Can one person of a couple be left money individually

[katymac]

or would it be included in the general pot

if the partner were in a nursing home would the inheritance be used to pay for the care

i assumed it would be used to pay for care as when you are married you are one entity

I think nursing home costs may come out of joint household income/savings. However, this is a complicated area. Age UK have leaflets about financing nursing care or you could ring them and speak to an adviser.

Individuals are responsible for their own care costs. So if their spouse were to inherit some money, then it would not affect their assessment for help with paying for care.

From the Age Uk fact sheet:
Your local authority cannot include capital or income belonging to your partner in your financial assessment. This is because it does not have the power to assess couples according to joint resources - each person must be treated individually.

www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs39_paying_for_care_in_a_care_home_if_you_have_a_partner_fcs.pdf

it's not really my business; just the person said they were inheriting the money personally so it couldn't be used for care home fees

& I wondered if it was true

Interesting - thanks

I don't think you can inherit much jointly - if anything.
If I want to leave £100 to 2 children, I would have to specify the share in my will.

Well, if it’s done at the last minute to avoid paying for care, then the government isn’t daft and you can’t just get out of paying fees by quickly signing the money over to someone.

well hopefully you wouldn't just kill your MIL just because you've gone into a home

So you can't do anything short notice wrt an inheritance