Huckster

Yes I agree! There are some fantastic homes that just get overshadowed by bad press - some of the homes offer lovely scenery as well as fantastic care, yet they are still overlooked.

And yes, even though the annual fees sounds a lot initially, when you consider all the work that goes into the homes and care plans, the cost is great value for money.

Thanks for your response.

Solomon

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Solomon

My great aunt had to go into a care home in her early 90's. As she owned her own home and had savings, she had to pay for the care home fees herself. In the area in Dorset, at the time, the care home network fees ranged from £26k to about £35k per year depending on needs/facilities.

I must say that in Dorset the local authority were very helpful in finding the best home for her needs and the care home was lovely. The owner/manager of the home was brilliant and the staff although they did change occasionally had an amazing disposition to providing the best care they could. When you consider the work required to care for people with needs, dementia, incontinency and all general daily needs, 365 days 24/7, the annual fees of about £27k were actually very good value for money.

This has been my only experience of a relative in a care home to date and was a very positive one. It is a shame that the good work of many care homes is sometimes overshadowed by negative stories in the media.

Huckster

If your mother reaches a point where she needs to be placed in a nursing home it is important to understand both the patient and family rights. Be certain to obtain a copy of her rights prior to placement and be very clear with nursing home staff regarding any special needs your mother may have. If the nursing home has a high turnover of staff you may need to be extra vigilant if your mother has special nursing care needs.

Having been through this with my father in law recently, the only thing that the officious from the council said of use was that if you used money to buy a funeral plan(s) then the council would not consider this as money gifted in order to reduce capital. We purchased plans for both my in laws which significantly reduced the capital.

Don't worry about insurance policies that may have been bought wth the intention of paying funeral costs, they should pay out cash in full when needed. They are not capital within the meaning of the 'means test'. Check the conditions of the policy to make sure that there is a cash payment option if they are not being used to pay for a funeral.

Plan ahead - money can be gifted under Inland Revenue rules but if you do it close to geing for care funding then the council wil consider it as capital and count it as if you still had it in savings.

Unfortunately my father in law died before we even had the paperwork back for the plans, but the funeral was so much easier having purchased the plan.

i agree with all comments made and contributions , thanks to all concerned

dave

Claire --- You're advice on here is just as important as everyone else, although you may not know or be able to advise on certain subjects you have proven that your advice in another field is invaluable.

That is what the true spirit of this forum is about, every person contributing when they feel able or want to help.

Conmankiller, Strangely feel quite chuffed you have posted with a compliment as you seem to be a senior person on here and always come up with lots of great advise so thanks. To be honest its nice to be able to give a little bit of advice rather than take it all the time from complete finance who is a star. Its always good to repay a good turn. I am rubbish at most financial stuff (see my new husband new mortgage thread!!) but I am pretty good at nursing and care stuff there are just not many people who need any advice on here regarding those things. Daveco please let me know if I can help with anything else

Yes Claire thats brilliant a great help and clears up matters

thanks

dave

clairemac30:In our area this aplies as well but only if the person has been living there for a significant time and not just moved in for the soe purpose of keeping the home. I am really not correcting as you give much better advice and have finaicial background its just that I had a patient whose relatives tried to do this and it wasn't allowed. Hope you don't mind me commenting. claire

Not at all Claire -- I am glad you did, it's adds a human touch and another dimension to this complicated subject and your input is very interesting and welcome. I had to "scratt" around for information, when my Dad was admitted to a nursing home suffering from dementia, learning the ropes is difficult.

In additon to what BB mentioned above the house cannot be sold while a spouse resides at the property or a relative over 60 or a registered disabled person.

OK this is the way we do it. We get a refferal for a patient who needs care. If they need placement we do a financial assessment with family or the patient. If the patient has over £21,500 in savings they are automatically self funding from the start. At this point I advise my patients and usually help them complete the form for attendance allowance. Once savings start dwindling to near the £21500 mark I suggext getting in touch with social services for a reassessment. If the patient has their own property and savings it is the same as above explanation. However, if the patient has a property to se but less than 21500 in savings I would still do a financial assessment here and you have 2 choices. Either the property is sold to pay for the care and the patient is self-funding and entitled to Attnedance allowance or you keep the property and do deffered payment as explained which is where the council pay for care but as a loan with no interest accrued until the patient is deceased at which point the council would contact you and let you know the balance outstanding. As I say not many people do this option but if it was appropriate you could rent the house to save the money for when the time comes that you need to pay the bill. In our area if savings are under (I think its) £12500 but there is a property that is going to be sold, then the council will pay a 12 week disreguard whereby an assessment will be made and she will receive a contribution from the council for the first 12 weeks along side a payment from her which usually accounts for most of her pension apart from a small weekly personal allowance. Does that lot make any sense? (Its the first time I have had to write it down normally I just explain face to face) claire

Hi Claire,

thanks for replies, Im thinking worst case scenario here that she needs constant and permanent care and supervision in a nursing home or sheltered housing . Surely the proceeds of the sale of her house go towards the care ?

Daveco, if you mum does need care at home she is entitiled to attendance allowance. This is not based on someone's finances and is instead based on what care she needs. If you apply for this make sure you fill it in based on her worst day capabilities.If she unfortunatley has to go into a care home and she is what we call 'self-funding' then she is also entitiled to attnedance allowance at the high rate. Our council also allows 'deferred payment' if someone owns a property. Its ages since I've dealt with one in my job but it basically means you don't have to sell the property but the council holds the deeds (I think) and they pay the bills. This accrues as a non-interest debt until the date of death at which point interest starts being added. The last family I dealt with who did this had the house done up and rented it, saving the rent money in order to pay the bill when the time came. Hope some of that makes remote sense.

ah so to summarise , if my mother is 83 years old and has lived in the house for over 40 years

and the only other place she could stay would be in my (sons) house , she has to sell her house to pay

for say a care home or nursing home apart from the first £21,500 she may have in savings (if she has that !!)

son

Agreed Claire, I envisaged that a relative could already be living there and giving care.

In our area this aplies as well but only if the person has been living there for a significant time and not just moved in for the soe purpose of keeping the home. I am really not correcting as you give much better advice and have finaicial background its just that I had a patient whose relatives tried to do this and it wasn't allowed. Hope you don't mind me commenting. claire