For many families or couples – care home fees is a subject which often remains unspoken about until at time when they are forced to discuss it.
Life’s journey often starts with working hard, buying a house and then eventually paying off the mortgage.
However, very few of us would want to including moving into a retirement home and selling our home to pay for care to be on that list.
However, that is exactly what happened to a staggering 45,000 in the UK people last year – all of whom sold their home to pay for their care.
Partner at Buckles Solicitors, and head of the law firm’s private client team, Stephen Duffy said: “Care home fees can easily be £1,000 per week or more, so it’s easy to see how the value of a house can be eroded.
“Only when assets reduce to £23,250 will a Local Authority contribute to the care costs, and an individual will continue paying for their care until their assets drop to £14,250.
However, careful planning can ensure that it is possible to work hard, pay off your mortgage and pass your hard earned assets to your children.”
He added: “This is a situation that can affect anyone. And with estimates that one in four people will live until the age of 100, it’s a growing problem that can be tackled by planning early.”
Advice from Buckles:
- The best method for a couple is to make new Wills. The prospect of this may been daunting, but it can make a huge difference.
- Most simple Wills leave all assets to the spouse and then to the children on the second person’s death. But these Wills miss a huge opportunity.
- Planning involves a two stage process of firstly looking at how your assets are currently owned, and then making new Wills leaving assets to each other in such a way that the survivor is completely safeguarded, but so that maximum protection is achieved.
- Once both steps are carried out, you gain the reassurance of knowing that you will not have worked all your life simply to see your hard earned assets disappear, but that you have instead planned as best as you possibly can for your family’s future.
For further information on care home fee planning or to discuss the opportunity of making a new Will or amending an existing one, contact Buckles Solicitors LLP or visit our care home fees page.
