If you move into a care home the substantial fees will have to be paid from your assets or by the local Social services.

At the time of writing (November 2008) If you have assets in excess of £22,000 you must pay all the fees.

The assets figure includes your home so in effect any property owner will have to meet the full cost. In practical terms the Social Services will pay the fees and claim them back if you do not have sufficient cash.

If you have less than £22,000 you will pay a portion of the fees dependent on te amount of capital you have.

This often comes as a huge shock to relatives and family and is often very upsetting to the family member moving into the care home.
In blunt terms the state will take everything to pay the care home fees until there is only £13,500 left.

At that point the local authority will pay all the care home fees.

How can anyone mitigate this?

The answer is with great difficulty and any action that is seen by the authorities that is simply an artificial way of putting assets out of their reach will result in them pursuing the matter legally.  Do NOT take any action that results in the removal of assets without taking legal advice.

The first thing that should be done by anyone involved  is to understand exactly what the position is. Please see the links at the end of this article for more useful information and resources.

For any family that finds them selves  trying to ensure that their relative is being advised well, being protected, finding the rules and regulations complicated, with an often unwell relative, decisions having to be made quickly it is very stressful.  We strongly recommend you seek help and advice from others.

The other vital step that should be taken is to ensure that the family member involved is claiming all of the benefits that they are entitled to; care allowance, attendance allowance, disability etc etc.  This should be done before the move into the care home if possible.

 The difficulty in this is that many elderly family members will absolutely refuse to accept or apply for any help.  Their pride and independence is at the one time their greatest strength and their greatest weakness. 

There are organisations that will help.  Help the aged, The Royal British Legion and many others have experienced well informed staff who are familiar with all of these issues and in discussing these matters with the elderly.  They can often be of great help to the other family members in ensuring their elderly relative is well advised.

With everyone living longer, continuing improvements in medicine and care this is an issue all of us will face and the sooner you think about it and plan for it the better.

 Direct Gov Guide on paying care Home Fees.

 Direct Gov Guide on Care Home Fees and your home.

Help the aged Guide on care Home Fees