mother in law going into home

[tanya scott]

Please can anyone help, my mother in law has alzheimers and is getting worse by the day , she owns her own home and is widowed. I own  half share of the the house since my father died but do not live there.  . What is the financial situation when my mother needs to go into care? Do we have to sell the house  to pay for care or are we entitled to help from the local  council to pay for her care? Please help if you can , many thanks

[kaz35]

I'm not really sure of the legaliies of the situation, but my guess is that you'd be wise to talk to someone in the Citizens Advice Bureau who could point you in the right direction?  It's a starting point, and it's free.  Web address below, hope that it helps you xx :)

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/

[wonky]

I am pretty sure it depends what sort of will she got or what extra's she paid for when she done her will. My mum recently made her will and i remember her saying that if she needs to go into a home the house has to be sold and then money used from that to pay for a home but you can pay something that stops that happening it all depends on what her will says.

 

I think you would be best to seek legal advice!! Good luck x x

[The Tiggster]

A house owner goes into full itme care & no-one else lives in the house the council would expect you to sell it to pay for their care. They can also take into account any "moveable assets" they may have. That includes savings, stocks & shares, PEP's etc.

The money is used until it gets down to a certain level which I believe is about �20,000 then she would be able to keep that.

My solicitor helped in a big way by "hiding the money" i.e. putting the house deeds into my name & transferring my parents money into my name, but you do run a huge risk of being caught & I believe the council can check back the family records for up to 7 years. Sucks doesn't it?

My advice would be a solicitor who specialised in this kind of thing. They do exist because it is a common situation now-a-days.

Try help the aged as well - http://www.helptheaged.org.uk/Health/Care/residentialcar e/_Section+D.htm

Good luck x

[The Tiggster]

Sorry that link doesn't seem to be working but if you go to it & then to homepage there is a section on payment etc.

[Ewood27]

I've had this situation with my wife having Alzheimer's and I agree with The Tiggster.  When it came to actually getting her into a home I found the local authority very helpful.

 

If she is still rational, please try to get Power of Attorney so that you (or someone else) can administer her affairs and allocate her money for her.  You need to do it while a solicitor can still see that she understands what she is signing, otherwise it's a long process through the Court of Protection.  Without Power of Attorney, and without her being able to do things herself, you will need to get at her money but won't be able!

[tanya scott]

Thankyou all very much for your advice , much appreciated Tanya