Is a spouse responsible for paying care home fees?
Does your spouse or partner have to pay for your care? If you’re wondering whether one partner in a couple is liable for the other’s care costs, generally speaking the answer is no.
What happens to my house if my husband goes into care?
A: As long as you are living in the marital home no-one will make you sell it and the property value will not be taken into account in determining how much, if anything, your husband must contribute to his care costs. Once assets fall below those figures the Local Authority will contribute towards care home fees.
How do I protect my assets from care home fees?
If you plan in advance, there are a number of steps you can take to finance care home fees without having to necessarily sell your property.
- Explore other payment options.
- Make a financial gift to your children.
- Set up an asset protection trust.
- Protective Property Trust.
- Life Interest Trust.
- Interest in Possession Trust.
Do I have to sell my house to pay for my wife’s care?
If you or your spouse / partner (or certain other people) want to continue living in your home, then you’ll avoid having to sell up to pay for care. You and/or any qualifying dependants who live in your home have the right to stay there indefinitely, and can’t be forced to sell up to pay for your care.
Can care home take money from joint account?
If you are a joint beneficial owner of property, meaning you have the right to receive some of the proceeds of its sale, it is your actual beneficial interest in the property that should be taken into account in the financial assessment, not the property as a whole.
Who pays if my husband goes into a care home?
If the person needing care does genuinely have to pay for their own care, then it is that person’s money and assets ONLY that should be taken into account – not their spouse’s or their partner’s money, or indeed any other family member’s money. Read more here about paying for care when you have a partner.
Can a nursing home really take everything I own?
Unlike Medicare, Medicaid will cover a long term stay in a nursing home. This means that, in most cases, a nursing home resident can keep their residence and still qualify for Medicaid to pay their nursing home expenses. The nursing home doesn’t (and cannot) take the home.
Is there any value to jointly owned property?
In some cases, the share has little or no actual value as no-one would be willing to buy it. The section on jointly-owned property is about a third of the way down.
Can a jointly owned property be included in the means test?
If you are separated or divorced but still living together then the property will be included in the means test, unless they also care for your child (who is under 18), a relative who is over 60 or a disabled relative. The person they care for must also live in the property for it to be excluded from the means test.
Is it possible to change ownership to tenants in common?
Given the concerns on this subject expressed by many elderly people, the apparently simple solution of changing ownership to tenants in common isn’t something that is widely publicised. I would appreciate it if you could confirm that the proposed solution is, in fact, straightforward and valid and tell me if you are aware of any pitfalls.
Can a property be treated as an equal share?
There is provision for property to be treated as owned in equal shares unless there is evidence to the contrary but nothing about giving a share an unreal value. (Many, many years ago – I’m talking 20 or 30 – there had been an attempt to do this in the regulations but it was thrown out as unlawful.)