Care home fees
When a person enters long–term care, an assessment is made to decide who will pay for the care. An individual is responsible for funding their own care if their personal assets exceed a savings threshold. The value of their house is included in the financial assessment. If you wish to protect your family from care home fees you will need to think about whether you have sufficient income to fund them without using the value in your house.
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Planning options for care home costs
Planning options include gifting your home, putting your house in a trust, or equity release. However, it is important to take advice on the ‘deliberate deprivation’ rules which mean the local authority can add back gifts to the assessment if it is believed there has been a deliberate attempt to reduce personal wealth to avoid self-funding of care. In any case, we recommend everyone should seek advice before giving assets away or releasing equity from the value of their house.
The cost of care homes can vary over time and by the type of care. These are subject to change along with allowances and schemes. It is important to review how future care home fees will be met and manage arrangements to ensure they remain fit for purpose.