so what's yr take on having to sell yr house when old to fund yr care home?

[herjazz]

so in light of this what dyou reckon?

Whilst I think care for the elderly is pretty shoddy and needs looking into, I'm not against folk with reasonable assets paying towards it. Why do they need to own a house they are not living in? Why should inheritance be seen as an automatic right?

I could be due to inherit loads off my folks - but if they end up having to cash in their assets to pay for more appropriate housing and care requirements then surely that's just them using THEIR money as they should? I shouldn't be moaning their assets stay intact and untouched so I can cream off them once they are dead?

It is incredibly difficult. And yet people assume that such care should be free so that they can get a nice fat inheritence pay out

youu know what even if my parents had a home for me to get my hands on - I wouldn't want it.........but equally I wouldn't want them to be forced to sell it to pay for either/both of their care.

What we have paid towards mum's care, and what we have saved the state in caring for her for 10 years at home, and what we have lost in reduced earnings (and we have a huge mortgage) is more than the value of her home, which has now been sold to pay for her residential care. We never wanted any of her savings or any kind of inheritance. We would have much preferred to be able to provide better care than we could manage, given all our other outgoings and responsibilities.

There will be no inheritance, and that is ok with me.

I completely fail to see why people shouldn't sell their homes to pay for care if they are not ever going back to live in them. Why on earth should taxpayers pay for people so that they can leave a fat inheritance to their grasping relatives?
If the relatives really want the cash they should take their aging relatives to live with them, or accept that you earn money, you save and invest it while you can in order to later spend it on the things you need to live - eg care.

thing is many of these people are going to be leaving "fat inheritances" to their children. Many of them live in "regular" (not worth that much money) homes.

In recent years it's not been uncommon to find that peope move out of their "family" home and buy a "retriement" home - so they may not have made £100,000's on it.

On the reverse why should someone be able to throw their money away when younger, maybe even live off the state on benefits - and then get free care from the outset? Is that fair that someone that has worked hard to get a home and provide for their own retirement should have to pay when someone that hasn't given their retirement a 2nd thought should get it free for doing bugger all?

Is having a home empt while you're in care any different to all the people that own 2nd homes??

Very few people will ever save enough to pay for their cost of care - at £500+ a week, that's why they end up being forced to sell their homes.

Those people who do not buy homes do not get the benefit (that those who DO buy their homes have from living in them during that period, so the regualr whine of 'its not fair' is irrelevant. There is nothing vituous about buying a home rather than renting, in fact if you rent and spend the money saved from the mortgage on buying goods and services, these benefit the economy and the state thru the VAT paid, so actually those non home owners are giving more back than those who hoard it in their investments homes
People seem to forget that the government does not have any money! - it is taxpayers (inclusing everyone who pays for anything with VAT on it, ie inclusing the poorest - funding inheritances for the well off that is more shocking than people using their investment gains to pay for their own living costs.

but how many people that rent have all of this extra money to spend on goods and services?? Not many - either the money goes on rent, or it goes on the mortgage. If you don't have a mortgage you don't suddenly find you have oodles of cash to throw into the economy!

and what are these magical "benefits" of having your own home/mortgage?

So far apart from the fact that you (probably) won't have to move unless you wish to (same can be said of council housing as well) the only benefit I've found so far - if you can call it that - is that I have more credit options available to me .

And those throwing their money away and living on benefits are having their rent paid for them!