Need specialist advice on old age care costs

Hi, Mrs Bigsurfer is looking after an Auntie with dementia that she has power of attorney for. The Aunt is now in full time care and paying for it. We believe that after roughly £85k of expenditure on care ( not including accomodation and food etc) that the government should then foot the bill. Happy to pay for specialist advice. But the question is who should we be looking for to advise us on this. It doesn’t feel like a solicitor or an accountant. Are there specialists in this sort of thing and if so what are they called. Thanks for any advice.

Hi, don’t know the answer to this, but following as my parents are likely to be in the same boat in the near future.

I’d have thought your local authority adult social care team would be a good place to start. Or Citizen’s Advice

Have a look here also:

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/

I think it’s only NURSING care that counts – and I think that’s all that is ever funded if her estate has more than 20-odd grand.  (and I’m not sure whether it ever became a thing anyway – they def delayed it at least once)

(that’s England)

I assume citizen’s advice might know (or Google)

The 86k cap has been postponed til 2025 iirc edit yes as per mattyfez link above

Currently you pay everything over £23,250. There is a proposal to introduce a cap of £86k in your lifetime but that has been put back until October 2025

MinL currently paying £111 per day for nursing care, non dementia

this outlines it all quite well

https://www.sjp.co.uk/individuals/news/what-the-new-government-cap-on-care-fees-will-mean-for-you#:~:text=The%20government%20announced%20it%20was,been%20pushed%20back%20to%202025.

could be worth a read – https://www.porthaven.co.uk/blog/do-dementia-residents-have-to-pay-care-home-fees/

These guys offer advice and solutions. and worth a read.

https://www.eldercaregroup.co.uk/

It’s all hot air as mentioned above. The govt hasn’t actually done anything (yet) to protect your inheritance, sorry.

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It’s not about inheritance in most cases and that post is perhaps quite crass. Dementia, Alzheimer’s are illnesses and are treated differently as mostly treatment and care has to be self funded. It’s a health service apartheid based on age (mostly as the illness can strike at a younger age). Care in older age was provided by local authorities to a reasonable standard. Mostly the Tory party reduced the funding.

Your local council would be the best people to advise, they will charge in line with the current regulations so they won’t be biased.

As others have said, there’s a £23,250 limit where you pay full cost if your assets are over that value. There’s no real way to avoid it but you can defer payments if you have assets to offset against(generally a charge against a property).

I would fully expect the proposed care cap to be further postponed or scrapped.

“It’s not about inheritance in most cases and that post is perhaps quite crass. Dementia, Alzheimer’s are illnesses and are treated differently as mostly treatment and care has to be self funded. It’s a health service apartheid based on age (mostly as the illness can strike at a younger age). Care in older age was provided by local authorities to a reasonable standard. Mostly the Tory party reduced the funding”

It’s all about the inheritance. If it was about the care, that’s readily available (at a price). No-one is asking “how can I arrange appropriate care for my Aunt”, they are asking whether taxpayers will pick up the bill.

We can argue that it’s unfair and arbitrary that some people have their inheritances substantially wiped out by this cruel disease – I’ve had two grandparents and my father succumb to it, my father-in-law is just now following in his father’s footsteps similarly. That’s a lot of years in care homes at 80k pa (FiL right now in Yorkshire, my dad was a 50k pa 6 years ago in Scotland). But it’s also arguably unfair to have the taxpayer pick up the tab in order to protect the inheritances of people who – for the most part – are already rich and will inherit a big unearned windfall anyway, regardless of the care home taking a chunk.

We didn’t need dementia care but residential care, self funded so had a shop around.  The prices in nw England for decent homes ranged from c35k to 70k pa.  The 70k was new, was like a budget hotel with gym, probably more attentive staff, that’s about it.  We chose the cheaper home for its location and visited regularly.

1 lady had been in there 10 years, probably still there.

So shop around, homes will show you round, some have waiting lists but a place comes up pretty quickly.  I wasn’t bothered about dated paint, swirly carpets, it’s q homely, the staff were brilliant.

Re funding, ask the homes what grants you qualify for, they are experts and make sure you get what you are entitled to.

The sooner assisted dying/death is introduced the better.

No way do I want someone to have to wipe my arse m

Hi,

Late to the party, but like others have said the £86,000 cap has not been bought in yet and even if it is it won’t be applied retrospectively.

With dementia and other progressive diseases there is often a point at which the NHS will step in and pay for care after what is called an NHS continuing healthcare assessment. It is a complex process and not easy to negotiate, but I have both personal experience (my Dad was living in a care home for 4 1/2 years before his death – we got NHS funding for over 3 years) and professional experience acting as an advocate for families going through the process.

If you want a chat (no obligation obvs) about what your options might be then drop me a message nick dot ash at wplegal dot co dot uk.

All of the above, but going through it with MIL who has had a severe stroke. OHs health has suffered as a result of the anxiety worrying about care bills due to a complicated situation and inept LA.

Has you Aunt has Financial Assessment from the LA Adult Social Care ? If not you should chase this as it will set out the basis for the care funding.