Parents assets

[RoaRiRi]

Hi. I hope someone can help. My DF has dementia and lots of other health conditions. He has now become totally delusional and starts talking about his delusions first thing in the morning to last thing at night (although sometimes he doesn't sleep). My sibling and I are helping my DM manage him but it's only a matter of time before he goes into a home.
Social services came around and were completely useless with our questions. I was wondering if anyone might be able to help answer them;

1. DM has a tiny pension. They live off DFs (drawdown). His pension is in his name but DM is the beneficiary. Will 50% of that be protected for her?
2. DM has £50k saved in premium bonds. If she transfers this to me (or my sibling) before their financial assessment, is this a depreciation of assets? Our thinking is it is in her name (not his) and the financial assessment is about his assets?
3. We understand the house is protected as she lives in it but she also needs money to live off - if this taken into consideration during the financial assessment?

Thanks

Contact AGE UK they are brilliantly at answering those questions accurately. They will answer the phone and send you leaflets.

You don’t have to do anything with your mums savings. The assessor looks at your dad’s individual savings and joint assets.

Once he goes into care she will get half his pension. I believe there is an appeals procedure if this causes hardship.

Thanks for that. I'll give Age UK a try.

Yes, they split joint assets down the middle but anything your mum has in her own name is not taken into consideration, so her PBs are safe. The house is safe if she is living in it.

I don't know old your parents are, but obviously if your mum needed care in the future too, all their assets including the house would go, unfortunately. This might be the time to gift some assets to children and grandchildren, think the max tax free is £3000 a year. Best to do it while she is well. Once there is a diagnosis of any degenerative condition, giving assets away is seen as deliberate deprivation.

1. If it;s your fathers pension then I think that they may consider all of it when doing an assessment for him, although I'm not sure.
2. Savings in your mothers name will be ignored for his assessment.
3. Once your father goes into a home they are considered separate households so your mother could eventually be able to apply for Pension Credit, council tax reduction etc (although I think she will be expected to use some of her savings first - if she tries to pass them onto you this will be considered as a deprivation of assets on her part and she will be treated as if she still had them)

Half of. The pension definitely goes to the spouse.

sorry just to clarify, the private part of the pension is split.

She absolutely should not give away large amounts in assets. Of course that's not ok. If she ends up with very little to live off she will need to claim means tested benefits possibly pension credit, especially if her state pension is low and that would be seen as deprivation of capital.
I have dealt with one old lady recently who sold a house and went into rented. She gave her son a lot of the proceeds of the house sale and then claimed housing benefit. The local authority have now caught up with her years later asking where the money form the house sale went and demanding money is repaid. She is in a terrible state.
Age Uk have very good factsheets on this which should be accessible online.

Also if your dad is going to be self funding ( if he has assets over the £23250 threshold) then he can continue to claim any disability benefits he is receiving.

Your mum may be able to claim pension credit if she is below the threshold. Again AGE UK will answer this. May I give you some more advice based on having put three elderly people through the care system.

You will be asked the same question over and over again, sometimes by the same person.
get a file ready with a list of questions you want to ask. Take note of the date and name of the person you spoke to. Also what their response was.
Also include Dad DoB, DoM, mums maiden name, doctor details, dad’s phone no. NHS number and NI number.
A list of his medications and a list of his health issues.
All of your mums income details, for later when you move on to helping her.

Social Services are snowed under so this helps not only you but them also. They take you seriously when you ask for their name and that you are taking notes. Contrary to what many people think, they are not your enemy. Most will want what is best for your Dad, while working within the very strict protocols.

Your mum may be able to claim pension credit if she is below the threshold.

Will she if she has £50k on savings?

Pension credit kicks in when there is an income below £218 weekly. Savings don’t affect entitlement, but any saving over £10,000 will affect how much she gets.