Care Cost Avoidance is increasingly becoming an issue in the England. With increasing improvements in medicine and healthcare, the number of people in the UK over 85 will double in the next 20 years. The number of people therefore requiring Long Term Care will also double over the same period.

Already 1 in 4 of us will require long term care provision at some point in our lives!

What is Long Term Care?

Long Term Care is a level of care for those who are unable to look after themselves. In this context, it applies to the elderly who need either Residential or Nursing Care for a period of time.

What is the difference between Residential and Nursing Care?

Care linked to a medical condition, rather than a long-term disability or old age is supposed to be free and paid for by the NHS. But the boundaries can blur and many families struggle to get the NHS to pay.

How much is Long Term Residential Care?

This can vary widely from county to county and from home to home. Some           annual costs can be as high as £50,000 p.a. Unnecessarily paying such massive   fees can anger many elderly people. 

How can this be paid for?

Broadly speaking, anyone with assets of £22,250 or more is expected to pay for their own care on a means tested basis. Payment can be by any of the following:   

• Savings (excluding the first £22,250)

• Long Term Insurance Care Plan.

• Selling the family home 

Is there a way to avoid having to sell the family home to pay for Long Term           Residential Care?

Yes there is! A couple can set up a Property Protection Will which would ensure that when the first person died, 50% of the property value would be left not to the survivor but to other beneficiaries (e.g. the children). To date, no UK Local Authority has ever made a claim even against the property owned by the surviving spouse/partner. There is however nothing to stop local authorities from doing this if they wish to.  It is always possible that they may choose to do this in the future.

Is there a way to remove the value of the property from the assessment of the       contribution to care home fees during your lifetime?

Yes there is! A person or couple during their lifetime can set up a Property Protection Trust which for their lifetime gives them the right to use the property. They then transfer the property to the Trust. On death the trust passes to the children. There is no time limit but this will only work if at the time of making the gift of property, the person or couple cannot reasonably foresee that they are more likely to need Residential Care rather than any other person.

If you fail to take action against potential long term care costs you are taking one of the biggest gambles of your life. If you win you get to keep what you have if you loose you could loose everything and leave no legacy to your family.

Do You really want to Take the gamble ?

The odds are 1 in 4 you loose nearly  everything you own with no potential gain.

You could wait and see if the government of the day do away with paying for care costs, or you could act today and contact us for a free consultation to see how we could help you to plan to avoid care costs either partially or altogether.

Call us today and see how we can help you ensure effective care cost avoidance is put in place, the longer you leave it the harder it becomes to put effective strategies in place so call today on 0845 3700 240 without any further obligation.

Care Cost Protection, Care Cost Avoidance