Arranging care for MIL

[cornflakegirl]

MIL has advanced dementia and has lost mobility, so needs 2 carers 4x a day. She is currently getting this through hospital reablement but we need to transition to privately funded care.

The LA have done a care assessment, and agree with her care need. We can now make a private arrangement - they suggested a company to use - or commission through them.

They won't do a financial assessment unless we commission through them, and I am concerned that if we wait till MIL's assets are down to £23k, they might try to do the split of assets between MIL and FIL at that point rather than now. The social worker can't give me any assurance that they won't do this. She has suggested separate bank accounts (which would deal with the cash but not eg shares).

The private company would be a bit more expensive than through the LA, but I think is more likely to give them the time slots they want, and the same people each time, which I think they would value.

Has anyone got tips on how to handle the financial side if we do go with a private arrangement? I'm not sure how to handle food bills / utilities etc - transfer a fixed amount to cover these each month from MIL's account to FIL's?

What assets do they have and in whose names? Is your MIL likely to run down to £23k?

Don't know exactly how much they have, but I think in a year or so MIL's share may be down to the £23k. No idea how long she has left. She has lost a lot of skills (and a lot of weight) in the last year, but seems quite cheery and still enjoys food.

Hopeful bump

If she’s approaching the £23k, it would seem important to split their finances asap. The obvious way to deal to my layman’s mind with shares is to sell half (by value) and convert to cash in your mother’s name, and transfer the rest to your father’s name. Or move all the shares to your father and a compensatory amount of savings to your mother. You need a financial advisor or an accountant with knowledge in this area.

LA in my experience try to keep the same small group of carers. What you will gain by going private is the ability to pay for bits of care that the LA don’t think are strictly necessary.