Advice please?

Sophietucker

Registered User
May 16, 2015
2
0
I am a new member and found the forum by searching - hoping to find someone to help me. My mum has been in a care home for several years. She had had an operation about a year previously on her spine as she was becoming unable to walk. A few years ago she became totally unable to walk or load bear and is confined to a special chair. In the past few years she has also developed dementia and is doubly incontinent. At no time has she ever been assessed for continuing health care. The only assessment has been financial. I have only just found out about CHC and believe my mum should have qualified years ago. She has just had her first CHC assessment and scored 3As 2Bs 6Cs. I am still awaiting the second assessment date. Her disabilities and health have been chronic but stable for several years, so clearly she could have qualified for CHC many years ago. I now hear that a claim can't be backdated. I sold her home to pay for care home fees in 2008, was advised to invest the proceeds in a bond (with life policy) - and now find that this should have been disregarded in the means test. What should I do next?
 

Tin

Registered User
May 18, 2014
4,820
0
UK
Sounds really complicated. All I can suggest is that you make an appointment with your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,081
0
Bury
" I sold her home to pay for care home fees in 2008, was advised to invest the proceeds in a bond (with life policy) - and now find that this should have been disregarded in the means test."

Whilst it is true that the bond should not be included in the means test there is a potential problem with the timing of the purchase of the bond.

From what you say at the time you invested in the bond it was likely that she would need residential care in the near future.

There is every chance that the LA would regard this purchase as deliberate deprivation of capital and add the cost of the bond as notional capital to the actual capital in their assessment.

Was the advice you received from professional adviser?
 
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jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
I think nitram's got a point there: while bonds with life policies would normally be disregarded, if you sold the property and then purchased such a bond with the proceeds when it appears she was already in a care home, then such a disregard wouldn't apply because this would be seen as deprivation (deliberately removing such an asset from the assets pool). CRAG directly addresses this

Examples of where a person has deprived themself of capital (although not necessarily for the
purposes of avoiding a charge for accommodation) ...

Capital has been used to purchase an investment bond with life insurance. Councils will wish to give consideration, in respect of each case, to whether deprivation of assets has occurred i.e. did the individual place his capital in such an investment bond so that it would be disregarded for the purpose of the Assessment of Resources Regulations.
 

Sophietucker

Registered User
May 16, 2015
2
0
" I sold her home to pay for care home fees in 2008, was advised to invest the proceeds in a bond (with life policy) - and now find that this should have been disregarded in the means test."

Whilst it is true that the bond should not be included in the means test there is a potential problem with the timing of the purchase of the bond.

From what you say at the time you invested in the bond it was likely that she would need residential care in the near future.

There is every chance that the LA would regard this purchase as deliberate deprivation of capital and add the cost of the bond as notional capital to the actual capital in their assessment.

Was the advice you received from professional adviser?

Yes it was from the nfha, a financial adviser from the HSBC bank who was qualified to give advice on investing money for the elderly. They advised it was the best way to invest the funds to provide care home funding. They never mentioned asset deprivation so I took their advice. We later received compensation for misselling.