Property Inheritance

[leahbee]

How do you ensure your property goes to your children and not to pay for care home fees should they be needed. Thanks

[Barmaid]

You could transfer the property into the names of the children now with a trust declared over it that you are to live there for the rest of your life. However, the Local Authority can go back as far as they like and if your "principal reason" for doing so is deprivation of assets they can still place a charge on the assets. It's quite complicated and you would need legal advice which will depend on your personal circumstances as to the best way forwards.

[Barmaid]

Actually, I don't think it needs to be the "principal reason", just a "substantial reason".

[jake-the-peg]

You would also want to considre that your choice of care home might be somewhat more restricted if it's being paid for by the state compared to if you're self funding.

There can be a big variation in the quality and you might want to consider if that's a sacrifice you're happy making.

Certainly when I was looking for one for my father last year I wasn't happy with the first ones I saw - There were no publically financed vacancies in the one I finally settled him in

[leahbee]

Thank you very much for your replies. My home is the only thing I have to leave my children.
Can you please tell me the difference between a " substantial reason" and a "principal reason".

[Barmaid]

Ignore "principal reason" I was talking nonsense.

If you transfer property to anyone and the intention behind the transaction is largely to avoid CHF, that is a "substantial" reason. Although the LA can go back any length of time the younger you are and the healthier you are the less likely they will view it as a "substantial reason". There are a number of ways you can justify it but they are very much personal.

[arwyn]

Leah, the best way to do it, is for you to live and be cared for in your home.
That way you can die in your own home and it would go to your family.

Would that work for you?

[Hypognosis]

//How do you ensure your property goes to your children and not to pay for care home fees should they be needed. Thanks //

You have to admit, the Tories know a money-spinner when they see one.

Incidentally, it might be useful to look at the prices of similar properties for sale nearby (there's no way to get an accurate valuation without paying estate agents fees), to see if there is any risk of inheritance tax thresholds being exceeded.

If that were the case and you time it right, you should be able to arrange care at a service level of your choosing and reduce your estate to below that threshold.

@Barmaid,

you seem to be saying that Local Authorities can poke around into someone's finances and clawback care expenses, including looking into their history, which I am taken aback by. Presumably they've faced off with a few too many people who'd come looking for their 'fully paid up' NHS care and saying that they didn't own their own home?

[Barmaid]

Look at the Charging for Residential Accommodation Guidance 2013 paras 6.062 onwards Hypognosis.

It wouldn't be difficult for the LA to find out. They look at the address she is living at at the time of admission, then do a Land Registry search (£3.50), then make her prove it was wasn't to deprive herself of assets.

[EDDIE51]

Hypognosis
Yes they can go back years and if they decide that the home was sold to avoid fees they can demand repayment. With the cutbacks they are getting more and more desperate to claw back care home fees. with fees from a minimum of £600 a week and often up to £3000 a week the house will not last long.

[Hypognosis]

Thanks Barmaid and Eddie.

Just shows how out of touch I am with the system, as it stands. I had no idea Local Authorities were even involved in running care homes. I previously thought they were something formerly run by the N H S but, nowadays, 90+% privatised.

So, do the LAs own any care homes outright? Even if they do, what happens if all their £600/week places are full - can they farm out your loved one to one of the more expensive, privately-owned places and hand you the bill?

[EDDIE51]

The cost of a care home mainly depends on the level of care needed, £600 a week would be a 'supported housing' home where the residents have their own flat but there are staff who check up on them regularly , usually there is a dining room and lunch is provided as part of the rent.If a person needs full time care then the cost goes through the roof , a place in a home for a person needing 24 hour 7 day a week one to one care can be over £3000 a week. There are no NHS care homes now , there are still some council run ones but they are increasingly run by private companies.

[pixie373]

Whether you pay for your care depends on your savings. If you own your house, you'll have to pay privately. Social services provide beds for those below the threshold - often in the same homes.