Care Home Fees Solicitors

Depending on how much you own in savings and assets you may have to pay for your own care home fees. If you need to go into a care home, a financial assessment (known as a means-test) will be made to identify whether you or the state are eligible to pay.

The local authority will consider things like the value of your home, savings, investments, pensions, and income. The amount of savings you can have before you need to pay depends on where you live in the UK.

In England, if you own more than £23,250 in capital, you’ll likely be asked to fund the care home yourself. For savings and assets between £14,250 – £23,250, you will be assessed as if you have an income with every £250 over the £14,250 threshold assessed as receiving income of £1 per week.

If you own £14,250 or less, or your savings dip below that amount once you start paying for care, then funding is available. You will be reassessed and some or all of your costs may be covered by the local authority.

You do not have to go through a financial assessment, but if you decline the means testing then you will be automatically eligible to cover the full cost of your care.

If you require residential care the local authority has a duty to assess your needs and you can ask them for a means test to see if you qualify for assistance.

Suppose you have financial resources above the current capital limit of £23,250. In this case, you’ll have to fund your care from income or savings. You can request a reassessment when your resources are reduced and if eligible the council will then contribute a greater share.

This means you can only get help with care home fees once your capital and savings drop below a certain level. This might be a concern for you if you had hoped to leave something behind for your family to inherit.

Your house will be considered as part of the means test when you have to go into care. There are some exceptions such as when your spouse or civil partner is still living there.

If your home is included in the means test, it will be ignored by the council in their calculations for the first 12 weeks of permanent care, giving you the chance to consider what to do with it.

Many people don’t want to sell their family home. Giving it away to a family member might seem like a way to exclude it from the means test and keep your home within the family. However, this could be seen as a deliberate deprivation of assets, which means you’d still have to pay the same care home fees as if you still owned your home.

One way to delay selling your home would be to set up a deferred payment agreement with the local authority, known as placing a charge on your property. This means the local council agrees to pay for your care now on the condition that they will be repaid from the sale of your property at a later date.

If you want to hold onto your family home, should you need to go into residential care Rowlinsons can help you understand your options and provide advice on the best way to plan for long-term care.