We asked for an assessment in September 2010. The Council said that she owned half a house therefore no contribution from them. The house was in joint names and had been since 1980 when it was bought. When i waved CRAG in front of them they said that because it was rented out CRAG 7.017-7.020 did not apply. The Ombudsman has twice found them at fault for not commissioning a valuation. In November 2014, 21 months after the resident died, they got a report which estimated that there would have been a market for half a house in 2011 and therefore the valuation stands. Our argument is that if the valuation had been done in 2010/11 we could have tested the market to see if it did have a value. Has anyone any information or help that would be useful? The resident was paying all of her income to the care home but a debt was mounting up and the care home is now threatening to sue her estate for the debt which her estate cannot meet. (This is a very truncated version of the events of the last four and a half years).

 

Not sure what you mean by that. Can you explain please.

 

It is the care home which is suing the estate not the Council. What is the time limit?

 

No money has been distributed as there is insufficient to pay the care home debt which I believe should have been paid by the LA. They did not do a valuation until 4 years after we first asked for an assessment