Since 2006, I’ve lived with my mother for six years. I am eligible for carer’s assistance and my mother is entitled to a 25% reduction in council taxes
My mother, who is now 89 years old, will soon turn 66. It is becoming increasingly likely that she will require permanent care at a nursing home.
How will her property and savings be affected? She has £30,000 saved and owns her property outright. Do I need to leave? What about her health?
Care home bills: Elaine Roche, partner in Kuits Manchester and director of Solicitors for the Elderly (pictured right), explains the funding requirements below
Tanya Jefferies of This is Money replies: People often give up their homes and jobs to care for loved ones.
After many years of hard work, often unpaid, these people are frequently left with little to no savings.
It can lead to a lot of stress for all involved when relatives suddenly need more help than they are capable of giving.
An expert in this field, we asked him to give us a detailed explanation of the events likely to occur, the costs your mother will have to cover to stay in a nursing home and what impact this might have on your personal living situations.
Based on what you told her, and the fact that she does not know everything about your situation, she believes you won’t have to go to the care home if your mother needs it.
We trust that the following information will be helpful for you and your mom.
Elaine Roche is a partner in Kuits Manchester and director at Solicitors for the Elderly. You should arrange a need assessment for your mother if you have not done it already.
Start the process by applying on behalf of her for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding. Although there is a very high chance of her being approved, it would mean that she could receive NHS Continuing Healthcare funding.
Even if your mother isn’t eligible, an assessment can help to ascertain her needs and allow you to select the best home for her.
A financial evaluation would be done if her medical needs do not qualify for NHS CHC.
This would first of all look at your mother’s income, such as pensions or savings interest, which can be used towards care.
Your mother should be claiming every benefit she has, as it will increase her income. In this instance, however, benefits for disabled people are not considered.
If she earns less than her monthly care expenses, the financial evaluation will assess the mother’s assets.
Where somebody has over £23,250 in capital or savings, they have to pay in full for residential care themselves, but if the value of their assets falls below this level the local authority will step in to help.
In certain situations, a financial evaluation may exclude property from consideration.
They include situations where someone lived with someone before they became a caretaker, such as a husband, wife, civil partner or ex-husband or wife, or close relatives over 60 or children under 16 or incapacitated.
On that basis, if you do not have a home of your own, then as you are a close relative over the age of 60 you will qualify, and your mother’s property should not be included in the financial assessment.
Even if the applicant did not meet these criteria, local authorities may still be able to exempt or disregard the property.
This is usually when someone gives up their house and moves into a care facility to take care of someone who needs it.
In conclusion, your mother will need to pay for her care until her savings fall below the £23,250 threshold.
After that, she should have a financial evaluation done. She would then be eligible to receive funding from the local authorities.
You should be aware that your mother could lose her savings in a very short time.
You should therefore confirm that your mother’s care home accepts funding from the local authorities.
If you do not act, your mother may have to move again and seek a new home.