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[Varche]

Grr.

My Mum and Dad have managed fine until recently when they have become less mobile with my dad needing both hips replacing (first one end of this month) and my mum needing(but not going to have a knee operation). Personally I think they are a few years away from having to go into an old folks home. I would rather they came here and lived with us.

They live in a modest house they own and have modest savings having grafted and paid taxes all their lives.

Today they had a visit programmed by and from the "council" to discuss care following operation and needs like shower grab rails, perching chair and the like - I gave them a list of questions to ask including name. The guy turned up and was actually from a firm of solicitors in Bridlington wanting them to put their house into trust so that apart from the savings over first £23k everything else would be protected for their heirs. Cost £1500. When asked where he had got their details from he didn't know!

Knowing my Dad I am surprised he didn't sign up there and then as he has first hand experience of my uncle having gone from having quite a lot of material wealth to being penniless at the hands of so called Christian friends who charged him the earth for services like taking him out in his car and so on. Then he fell ill and they called my parents and said they now wanted nowt to do with him having sold his house for him and trousered a large chunk of it. Then he used up every penny he had on his continuing old folks care home costs. 

So is it a con? Anyone else have any experience of these schemes? Any advice gratefully received.

I am going back to England end of Feb while he has his op to help out and organise some practical things around the house and make contact with social services/Age UK on their behalf as I know there is a lot of practical help available if you ask...........(Being old folk they are of the generation that is too proud to ask).

[Kevin Wood]

I would seek independent advice from a solicitor / accountant you trust, TBH. Who knows who the council have sent round and what motivation they and/or the council had for turning up?

I smell a rat, especially as he wasn't prepared to be honest with them about where his information was sourced. Nothing signed yet and the BS has already started.

[cleggy]

I would seek independent advice from a solicitor / accountant you trust, TBH. Who knows who the council have sent round and what motivation they and/or the council had for turning up?

I smell a rat, especially as he wasn't prepared to be honest with them about where his information was sourced. Nothing signed yet and the BS has already started.

I toally agree sounds bloody dodgy to me Just where did they get the information from??

I know that following the death of my mum many years ago my dad put the house in his and my names as "Tenants In Common" to protect it

[pscocoa]

Yes this is a minefield. The social services people will/may look carefully at devices which are intended to divert funds - if it can be demonstrated that the purpose was to move funds outside of reach of the authorities to avoid paying for care then they can set it aside if they can prove it.

If on the other hand your parents want to set up a trust for their children etc then this of course can be done but as said under careful independent advice and even then they can screw up.

The £23000 thing is right - and it is for each person. So if one parent has to go into a home and the other stays in their own home then if the one going into a home has less than £23000 in their own name (excluding house) then the authorities cannot seek sale of house as far as I am aware. It needs a lot of studying - you can do a lot of research yourself to suit the particular situation your parents are in before paying fees to lawyers in the first instance.

[pirate]

few years back alot of peaple signed there houses over to there kids to stop local councils taking houses or making peaple sell to help pay nursing cost thay have stopped that now it has to have been signed over for more than 10 years or thay can still take it,get proper legal advice ,im now my mothers attorney at law so nothing can be done without my say so , it really gets rid of telephone sales and cold calls she mentions this and thay leave her alone .

[pscocoa]

this is also just one aspect or consequence of NHS declaring people to be medically fit when they are not and getting them out of hospital and onto social services books. I have just been through this and at present they have now accepted (after a battle) that my mother is not medically fit and she is now in a nursing home at NHS expense for the time being - a long long story subject of an earlier thread.

This is such a key area.

[Terbs]

My mother remarried after my father died, then ten years later the second husband died. She was living with him in his bungalow, and their wills protected each others dependants. The will (his) left the bungalow in trust, so my mother has a roof over her head till she dies. Because the bungalow was too big, it was sold, and a flat purchased. Should my mother go into a home (she is 91), the flat will be sold and the monies will be invested by my stepbrothers (the flat is their side of the family as  are the invested leftovers from the sale of the bungalow) However, the capital from the sale of flat cannot be used to finance my mothers care...only the dividends from the investments.. And only after my mothers death can my stepbrothers inherit any capital which has been invested.
Its a good setup....but I feel sorry for my stepbrothers (their father died 18 years ago) as they stand to inherit about £150,000 each but cannot touch it till my mother dies.