I have for a while being acting for my Mum who in 2012 started with dementia and learnt what I had to do re sell home and nursing home fees etc BUT my husband has started we think early stages of this now I am getting conflicting advice all I want to know for my own peace of mind as I am alot younger than my husband How does the house jointly work would if he had to go in a nursing home in the far future the authorities ask for our home to be sold and half to his expenses OR can I never sell the home as if you did they would take the half he owned OR does it stay with the partner and they dont do this PLUS same with the bank accounts I presume they would divide in half then we would be under the legal requirement and he would get help . But its the home we have put everything into this for our future and towards downsizing so we would have money in bank Please can you put my mind at rest I have looked at alot of websites but still dont seem to be able to digest the answer and this is now worrying me not only with my Mum but now this cannot believe it just feel as though life is coming to a stop for me thank you
Joint husband and wife property and bank account what happens when one gets dementia?
- Thread starter boomerang
- Start date
If your husband were to go into a care home the value of the house would be disregarded in any financial assessment as long as you still lived in it, half of all other joint assets along with any assets in his sole name would be included.
There are two ways the house can be owned, joint tenants or tenants in common, it is simple to change the type of ownership.
If you predeceased your husband and the house was owned as joint tenants the house would pass to him automatically, the whole value would then be included in any LA assessment. It cannot be bequeathed to anybody else.
With tenants in common you could bequeath your half share to somebody other than your husband leaving the LA with the problem of assessing the value of half a house when the co-owner is unwilling to sell. If you have no children or other family members you would like to inherit the house you may prefer your husband to inherit it to pay for his care (there are several advantages to being self funding) than leave it to a charity.
If not already done now is the time to get your husband to grant an LPA, and make one yourself.
There are two ways the house can be owned, joint tenants or tenants in common, it is simple to change the type of ownership.
If you predeceased your husband and the house was owned as joint tenants the house would pass to him automatically, the whole value would then be included in any LA assessment. It cannot be bequeathed to anybody else.
With tenants in common you could bequeath your half share to somebody other than your husband leaving the LA with the problem of assessing the value of half a house when the co-owner is unwilling to sell. If you have no children or other family members you would like to inherit the house you may prefer your husband to inherit it to pay for his care (there are several advantages to being self funding) than leave it to a charity.
If not already done now is the time to get your husband to grant an LPA, and make one yourself.
If you were stil living in the house when your husband had to go into a home then yes, as Nitram has said it would be disregarded as long as you reside there.
However, to respond to your query above, if you were to then sell that house, half the equity would belong to your husband and this would be taken into account for assessing fees. I understand that some councils show a little leniency if, for example, half the amount would not be sufficienty to purchase another house for yourself but this is not guaranteed.
I am in that position myself as half the money I would get for my house would not buy me another, smaller one in this area.
Saffie thats what I am now wondering we live in the uk and own the house outright but its in joint names both names on the deeds but as I get to retirement age then we were then going to downsize and use the capital so in my mind if my husband starts to get worse and has to go in a home I could then never sell until he died god forbid which sounds awful or after he has died maybe they come for the money as well I have not only gone through my Mom and sorting her expenses with her home I am now worrying myself on this should it happen We did a power of attorney on welfare and finances a while back for us both as so worried to have this in the future may not come to anything but I just wanted to know life just stinks the more you try to have for old age the more worry seems to come with it
Well one thing I can put your mind at rest about: they won't come after you for the money in the event that you didn't downsize until after your husband died. It doesn't work that way.
In order to downsize successfully (from the POV of retaining the money raised) you need to downsize before your husband enters residential care. However, there is no set time frame - this downsizing could occur just a month before residential care.
In order to downsize successfully (from the POV of retaining the money raised) you need to downsize before your husband enters residential care. However, there is no set time frame - this downsizing could occur just a month before residential care.
Probably it should read "retaining half the money raised after the purchase of the new property and all expenses thus incurred".
The point I was trying to make is that unlike other situations where the LA may dig deep into the past to prove deprivation, when it comes to downsizing, the only burden of proof is that the property is one that is "normally occupied by a resident as his home", and that state can be reached in a very short period of time (as in weeks).
Are you saying Jennifer that after the person dies and I was to have to sell they would then even ask for half of the sale ? goodness having to worry before and into the future making things so uneasy selling homes can take years and its something I would not want to do now sad that we have to think of these things when its our home we worked hard for thanks for your help
No - I'm saying the exact opposite. Once the person has died, the property can be sold without any problem or requirement to pay the LA anything.
The only exception would be if there was a deferred payment agreement in place, and that wouldn't apply to you because the LA can't make a deferred payment agreement on a property that is being occupied by a spouse (because the property is disregarded).
Thank you Jennifer that puts a part of my mind to rest just have to start saving a bit
harder and not put into a joint account as back up its a shame when you have to do this but i dont want to loose security in the future as I put money into home instead of a future pension and with my mom going thru this its sent me into a panic thanks again and everyone else x