Twelve Trees Help & Advice

If your father has capital of over £23,250 (in England; £50,000 in Wales) he will not qualify for assistance from the Local Authority until such a time as his capital is below this amount. Any private care fees will therefore have to be met from existing capital and income. (If he has assets below £23,250, he would get increasing help on a sliding scale down to the lower limit of £14,250, where no contribution is needed). Most savings and assets are included in a means test, but some confusion has surrounded the subject of whether or not a person’s home is included. To help clarify the situation, a person’s home is not included in the means test if:

• a child under 16 lives in the property;
• care is being provided on a temporary basis.
• your parent still resides in the home;
• a relative over 60 resides in the house;
• a disabled relative lives at the property
• they’re in the first 12 weeks of needing permanent care

As mentioned, a persons’ property is excluded from the means test for the first 12 weeks following admission to a care home (once a permanent contract is established). This means that if their remaining capital falls inside the current threshold, then the local authority should assist you with the payment of your care fees.

It is worth noting that they will, in most cases, only pay up to their published limits, which could leave a family with what is known as a “third-party top up”, to cover any difference in actual care fees and the local authority contribution.

The money paid out by the local authority during the first 12 weeks is not normally repayable.

Deferred Payment Agreement (Government Loan Scheme)
If, after the first 12 weeks, the property has not been sold, the local authority can continue to pay towards the care fees, under the “deferred payment agreement”, but this money is repayable once the property is sold.

No. Council Tax is payable on properties left unoccupied by people who have moved to receive personal care, whether in a hospital, care home or elsewhere. Generally speaking, the residents of care homes or those whose main home is a hospital do not have to pay Council Tax.

You can choose a care home that is more expensive than your local council usually pays for a person with your assessed needs, but you may need to find a way to pay the difference.

If the council can suggest a place that meets your needs and you still want to move into a more expensive care home then they can ask a third party (usually a relative or friend) to pay the extra. This is called a ‘top-up fee’. You are not able to pay this yourself as you have been financially assessed to pay what you can afford.

If your local council cannot suggest a place that meets your needs in your local area then they should be prepared to pay more than their usual amount.

We do not charge any administration or management fees. Residents who are paying for their own care are required to pay a deposit equal to 2 week’s fees prior to the resident moving in. This deposit may be used towards payment of sums owed by the resident (or other payer) at the point of termination of the contract for unpaid fees, damage to the home and any other final fees at the end of the termination period.

Any balance not used in respect of the above will be returned to the appropriate person as settlement of the final account. For further information, please speak to a member of our team.

As a company, we can accept funding from those paying for their own care (self-funding residents) and publicly funded residents (Local Authority and NHS). We are unable to accept Continuing Health Care funding, unless it meets the full fee for that particular home. For specific information, including the amount of third-party contribution that may be required for a Local Authority funded resident, please contact us.

Possibly, as most state benefits are means-tested. Attendance Allowance is an exception; it is a non-means tested, tax-free state benefit, payable to all individuals over the age of 65 who have needed care (defined as help with essential daily tasks, such as washing and dressing) for longer than six consecutive months.

Attendance Allowance is available at two rates; a lower rate, for those who need help during the day or the night and a higher rate, for those needing care during both the day and night. The current weekly figures (2019/20) are £58.70 lower rate and £87.65 for the higher rate.

Individuals needing care under the age of 65 will still qualify for an allowance, but this is paid in the form of a Personal Independence Payment.

As mentioned previously, if their capital and savings and/or income push them outside the means test thresholds, they will generally be responsible for the funding of their own care fees until such a time as their money falls below the appropriate threshold.

However, with careful planning it may be possible to structure their finances in such a way that care fees can be paid indefinitely, without worry about the money running out. Most families wish to ensure that their relative can stay in their chosen care home for the rest of their lives as well as safeguarding as much of the existing capital as possible. Speak to a financial adviser or consider an organisation that specialises in care fees planning.

Twelve Trees subscribes to Care Aware an independent charity who can help with funding advice.

www.careawareias.co.uk