Hi all,

My mum sadly suffered a serious stroke in February of this year, she’s on the mend but it looks like she’ll have lost the use of her legs and need significant care going forward – we’re hoping and praying that she’ll get the leg use back, but this seems an outside chance at this point.

At the moment, my parents’ house is very unsuited to their new situation – it’s a small 4 bedroom 70’s semi, that’s not been modified since built. As a result my mum can’t really get around the kitchen in her wheelchair, the door way widths are a struggle, the bathroom is upstairs (with a tight staircase and narrow landing) she can only have sponge baths at present and they’re using the living room as a bedroom.

Fortunately my parents, whilst not well off are comfortable and are in a position where they can use their savings to modify the house (principally the addition of a wet room and larger disable friendly kitchen area). As my mum has some fairly modest savings to her name she has to fund her own care (currently 13k per annum or thereabouts for two carers four times a day).
I understand there are rules in place to stop my mum gifting her savings away to below the 23k threshold where you don’t have to fund your own care – e.g. she couldn’t just gift her money to me. However, it does seem reasonable to me that she should be allowed to spend her money on making changes to her home, however as this would reduce her savings and potentially hasten the point where the government pick up the tab, I’m keen to make sure we’re all above board.

So my question are two fold a) does anyone have experience of this situation – are you allowed to spend your savings on making disabled modifications and b) can anyone recommend me a solicitor in the north east Hampshire or surrey area who can give us formal legal advice.

Thanks all!

Might be worth speaking with the Civil Advice Bureau first to see what their take is on it all.

In theory I see no reason why she can’t spend her savings to make her life better and environment better, just make sure you keep all the invoices for the work to prove what it was spent on if they come looking.

Make sure your name isn’t on any of the paperwork and it is all done in your parents names.

Does she have a community occupational therapist/social worker? If so they may be able to advise. Their advice will certainly be useful when considering modifications. Age UK may be helpful to advise before you visit a solicitor. I think that you have savings you are expected to pay for modifications but there is some support from the council but it’s means tested. So I assume they are expecting you to get to the £23K threshold.

The standard of council funded care is much lower than private so I’d keep some in reserve!

I think this comes under the ‘deprivation of capital’ rules – and for which there is a (deliberately) grey area of what amounts dot deliberate deprivation of capital in order to ‘gain’ benefits.

IIRC, essentially the rule is that as long as you can demonstrate that the primary reason was not to reduce your assets in order to claim support, or sheer recklessness (e.g.. gambling it all away) then you are safe – but its hard to ever get them to commit to a firm and final answer before you do it – on that basis, clearly something like converting the house after a stroke would be reasonable.

Yeah, CIB is on my todo list, but I’d feel better if I had a legal opinion to back me up.

I’ll be organising the work, but it’ll be my parents name on the paper work etc. My dad is an even bigger procrastinator than I am, so they’ll doubtless ‘make do’ for the next twenty years if I don’t kick things off. I think his current record is 5 years to paint a bookcase he made 😀

I wouldn’t have thought there’d be a problem, but wouldn’t they be better moving to a small bungalow/ground-floor flat?

It’s a perfectly reasonable thing to spend your own money on, and I can’t see that it would fall foul of the rules.

Ewan – I’ve dealt with/had meetings with Hampshire Adult Services and was very impressed with their empathy and wanting to do their best to make life comfortable for my late parents. Definitely worth phoning them.

I would say however that a move to a purpose-built property would be far less stressful than having building works going on with the accompanying disruption to everyday life.

Ewan sorry to hear about your situation. Are you claiming the full care allowance? I applied on my mother’s behalf and got her the higher rate. It is not means tested nor taxable.

Also, I have done similar alterations to their house, self funded, but I understand the council would have done this.

Hope it helps

It’s a perfectly reasonable thing to spend your own money on, and I can’t see that it would fall foul of the rules.

It is indeed, but before they do It would be worth looking into any help, grants that might be available.

I would say however that a move to a purpose-built property would be far less stressful than having building works going on with the accompanying disruption to everyday life.

I don’t doubt that, however, my mother is rather stubborn and isn’t leaving her home! Realistically they’ll need to rent somewhere whilst the work is done.

Thanks for all the advice so far. Anyone know any solicitors?

It is indeed, but before they do It would be worth looking into any help, grants that might be available.

Any idea where to start on the grant front?

Grants: social services first. Usually a charity would expect you to have explored all statutory agencies first as they do not want to pay for things that the government would be paying for. I know the MND Association offer grants for this sort of thing but the disease is so rare that this is viable, i doubt stroke would do the same but worth asking the stroke association, or ask their local branch whether people got grants.

Not what you asked about but…
I’d definitely recommend you get a closimat toilet. They wash and dry your bum and have a heated seat, like the Japanese have. And they look swish and not out of place is a nice bathroom.

The other advice is to watch DIY SOS and other similar programmes when they redo houses for disabled people. Gives you a good idea what you can do.

Ewan – sorry, just trying to be helpful but is there any way they’d consider a retirement apartment or bungalow in a complex? Obviously if they stay where they are you’ve got ongoing maintenance costs plus presumably a garden to keep tidy. You don’t say what age they are but an eye needs to be kept on future needs and not just current ones.

HCC will help with some things, not sure how it’s worked out. For example they’ll provide handrails. They agreed to replace my mother’s bathroom as she was classed as disabled, however it took a year from when they approved the quote from their contractor by which time she’d changed her mind due to the upheaval.

As a first step I’d talk with HCC.

i am a lawyer and don’t know the relevant rules but i guess the situation is comparable with the general benefits rules on deprivation of capital which i do know . Modifying your home to a reasonable not luxurious standard to meet your needs would not amount to a deprivation of capital so would not jeopardise benefits .

from benefits law buying a washing machine ok need, buying a plasma tv not ok ,luxury.

OK will do in regards to HCC. I guess they might consider a retirement home eventually when they realise what’s involved, but at the moment, no way. In terms of age they’re not that old – my dad is 72 and my mums 68 – my dad is good health and my mum was before the stroke (blood pressure popped a vessel in the brain not obese or anything underlying like that).

Guess I’ll need to find out what kind of permission I’ll need from the parents to deal with their affairs with HCC.

Have u done power of attorney – does yr mum have capacity to sign one?

Nope. Both parents are both 100% mentally. My dad just knows he’s a procrastinator and that I’ll ‘get it done’.

^that^ for power of attorney, welfare and continuing (or whatever the terms are)..

Grants for housing adaptations due to disability are called disabled facility grants. You usually apply for them through social services, and your mum would need an assessment by an occupational therapist. She may be financially assessed in the same way as she was for home care, if your mum is self-funding for that then she may be over the threshold for a DFG. It’s definitely worth an ask though

Legal Advice – if you have a local branch of Age UK they may be able to make some suggestions. If you are struggling give Chesterfield Law Centre a call (experts with regards to disabilit, very helpful people, will probably give phone advice but may also suggest who to approach more locally to you).
Local authority OTs are quite rare beast; have a search locally for independent living aid centres. Some are companies which only sell their own products, others are charities which only sell a small range of kit, they do have a larger range of equipment from lots of manufacturers. In Manchester there is a set up called The Disabled Living Centre – you pay a fee for an OT assessment at their centre, they advise on which products would be beneficial (and where to purchase them from). They have a room full of adapted sitting chairs, a kitchen full of adaptions(kettle mounts etc), they have a room full of adapted baths to try getting in and out of etc. I’m sure there will be something locally which provides a similar service.

Great thanks guys, this is fantastically helpful.

My wife is a senior practitioner social worker doing this every day. Her opinion is that it wouldn’t be regarded as deprivation of assets as it is making the house more suitable for her needs.
In fact as its keeping your mum out of social services care is a good thing.
There may be other things to consider but it wouldn’t be an issue should her savings be checked with regard to any funding of care.