Court of Protection

What’s changed in social care?

Were the Government’s long-awaited plans for a much-needed overhaul of social care worth the wait? Unfortunately not.

08 Dec 2021

Team name
Charanjit Toor

Charanjit Toor

The white paper on social care in England and new cap on care fees brings more confusion to an already confused system. It’s unlikely to save many people any money and does nothing to alleviate the immediate crisis facing social care.

There may be a positive difference for a very limited number of people but certainly not poorer pensioners.

It’s clear the safety net for individuals has some significant holes in it. It’s important to not put off planning for your future later in life.

When thinking about protecting your home when it comes to paying for the cost of care, there are a few things to consider:

  1. If you need to move into a care home, you’ll usually have a financial assessment to work out how much you’ll need to pay yourself. If you own your house and your spouse, partner or civil partner is still living there then a ‘property disregard’ could apply which means your home won’t be used to fund care costs.
  2. However, the local authority will take income, including pensions, into account when they decide how much people will pay towards their own care. This may reduce the household income available to the spouse/partner who continues to live in the property.
  3. In most cases, couples tend to own a property as joint tenants so that when one partner dies the property automatically passes to the survivor. One of the primary reasons people change this is to ensure their 50% share of the property passes to their children, rather than it automatically passing to a surviving spouse/partner (and consequently the whole value of the property being taken into account for the costs of care of the surviving partner/spouse). You can sever the joint tenancy over your property by written notice and then updating the ownership position with the Land Registry. You should then make a Will to ensure that your share of the property passes in accordance with your wishes. However, as an alternative, you may consider your home as an investment to fund your care. This would give you a greater ability to choose where you would like to be cared for (close to loved ones and relatives perhaps) and how (any preferences you may have that would incur a greater care cost).

M&P Commentary

Charanjit Toor, Solicitor in our Court of Protection department, said:

“Day in day out we support older and vulnerable people facing issues like care home fee rises, poor quality of care, the desire to stay in your own home, and lack of access to funding for support for conditions like dementia. The earlier each of us begins, the more options we allow ourselves when we eventually do need support.”

OUR CLIENTS SAY ABOUT US

Ranked highly in Romford and Brentwood for solicitor firms

Family
The service I received from Allison was exceptional. Always highly professional and informative.
Virginia
Wills
Mullis and Peake are very efficient, professional and friendly company to deal with. Excellent service throughout.
Brian
Employment
Excellent, swift service from Esther at Mullis & Peake. Showed clear expertise in her field & walked me through everything patiently & thoroughly.
Dan
Company and Commercial
I found the service provided was excellent from start to finish, with our requirements met in a timely manner throughout.
Gary
Wills
Staff very helpful and friendly. Trudi was easy to talk to and to understand the procedure.
Pamela
Dispute resolution
We contacted Martyn to deal with a sensitive Will dispute and we can’t thank him enough for his commitment and hard work.
Salena
Residential Property
Very prompt. Experienced. Expert. Friendly.
Trevor
Commercial Property
Excellent service and far quicker than previous negotiations using a different solicitor.
John
Family
At all times I was kept informed about the progress of the case and everything was completed in a timely fashion.
Melanie
Personal Injury
Martyn undertook and guided me through the lengthy process [of a personal injury case], and after much work, achieved a successful result.
Shirley

Related News insights

Employment Advice (For Business), Legal
New Sexual Harassment Rules May Signal End of Office Parties
Company & Commercial, Legal
Typhoo Tea Administration Buyout – A Legal View
Family & Divorce, Legal
Parental Responsibility – a definition
Charity & Fundraising, Mullis & Peake
Give a Child a Christmas Campaign 2024