Protect your home from care fees

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for keeping your assets safe,but there are legal options to consider that can help

For many of us, owning our home is a big lifetime achievement. We’ve watched the pennies and pounds, worked hard to pay off our mortgages and now enjoy knowing that we can pass it on our children or loved ones in future.

That’s why the prospect of our homes being seized to pay for care home costs is so distressing.

And sadly, unless we take legal action now to safeguard our home, it’s a situation that any one of us could find ourselves in.

“I’d say around 90% of our clients who own their home, it’s so they can pass it on to their children.they might not have tons of savings, but they have a property that’s worth something to leave behind,” explains Elaine Hamilton, estate planner at ILAWS Scotland.

“But you could potentially lose your home in as little as three months after going into care.”

Currently, according to Care Information Scotland, if you have capital assets (including your home) over the upper limit of £28,750 then you will be required to meet your own care costs.you won’t get any help from your local council over and above any assessed entitlement to free personal and nursing care

Elaine says:“it doesn’t matter how much your house is worth, your circumstances or what you did for a living, the local authority will go after your assets, property and cash, to pay for care home fees if you do nothing about it.”

The good news is, if you are concerned about care home fees (which mount to an average of £50,000 a year) there are steps you can take to safeguard the assets you’ve worked so hard to own.

While a Will is an important legal document for expressing your wishes in regards to what should happen to your assets after your passing, on its own, a Will doesn’t guarantee that your children (or other chosen beneficiary) will receive your home.

Instead, when it comes to protecting your home, you may have the option of a Trust or Title Transfer to strengthen your position, and you can still remain in control over your own home should you wish. Meanwhile, a Power of Attorney (POA) is one way of protecting your cash. This important legal document allows you to name a trusted loved one to make medical and financial decisions on your behalf, should you become incapacitated. This means they can access your bank account and help manage your finances while you are unable to.

“Should you become incapacitated and subsequently require to go into care, without a POA, then no one else can control or manage any of your assets or savings which are in your name for you,” says Elaine. “This leaves them vulnerable and the local authority can take over and apply their own rules for care home costs against your estate.”

A POA also gives your loved ones a say in your medical treatment; while the next of kin used to be able to do this, now a POA is required if you are incapacitated.

All in all, there are various steps that can help protect your assets against care home fees, but it is a complex area and options are dependent on various individual factors. That’s why finding the right

expert guidance is essential. “There is a lot of incorrect information out there about what you can and cannot do. However, this is something that we deal with for thousands of clients and we have many years’ experience in,” adds Elaine.

“There’s no guarantee you can definitely do something, but the majority of our clients do have options to consider.”

Call ILAWS Scotland to learn more about protecting your home and other assets from being seized to pay for care home fees, or to discuss a Will or Power of Attorney.