Found these two snippets online ......
Deprivation of assets
If the person with dementia gives away money or property before going into care in order to pay less towards the fees (for example, signs the house over to someone else), the local authority can treat him or her as if he or she still has it when they assess how much he or she should pay. But they can only do this if they can reasonably consider that avoiding the fees was part of the reason. However, many local authorities say that all older people ought to be considering that they might need long term care in the future. These local authorities will count any money given away as part of a persons? assets, unless there is another strong reason for giving it away (for example to avoid inheritance tax).
If the money or property was given away less than six months before the person went into the home, the local authority has the power to claim back its value from the person it was given to. If it was given away more than six months ago, the local authority can still count the amount as part of the person?s capital in their assessment, which means that they may not help with home fees, even though the person no longer has the money
People can also be treated as still having money or property they no longer possess if they gave it away to get Income Support.
How to avoid long term care fees
Children often ask if it is possible to avoid nursing home fees by transferring the parental home into the name of one or more of the children.
Rather than a simple transfer of property a transfer into trust should be considered. Your trustees then have a discretion as to how best to provide for you and your family in the future.
Such avoidance can work but it should only be done after careful consultation because individual circumstances vary enormously.
There is anti-avoidance legislation to prevent the most obvious methods of avoiding the costs of long term care and there are traps for the unwary.
Before considering a transfer of the parental home an older person must take legal advice. In particular:
What is the immediate effect of making the gift and what are the possible long-term risks and objectives of doing so?
Will the gift become subject to the "notional capital" rules with the possibility of enforcement proceedings being taken by the Local Authority or the Benefits Agency? The "notional capital" rules could mean that you will be assessed as if you still own the asset given away.
The effect of divorce is often overlooked. An older person might transfer his or her home into the name of an only child only to discover that the child is divorced some years later. The divorced spouse could claim that the parental home is a matrimonial asset and seek to have it sold.
The bankruptcy of a child could have a similar effect.
The death of a child could also result in that child?s next of kin (e.g. son/daughter in law or grandchildren) becoming part owners of the property.