount they are claiming is phenomenal and we know it is incorrect as dad was never expected to pay full fees following a financial review which they renewed annually. The problem is we have no paperwork to back this up (dad dealt with everything and it seems a lot of documents have not been kept/have got lost whilst he was in the care home) so I'm not sure we have a leg to stand on.

We will be talking to our solicitor, but is there anywhere else I can go to obtain as much information/advice as possible. We want to be fully armed before taking on this latest challenge (as if losing a close family member wasn't enough to deal with).

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

Can't give much information on this except I'd be interested to know what kind of care home allows a resident to say there when they're not paying their dues - very unusual. If you don't pay up pronto and when expected you get the boot is what I would imagine. Now they suddenly decide they haven't been paid.
Or was this part of the arrangement and can they prove this?

If they are bold enough to try this it is not unlikely they 'll have the backing of the local Council and Social Services so tread carefully. They may not be your friends in this situation. Actually, with regards to Surrey and the local MP I'm not sure they'll be your friends in any situation.

If your mother is living at the home I wonder what purchase they have on the situation - hey we're going to boot out this elderly lady to grab our cash! What would the local press make of all this?

Who did his annual financial review?

The executor of your fathers estate will be able to ask for historical records and get the evidence on your behalf.

CHC funding only pays for a certain amount. If the cost from the home was more than the CHC was covering then you may owe them.

@NewspaperTaxis

Can't give much information on this except I'd be interested to know what kind of care home allows a resident to say there when they're not paying their dues - very unusual. If you don't pay up pronto and when expected you get the boot is what I would imagine. Now they suddenly decide they haven't been paid. Or was this part of the arrangement and can they prove this?

If they are bold enough to try this it is not unlikely they 'll have the backing of the local Council and Social Services so tread carefully. They may not be your friends in this situation. Actually, with regards to Surrey and the local MP I'm not sure they'll be your friends in any situation.

If your mother is living at the home I wonder what purchase they have on the situation - hey we're going to boot out this elderly lady to grab our cash! What would the local press make of all this?

The council has paid the care home, but are saying the resident didn't pay to the council the bit they were assessed as being able to pay towards it. It seems a bit crap of them. I can't think of anything else apart from going to your solicitor, sorry. But stick to your guns.

@hashbrownsandwich

CHC funding only pays for a certain amount. If the cost from the home was more than the CHC was covering then you may owe them.

This is pre CHC funding kicking in though?

His executor or next of kin should ask the LA for a copy of all the contemporaneous paperwork 'to review against the paperwork your father received at the time'. They should also be asked for some form of itemised assessment if they haven't already provided this. Then a trip an advisor, possibly local CAB might have someone with some experience or know a solicitor volunteering with them might be able to recommend someone with experience?

Good luck.

If your mother was living in the house at the time then it’s value would (should) have been disregarded as she was a dependent.
Also there would have been some other disregards re savings and pension if your mother didn’t have any in just her name and they were all in his name.
If it goes back to 2018 all the banks pensions etc will have access to the records and the council should have their own records which they should be accessing.

@NecklessMumster yes this is exactly right.

Thank you for all your responses. It sounds like we just need to gather as much information as possible - hopefully the LA will oblige. Mum has a good solicitor who has experience in this area so will see what the outcome is. Might also try the local CAB, thank you to whoever suggested that.

Sounds to me like his client contribution wasn't paid for a period. Did someone have POA at the time?

The council would never evict someone from a care home for non payment it's against the care act.

When someone is in a care home placed by the council pretty much all their income will be expected to be paid to the council except charges still relating to the house if a partner still lives in it and about £35 a week for sundries.

If the money is owed it's unlikely to be waived while there's money in the estate. The council will have a legal team that deal with this daily, I think you'll need to pay what's owed.