Late Care Home Assessment and Fees Advice

[Crannydog]

Mum was admitted to a care home in late 2011 following a stay in hospital.
On Christmas Eve 2015 I received notification that the local authority want me to provide details of her finances so that they can assess her ability to pay for her care. It would now appear that she should have been paying for her care all along.
I had been under the impression that because she was admitted direct from hospital that her care was NHS funded. No assessments were ever done although the l.a. has carried out annual reviews each year.
She previously lived with support in her own flat. The flat was purchased in 1999 and I paid 25 percent of the purchase price. I had a deed of trust drawn up at the time and hold enduring power of attorney.
Has anyone experienced anything like this before or can recommend a reputable legal firm with experience in this area?

 

[nitram]

It is against forum T&Cs to make specific recommendations other than by private mail (PM)

You could try searching
http://www.sfe.legal/public/what-is-sfe

 

[AlsoConfused]

Several thoughts:-

If no assessment was ever done of your Mum's "primary health care needs" on leaving hospital NOBODY (including SS) knows whether she was / is entitled to receive NHS paid care. Investigating whether your Mum was properly assessed for Continuing Health Care funding (see TP thread) should be a priority.

If your Mum's flat is part-owned by you then it has no resale value. Unless your Mum has other savings / funds that put her above the limit for SS help then her care costs have to be met either by the local authority or by the NHS, depending on the CHC decision. It's quite possible the local authority wrongly thinks your Mum is the sole owner of her flat.

 

[jenniferpa]

So were you paying your mother's pension(s) to the LA or the care home? If so it would appear that she was LA funded (not NHS). And I'm guessing that yes, they think the flat has value and she should have been self-funding all along.

What has happened to the flat in the meantime? Are you living in it, renting it out or what?

 

[Crannydog]

Late Care Assessment and Fees Advice

Thanks Nitram for the pointer.

Also confused: Will ask for a CHC assessment to be done. If one was done I was not involved/notified.

Jenniferpa: Mum's pension is still paid into her a/c. I have redecorated and done some improvements at the flat but it remains empty as I did not want to do anything with it.

 

[jenniferpa]

So no one has been paying anything? I find this hard to believe. Is it possible she did have CHC funding (which would be NHS) but this has now been taken away, hence the whole "she should be paying" issue? If it's really the case that no one has been paying (well I actually assume the LA would have been paying because no care home would let the fees go unpaid for over 3 years without making a murmur) then you are going to need legal advice. Because at minimum you're potentially looking at 3 years of pension contributions less the personal expense allowance at minimum and 3 years of full fees at worst. But I'm really hoping for your sake it's just that CHC has been removed.

When you say the LA has conducted annual reviews, what did those entail? Her care needs, her finances, what? And are you certain it was the LA?

 

[Crannydog]

My letter from the l.a. reads as if they have been paying but have forgotten to assess Mum up until now. I will clarify this. Annual visits have been made by the l.a. social services to primarily check on welfare.

It's looking strongly like a visit to a solicitor before I respond to them.

Will let you know how I get on.