25 Mar Paying for Care & Property Ownership

There is a common misconception about how a property is treated when one half of a couple needs to go into permanent residential care. Many people wrongly believe that, if they own their own property, once one of them goes into care, that the house would need to be sold to pay for care, or there would be a legal charge placed on the property, and money for care fees would be re-couped when either person passes away – THIS IS COMPLETELY INCORRECT.

So, here is the actual truth….
The property is completely disregarded for financial assessment purposes whilst one half of a couple still lives there.

• There is no need to sell the property.
• There is no legal charge placed on the property.

The only time the property may be exposed for a financial assessment is when the person living in the property passes away or requires residential care themselves.
There are other instances whereby a property may also be disregarded for financial assessment purposes, and these are:-

• A relative who lives in the property and they are over 60 years old
• A child/children of yours, who are under 18, lives in the property
• A disabled or vulnerable adult lives in the property

The local authority also has discretionary powers to disregard a property dependent on other factors.
Of course, there are ways to completely protect your property against future long term care implications. Contact us to discuss your particular situation.

Continuing Healthcare Funding – The NHS’s Best Kept Secret
It is not surprising that many people have never even heard of CHC funding when trying to navigate the complex system of health and social care.
Many people just assume their care is funded by themselves (as self-funders), or by Social Services, with clients paying a contribution to their care from their income.

However, CHC funding is not widely advertised or understood. If a person has particularly complex care needs, then it may be the responsibility of the NHS to pay for their care – and this funding is completely FREE. Furthermore, it is NOT ‘means tested.’

But before you get over-excited about this fact – it is a very complex assessment process to prove eligibility, and thousands of people get turned down for this funding every year, despite having obvious complex needs.
It is one of the biggest scandals of our time.

Melanie has previously worked within the CHC system as an assessor. She now helps to support and advise people with regards to the assessment process and whether they have a strong case for eligibility or not.

Understanding the CHC process is difficult, but to be successful it is essential that people are familiar with the 2 stage process of assessment and the NHS Framework for Continuing Healthcare.