My dad is in a care home with alzheimers and has been for 3 years. My mam was at home for the majority of this time. The house was disregarded as an asset for dad as mam lived in it. Dad pays a % towards his care bill as his income is low. I lost mam suddenly on 19th march she had dementia and cancer. The house is now empty and will be solely owned by my dad. I assume it will now have to be sold to fund his care. Any advice please. I am a deputy for him through cop.
Mam just passed dad inherits house
- Thread starter Maximum
- Start date
Hello and welcome to TP. I am sorry that you have found us at such a sad time, please accept my condolences for your loss.
Yes, it is likely that your father's house will mean that he now has to pay for his care. It might be possible for the house to be rented and the income used to pay for care but this would bring with it all the legal obligations of being a landlord.
There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum, hopefully someone will be along soon to give you more detailed and accurate advice.
Yes, it is likely that your father's house will mean that he now has to pay for his care. It might be possible for the house to be rented and the income used to pay for care but this would bring with it all the legal obligations of being a landlord.
There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum, hopefully someone will be along soon to give you more detailed and accurate advice.
I think your first port of call might be Social Services and see if you can get a 'deferred payment', as it will take a while to get probate through and then to sell the house, and fees will need paying in the interim. (We're still dealing with f-i-l's estate over a year ago. But I believe you're correct in assuming that your father will now become a self-funder,
hello maximum
welcome to TP
my condolences on the loss of your mam; such a sad time for you, and a busy one
if the house is now solely your dad's and is empty, then it will now be considered his asset and so figure in the financial assessment re funding his care home fees
probably best to contact your Local Authority Adult Services and let them know of the change in your dad's financial situation - I guess you already have some involvement with them if they are part funding your dad's care at the moment - I'm sure they will have procedures in place; this can't be a wholly unique situation - they certainly can set up a deferred payment scheme, to give you time to settle everything
also contact the COP as you may need their permission to deal with the house sale; again, I'm sure they will be able to advise you as to the procedures
best wishes
welcome to TP
my condolences on the loss of your mam; such a sad time for you, and a busy one
if the house is now solely your dad's and is empty, then it will now be considered his asset and so figure in the financial assessment re funding his care home fees
probably best to contact your Local Authority Adult Services and let them know of the change in your dad's financial situation - I guess you already have some involvement with them if they are part funding your dad's care at the moment - I'm sure they will have procedures in place; this can't be a wholly unique situation - they certainly can set up a deferred payment scheme, to give you time to settle everything
also contact the COP as you may need their permission to deal with the house sale; again, I'm sure they will be able to advise you as to the procedures
best wishes
There is a thing called the "12 week disregard" where for the first 12 weeks the value of the house is not counted as an asset and as far as I'm aware going from LA funded to self funding triggers the disregard, however, you say he is only partly funded by the LA. Is it that his cash assets are between the £13k where the LA fund and the £23k above which you self fund? hence he is paying a %age towards the costs.
If so I believe you can ask for a 12 week disregard on the value of the house but LA's vary on their interpretation of the regulations or at any rate they try to.
Until, sadly, your mother passed away your dad didn't have the asset so I would ask for the 12 week disregard.
If you can rent a house out, cover all the costs of doing so and end up with more than the cost of a week or 10 days care then do it, I'd be surprised if you could in most of the UK though and a deferred payment whilst worth looking at is (in my view) just delaying the inevitable, sell the house and incurring cost in doing so but it does buy you time if you can do things to improve the value or saleability.
Sorry, I just noticed it's your first post so welcome to TP and my commiserations one the loss of your mum.
K
If so I believe you can ask for a 12 week disregard on the value of the house but LA's vary on their interpretation of the regulations or at any rate they try to.
Until, sadly, your mother passed away your dad didn't have the asset so I would ask for the 12 week disregard.
If you can rent a house out, cover all the costs of doing so and end up with more than the cost of a week or 10 days care then do it, I'd be surprised if you could in most of the UK though and a deferred payment whilst worth looking at is (in my view) just delaying the inevitable, sell the house and incurring cost in doing so but it does buy you time if you can do things to improve the value or saleability.
Sorry, I just noticed it's your first post so welcome to TP and my commiserations one the loss of your mum.
K
Is the house solely in your father's name? it's maybe unlikely, but if it was in both their names AND they were tenants in common, not joint tenants, Social Services can only access have the value of the house if it is sold. Whoever inherits from your mum gets the other half. You can check the tenancy on the Land Registry website, it costs a couple of pounds to get the info.
However, if they were joint tenants the house automatically goes to the surviving spouse and therefore SS would be able to claim the full value of the house as funds to pay for your Dad's care. Good luck.
However, if they were joint tenants the house automatically goes to the surviving spouse and therefore SS would be able to claim the full value of the house as funds to pay for your Dad's care. Good luck.
