downsmail.co.uk
Business Focus Bloodline wills and care home fees
Can you avoid your house being sold to pay for care home fees? The answer in some cases is yes but unfortunately it is sometimes no. If you are a couple (married or not) you can do a lot with your wills to help with this. There are also some big mistakes that you need to avoid.
1. Deliberate deprivation of assets. This is where you have intentionally decreased your overall assets in order to reduce the amount you are charged towards your care and support. If the local authority can show that you knew you were going to need care when you did this, it can overturn your actions. This doesn’t mean you should give away your house to your children just in case you might need care.
2. Lifetime gifts to children. In theory you can give everything to your children before you die or go into care but there are some real risks. If your children own part or all of your house and they happen to die before you, unless their will leaves the house to you, you may have to sell! Similarly if a married child gets divorced, the house will be part of their assets for the divorce settlement and again, you might have to sell.
3. Lifetime gifts to a trust. This can be a good solution but only in a few situations and not usually appropriate for your home. It can be very expensive and may not achieve the desired outcome. Be careful before you do this. It may be worth getting a second opinion. There may also be tax implications.
4. Solutions for couples. The best solution for a couple who own their own home is to make sure they have the right sort of wills and own the house in the right way. What is the right way? There are two options. 1. Beneficial joint tenants (owners). 2. Tenants (owners) in common.
5. Beneficial joint tenants. This is the default option and is good for younger home owners because if one of them happens to die, the house automatically reverts to the other – they don’t even need a will! Unfortunately it is not so good later in life and many couples also have standard mirror wills leaving everything to each other and then to the children on second death. For older couples tenants in common is better.
6. Tenants in common. This way you each own half of the house. On death, with the right will, one half can go into a trust which means it cannot be used to pay for care if the survivor requires it. With the right trust, the survivor can still live in the house (and downsize if required) but the half in the trust is protected and can pass on to the children on second death. This also protects against the surviving spouse remarrying and the house going to the new spouse.
7. How can Camrass Wills help? We can advise you what is best for your situation and make sure it is correctly documented. We can tell you how you own your home – the Land Registry documents do not use either of the phrases, beneficial joint tenants or tenants in common!
For Wills, Probate, Powers of attorney & Funeral plans Phone Camrass Wills to book a free initial consultation. Tel: 01622 720985
www.camrasswills.co.uk
2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the Society of Will Writers Maidstone August 2019 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
