If my in-laws sell their property, we sell ours and buy a big house for us all to live in. What happens if they go into a home?
Is the property still at risk if the house is in mine & my wife’s name after their savings have been run down?
Does that 7 year rule apply. Dunno.
All I know, is if you have money/property, the care home system will vacuum it up on an industrial scale. My grandmother’s care bill was well over £500/week (in the 00s) and it lasted 7 years. Lotta £££££. Obvs some people were in the same private home for ‘free’…🤷
I think it was about £30k/year back then. She was never happy there and deteriorated rapidly; the last few years were quite sad tbh, she just wasn’t mentally stimulated in that place.
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Following. Interested to know about this too.
Currently parents are looking to downsize and move somewhere “cheap”. Likely west cumbria or similar. It’s not my ideal solution but I’ve no idea if the big house and/or house + annexe is the right option either.
I think (I am not an expert in care homes or tax laws but have quite a lot of experience with this kind of stuff)…
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The house. They are essentially giving you the money to fund the house purchase. This will be tax free if they live 7 years. Less known is that it is actually on a sliding scale over those years so if they live 6 it won’t be the full whack.
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The care home. I believe - please check but this can be an avenue of enquiry - if there is no indication other than age, and plenty of people die at home, that they will need to go into a home you can go ahead with the above and there will be no repercussions.
If they feel that you had indication that they would need a care home, and were trying to dispose of assets to avoid using them to pay, this is deprivation of assets and they may make your in laws pay anyway (i.e. sell the property to find the money)
So it kind of leaves you all open for an assessment of your finances.
I earn a decent amount and any house would remain in my name. I understand the 7 years rule having just lost my gran, I’m getting my head round the inheritance laws. But I do wonder how the care system would see my parents paying me money and then me supporting them. Basically it’s going to come down to me supporting them whether they live on their own or not so it is what it is.
Bit of a ramble but just thinking out loud.
If you are caring for your parents then the care home system is irrelevant, no?
And if they have paid you to look after them, and that was ‘reasonable’ then it wouldn’t be deprivation of assets if they end up in a home. Deprivation of assets is things like giving large amounts of money/property away, a sudden very decadent increase in lifestyle, gambling etc.
Ok. I understand. No chance of that happening with my parents “wealth” (or lack of) 
My FIL is in hospital with a mental illness that he was once free of (not free but well with medication). They dropped his meds and he is back in but hopefully he will ‘recover’ again and be back to where he was with the increased meds.
He could be too much for MIL to handle and we want to look after them both until a time when one of them (probably John) needs constant professional care.
The plan is to sell ours and theirs, they give 50% of money to son and 50% goes to the house we will all live in.
An odd and horrible situation. Will seek professional advice too but not on a Saturday.
Thanks for the replies.
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Living with me for a while won’t negate the requirement for a care home later on. Just can’t be certain about anything sadly.
I think about this. My Mum is 83, pretty healthy, walks everywhere but can still drive. Apart from constantly mixing my name with that of my nephews ( she’s always done that!) she has her faculties *
For her sake, I hope when she goes, it’s at home. For our sake I hope so to, but with my sister in Wales and us in Hants it would be tricky.
I would absolutely buy a bigger house and have her with us if needed but how do you tell an 83 yr old that she has to move and leave the town she has lived in her whole life behind?
My Nan had glaucoma and was blind for her last 25yrs and she ‘existed’ in a state nursing home for 10yrs ( no cost back then).
It sounds horrible to say but I’d rather have Mum pass sooner with all her marbles than later without.
Being a grown up really is shit sometimes.
- Daily Mail reader
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I get that. MIL is 80, swims 1.5 miles 3 times a week, drives and is like a 60 year old. She is absolutely happy for us all to move and we are just working out how to sell it to John when/if he comes out of hospital.
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I am really interested in this topic as well. Thank you for raising it @PCP . My mother is still very independent and mobile, but also far away and in a house that isn’t suitable in 5-10 years time, so it is all a bit of a confusing muddle.
My wife, who is young and spritely, constantly mixes up my two kids and my names, and now that we have a cat we often get called his name as well. Some people seem to be a bit name-blind, and while it can hurt the ego a bit when someone can not recall your name, it really is just harmless and seems to be the way some brains are wired!
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What happens if one parent has to go into a care home, but the other stays at home?
I believe the family home is not counted as assets in that instance.
I think as long as one fo them is still living in the house they wouldn’t have to sell up to pay for the care home. Not sure about any cash savings in joint names and whether these would have to be used to pay for the care home down to the threshold though.
That’s easy. The person remaining in the house buys a very expensive car that the kids may or may not be insured to drive. 
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Similar ish situation just developed here.
Dad is 77. Still works, walks everywhere. 4 weeks ago was his birthday. Usual drinks and celebrations. 2 weeks ago he was really ill in his local pub. Thought he’d had a stroke, but thankfully not.
Visits doctor then in hospital for a scan and within that 2 weeks, he’s aged 20 years. Just an empty shell. We’re absolutely gutted.
And given the subject matter of the thread, you can probably guess what I’m going to say.
He had ISAs in his name and my Mum has no power of attorney. He’s not taken his state pension, instead investing it every month in an ISA while continuing to work. ( only odd jobs to stay busy ). His intention was for this money to go to myself and my siblings as an inheritance as they don’t have property to sell.
If he ends up in a care home, the state will hoover most of that money up.
I’m angry with them in one way for not getting round to sorting this, and just sad for my Dad who’s never had anything in his life and has made this wonderful gesture, only to have if end up in the states pocket.
We’ve no idea really what’s even wrong with him yet. And of course, no visiting in hospital. It’s just awful.
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Sorry to hears this mate. I’m not really following, has your Dad lost all his mental faculties? Can he not sign PoA to your Mum now?
As it stands he’s just laid in bed pretty much unresponsive, but it’s only been a few days since he was admitted. No idea if he will regain his faculties enough to be able to sign PoA over to mum but as of today that’s a non starter.