Bingham Life (April issue)
Q. I am a 50 year old married woman and am concerned that in later years either my husband or I (or both) may have to move permanently into a care home. How doe.s the local authority currently assess what fees we will have to pay?
Emma Small, solicitor in Wills & Probate at Fraser Brown in Bingham, answers:
A. The fees you have to pay depend on the level of your capital (such as a house, savings, shares etc). From April, anyone who has capital of their own above £23,000 will be deemed as being able to pay the full cost of their care. If the care home provides nursing care for a resident, the NHS is responsible for paying the costs of the care provided by a registered nurse.
If your capital is less than £23,000 but above £14,000 you are expected to contribute from capital and income (income includes things like pension payments, interest on savings, dividends, benefits etc). For every £250 of capital between £23,000 and £14,000, a person is assessed as receiving an extra £1 per week income in addition to the income they actually receive. If your capital is below £14,000 you should just have to contribute from your income.
It can be tempting to try and reduce your capital by, for example, gifting your house to your children. However the local authority can look for evidence of this. The timing of the transfer is relevant and generally speaking the greater the time between the transfer and the person moving into a care home, the less likely the local authority will regard it as being deliberate or intentional deprivation of capital. If however the local authority does deem that the deprivation was deliberate they can treat the capital transferred as notional so that even if your actual capital is below £23,000 you could be treated as being able to pay all of your fees.
Fraser Brown is a dynamic law practice working at premises in Nottinghamshire through its branches in Nottingham, Radcliffe on Trent and Bingham.
Its philosophy is to deliver superior legal advice through a personal and highly professional service for both commercial and private clients. Since 1990, Fraser Brown has acquired eight established and respected local firms as part of its major growth strategy for doing business in the 21st Century.
Fraser Brown is one of the region's longest established firms of solicitors. Over the last 12 months, it has experienced significant growth in areas such as property, contract work, construction and general litigation.