Care home vs Social Services
Discussion
After a few years of gradual mental decline, my Grandmother has now been repeatedly found wandering the streets at all hours and is phoning my Mother pretty much every hour 24/7 to ask what day it is and where she is. So, sadly it looks like residential care is on the cards.
Can anyone give me some pointers on how the Social Services take into account savings / property (quite a substantial amount) and whether they are likely to pay anything towards care? I find it sad that a person can spend their life working hard and paying tax only to have their savings used up on care whilst someone who has done bugger all gets their care paid for by the state, but such is life. We obviously want the best place for her whatever the cost.
My mother has been told by one of her cronies to "forget" about the savings but I don't like the sound of this. Any good advice on how to protect as many of the assets as possible? As I said, I would rather see them spent on quality care, but my Grandmother has been quite adamant during her sane years that the savings are for my Mother.
As an aside, she has also said, during a rare lucid moment, that she will "walk into the river" before she goes into a home
Can anyone give me some pointers on how the Social Services take into account savings / property (quite a substantial amount) and whether they are likely to pay anything towards care? I find it sad that a person can spend their life working hard and paying tax only to have their savings used up on care whilst someone who has done bugger all gets their care paid for by the state, but such is life. We obviously want the best place for her whatever the cost.
My mother has been told by one of her cronies to "forget" about the savings but I don't like the sound of this. Any good advice on how to protect as many of the assets as possible? As I said, I would rather see them spent on quality care, but my Grandmother has been quite adamant during her sane years that the savings are for my Mother.
As an aside, she has also said, during a rare lucid moment, that she will "walk into the river" before she goes into a home
My Dad had similar problems due to a series of strokes, and the SS looked at HIS savings and no one elses. If your Grandmother has already passed on those savings to your Mum, then they don't come in to it. If they are still held by your Gran, then the SS will take it into account when they consider what help they will pay for.
The good news, in our case at least, was that despite having a healthy bank balance, the SS still helped with an awful lot of stuff, and provided Mum with a lot of support during the time Dad was alive.
The good news, in our case at least, was that despite having a healthy bank balance, the SS still helped with an awful lot of stuff, and provided Mum with a lot of support during the time Dad was alive.
Sorry to hear about your grandmother. My suspicion is that my mother in law will be in the same boat before not too long.
The system as it stands is unfair, if you have capital amassed and pay your taxes you are effectively penalised.
I am not an expert (but know one!), but my understanding is that if your grandmother goes into a residential home, then she will have to pay if her estate exceeds a certain amount - around £16,000 IIRC. Unfortunately, this includes the value of her principal residence, so often people are forced to sell their homes in this situation. If the home had been gifted to a family member a long time ago (7 years+) it might be exempt although this often get confused with attempts to avoid Inheritance Tax - a good lawyer is needed for this stuff IMHO.
Social Services Home Care Department CAN provide good care at home - check calls etc etc and in conjunction with medication it might well be possible for your grandmother to stay in her own home.
Anyway, I hope she ends her days with peace and dignity however it is handled.
>> Edited by muley on Friday 14th January 08:59
The system as it stands is unfair, if you have capital amassed and pay your taxes you are effectively penalised.
I am not an expert (but know one!), but my understanding is that if your grandmother goes into a residential home, then she will have to pay if her estate exceeds a certain amount - around £16,000 IIRC. Unfortunately, this includes the value of her principal residence, so often people are forced to sell their homes in this situation. If the home had been gifted to a family member a long time ago (7 years+) it might be exempt although this often get confused with attempts to avoid Inheritance Tax - a good lawyer is needed for this stuff IMHO.
Social Services Home Care Department CAN provide good care at home - check calls etc etc and in conjunction with medication it might well be possible for your grandmother to stay in her own home.
Anyway, I hope she ends her days with peace and dignity however it is handled.
>> Edited by muley on Friday 14th January 08:59
muley said:Thanks for your kind wishes. This whole 7-year thing is very confusing and I agree that a good lawyer is going to be essential.
Sorry to hear about your grandmother. My suspicion is that my mother in law will be in the same boat before not too long.
The system as it stands is unfair, if you have capital amassed and pay your taxes you are effectively penalised.
I am not an expert (but know one!), but my understanding is that if your grandmother goes into a residential home, then she will have to pay if her estate exceeds a certain amount - around £16,000 IIRC. Unfortunately, this includes the value of her principal residence, so often people are forced to sell their homes in this situation. If the home had been gifted to a family member a long time ago (7 years+) it might be exempt although this often get confused with attempts to avoid Inheritance Tax - a good lawyer is needed for this stuff IMHO.
Social Services Home Care Department CAN provide good care at home - check calls etc etc and in conjunction with medication it might well be possible for your grandmother to stay in her own home.
Anyway, I hope she ends her days with peace and dignity however it is handled.
My biggest task at the moment is convincing my mother that she is not evil for considering full time care
miniman said:If it's choice between that and her wandering the streets, it becomes quite clear how the decision should go
My biggest task at the moment is convincing my mother that she is not evil for considering full time care
We visited my Gran and my mum discovered that she was using candles at night (on account of not wanting to waste electricity :riolleyes
Very clear at that point that 24 hour care was required See a tax expert about the money
Incorrigible said:
If it's choice between that and her wandering the streets, it becomes quite clear how the decision should go
Absolutely, however my mother is also considering giving up work and moving my Gran in with her. I need to get across to her that she will also be giving up her life for what could be quite a few years...
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff