Protecting property if parents go into care

[Abwettar]

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can give me some insight regarding protecting my parent's home from care home fees?

The current situation is that I am an only child, there is no other family. Aside from the house, there are no other assets. My parents have joint ownership of their house, worth around 100k, and are both currently living there. They are both in poor health, my dad has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and my mam has been diagnosed with dementia - however they both have capacity to understand the situation at the moment. They have always been adamant on me getting the house after they pass.

There are no plans for either of them to go into a care home, I would like for them to stay in the house as long as it's safe to do so, with care from myself and carers going in throughout the day.

I was looking into putting the home into a trust, but I have read some conflicting information on if this would be considered deprivation of assets due to their poor health.

My question is, if both my parents were to make a will and each leave their 50% share of the house to me, would this protect at least part of the house? For instance, if one of my parents passed away, would their half of the house be protected from care home fees, even in the situation that the other parent had to go into a care home?

Any advice on this situation would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

Oh wow! You've had quite a few nasty replies on here. There are just some people that think that way.

There are a couple of different ways to approach this.

One way of doing this is for your parents to alter how they own the house. This would mean changing from "joint tenants" to "tenants in common".

As joint tenants they equally own the whole house - just like with a joint bank account.

But changing the ownership to "tenants in common" means that they each own a separate 50% each.

From what you have said it sounds as though your dad will likely pass away first. If the ownership is changed to tenants in common and then your dad leaves his 50% share of the house to you in his will (along with allowing your mum to live there until she dies or goes into care) then that means that his 50% share will not be counted if your mum does go into care.

If you speak to any solicitor who is used to doing wills then they are used to writing wills to achieve this.

A couple of pp saying that this must be done more than seven years before going into care is mistaken in what they say.

However, something to be aware of, any solicitor that draws up a new will for your parents must be convinced that they are aware and do understand what they are signing
.

An alternative way of dealing with this would be if you were to move in with your mum before she goes into care. If you are over the age of 60 when she goes into care then it is a mandatory disregard. This also applies if any other member of your family who is over 60 is also living there before she goes into care.

If you are under the age of 60 when she goes into care then there is a discretionary disregard if you have moved in to the home to care for her.

My parents scrimped and saved and lived in poverty most of their lives to be able to buy a house, specifically because they wanted to leave me something when they passed away. They have both paid taxes their entire lives, so in fairness they probably deserve their care to be paid for them far more than those people on benefits their whole lives who pay nothing into anything and still get everything they need handed to them when they get old enough to not be able to manage themselves anymore.

Some people are really enjoying telling you that you’re screwed aren’t they? To say you’ve just said you have a parent with terminal cancer and one with dementia which must be awful for you - shame on them!

I don’t have any advice really other than to say that it seems unfair to me that your parents likely paid taxes all their life and seem to have a modest life and then they’ll have to pay for their likely crappy care when some people don’t work and the government pay their rent etc (I know that’s a very over simplified version of what really happens but it is true in some cases)

I’m sorry you’re going through this, I think a free half an hour appointment with a solicitor might be best. Your Mum may well live another 7 years so if that is a thing then it’s worth looking into. I don’t mind my tax being used to fund care for elderly people that have already likely been taxed to death!

There is nothing you can do to secure your inheritance. The house is their asset and will be taken into consideration should it be left empty by both being no longer resident there and needing to pay for care.

I have had this discussion with my AC and their attitude is that if they finish up with no inheritances then so be it - they are more concerned that I should have proper care should it become necessary - because they love me. It is I who mind and would like to leave them something but I accept that this might not be possible.

They can change the house to tenants in common (if it isn't already) and your terminally ill parent can leave their half to you. As long as your other parent is resident there the council or whoever is funding care will not seek to sell the house. Assuming your other parent outlives the above they will at the point of needing care only own half the house so it can be sold, and the money in excess of£23k will be used for fees. Get professional advice though as to whether your parents have capacity to sign the paperwork and will to make the above happen

Your Mum may well live another 7 years so
The 7 years does not count for care fees they can go back any amount of time if they want to to check for deprivation of assets

RNBrie · 25/01/2025 18:12
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Please be really careful of setting up any sort of trust. My in-laws got scammed by a "lawyer" who said it was possible to avoid paying care home fees. The trust cost them £6k and was worthless”

Good. Why do some people believe they no longer have to pay their was just because they’re old?
People who can afford to pay for their care should.

Regardless of what your parents are "adamant" about, and whether or not you could do what you are suggesting, do you really want your parents to go into a fifth class care home in order for you to inherit something? Because even if you pulled it off, that is what would happen. The local authority won't just cough up for the nice care home of choice. They will set an allowance which, if you are lucky, might almost cover the costs of the cheapest homes (assuming there is any space in them anyway). If you would prepared to see that, then your parents should definitely reconsider their opinion of their daughter.

Ah. You are one of those.

Taxes are not a savings scheme for your future costs. They don't deserve anything more than any other citizen.

Your dad could leave his share to you (if the title is taken as tenants in common)
To avoid the situation where he dies,house is all her’s and then she goes into a care home and the whole proceeds are at risk

Unfortunately I don't think there is much you can do. My Mum has lived with Dementia for 12 years, and all of the proceeds of her house, meagre savings etc have all gone on care home fees to the tune of £6500 per month.
If I'm honest, I'd much rather see her being cared for in a lovely home by wonderful carers than be put in a LA home. It's her money, and it's affording her the best care which in turn puts my mind at rest.
Would she be horrified if she understood, probably, but it helps me to know that she's safe, fed, protected, engaged, and cared for.

I'm in the situation where my maternal aunt needs to be in a home. Her flat is left to me in her will, but will instead be used for care home fees. As it should be.

It's only my inheritance if she doesn't use the money in her lifetime, and I'd much rather that her and my mum can choose the carehome that suits her needs rather than being told which one she is going to.

It's right that the care home fees come first.

If you don't care about the morality of it, then this is the correct advice. See a solicitor and get the joint tenancy changed to tenants in common. Then get both Wills re-written so each leaves you their share on death. It can only be done if they both still have legal capacity so you need to move quickly.

I am sorry OP but being a hardworker doesn't qualify the right for tax payer care. If that was the case everyone who worked 30 plus years in this country should be given free care home then our taxes would be a whole of a lot more.

Millions of parents seem to think the tax payer should foot the bill for their little darlings' nursery, that annoys me just as much.
Free roads, 5-18 education and basic health, fair enough. But the tax payer funding every single other bloody thing is ridiculous. No wonder the country is bankrupt.

I think the unfairness of this is like my mums and dad’s friends he was a self employed builder a big chunk cash in hand they earned an absolute fortune way way more than than my parents
they lived like kings holidays cars luxury house if the earned £1 they spend £1.01

my parents earned a fraction of what there friends did put there money into there home no lavish lifestyle

but when it came to pay for care there Friends who had burned through and pissed a way a fortune got there care needs paid for
whilst my responsible parents got nothing paid for that just seems unfair

Unfortunately Taxes are not an insurance policy for old age, they are to pay for things now.
Your parents may well not be able to leave you anything and the best thing you can do is help them to come to terms with that

You can't protect their home. But one of them won't be left homeless. And only the one parents half can be used as another poster said. AfAIK

@Kendodd you are completely out of order speaking to OP like that. Reported.

One option to maybe help is for them to own 50% of the house each, called tenants in common - rather than jointly own the whole house. They can say in their will that the other spouse has the right to remain in the home until the 2nd parent dies. Each parent leaves their half of the home to you in their will. If care home fees are payable only that parents 50% can be claimed. If both parents need to pay care home fees you are no better off unfortunately. My parents did this and my DH and I have this set up too.

Unfortunately just because your parents scrimped and saved to buy a house it doesn't matter. I personally can name at least 50 people who did the same.
I'm also sure every poster on this thread also knows a lot who scrimped and saved.
Why don't you read the room that unfortunately the NHS/care sector is on its knees and you by trying to avoid care home fees will be helping to go lower.

The care sector needs a complete change. Some people get it paid for, some pay through the nose and then we have those wanting everyone else to pay but not them.

There very few, if any, local authority homes in England now. I don't know about the rest of the UK They are pretty much all private businesses.
The LA buys a certain number of beds at a heavily reduced rate. The rest of the actual cost of the LA beds is paid by the self funding residents.
The care is the same for all residents.
The LA funded rooms might be a bit smaller.
My parents worked hard and paid in full for their care when they needed it. I have no problem with that. I was less impressed that they were subsidising the residents who were state funded by around 50%.

Would changing a will so that the dad’s half goes to the OP not be seen as deprivation of assets though?

Also, what if the OP got divorced or went bankrupt when owning £50k in bricks and mortar? That kind of thing.

OP I’m so sorry to hear about your parents’ diagnoses. I’ve walked in your shoes. It is very tough.

I just think it's a sad world we live in when people spend their whole lives watching what they spend to buy a house, whilst also paying taxes, just to have it taken off them at the end of their lives.
It's too late for them to go back in time and enjoy their money, it really is hard to see the one thing they worked hard to earn be taken away from them, when if they had spent every penny through their lives on whatever they wanted they would now be getting their care paid for.

As someone who works in the care sector I know this better than anyone. And I've seen the awful effects the system has on older people who have desperately save their whole lives just to leave something to their kids, then have it taken away. It's an absolute disgrace.

Ultimately I'm trying to help my parents not lose something they worked so hard for in the first place.

I have also spent the last 4 years helping them in every way I can to avoid them going into a care home, not because I don't want to lose the house, but because neither of them want to go in a care home. They both want to die in their own home and I am doing everything i can to make sure that happens.