Not been here for ages

[brightspark]

Hi All
Although I became a member over a year ago I have not posted anything for a long time. When last on I had been having problems getting my husband to make a will. I have now succeeded in that and he has also made me power of attorney, so thats one worry out of the way. My main worry now is the house is in his name only and although he has left it to me in his will I worry about if he ends up in a home later whether the house will be taken into account and I will lose the propety.

 

[Lynne]

I'm sure I have read on here several times that if the spouse of a sufferer still lives in the family home, they are unlikely to lose it. I'm sure someone with more knowledge of "chapter & verse" will be on to confirm in due course.

Best wishes

 

[jenniferpa]

Lynne's absolutely right: it doesn't matter who's name the house is in: if it's the residence of a spouse who is not going into care, it's disregarded. The only time that changes is if subsequently the remaining spouse decided to sell the property (perhaps to downsize). At that point 50% of the equity theoretically becomes available to pay for care. However, this is not a cut and dried rule - it is possible for a local authority to allow more than 50% of the equity to be used to purchase a replacement property. This is particularly the case if failure to do this would result in the remaining spouse becoming homeless due to property prices.