Family home dilemma

P.s. it is also totally different for an adult dependant who lives with you and shares your home as in the example of the AC needing care above. Or for a long term live in partner. The OP doesnt live inbthe house. Her dad does. Its his house.

I wonder if plumcushion is still with us.
You know when you are talking on the phone but you have been cut off and you’re just talking into space?
I’d be glad to be proved wrong though.

I can remember feeling rather peeved when I married DH 37 years ago and moved into our home with a HUGE interest rate on the mortgage compared to now. We couldn't afford to go out, go on holiday and have all new mod cons. Friends who married around the same time and moved into a Council house (remember those) were going in holidays abroad, out every weekend and some every night! Once Sky tv came in to being the joke was "what's the square box attached to a satellite tv dish...a council house". I can remember our sons asking why we couldn't have sky tv when so and so could....well so and so didn't work, had a new baby every year, had all the new electrical gadgets, decent car and lived in a council house. Years later they bought the house at a much reduced price when interest rates were low, sold it several years later to move to a caravan in Skeggy, came back spent up, back into a Council flat and guess what....she again doesn't work, everything is paid for by the state who will continue when she goes into care. So who's the fool? We want to leave our house, we we consider to be the family home, to our kids in the hope that they will enjoy it ad much as we have. We've always worked, paid our taxes etc looking forward to a nice retirement which moves ever further way. So OP get that legal advice, look after your loving dad, let your brother enjoy the family home. Your Dad (and mum) probably went without when they were younger to ensure they had a legacy for you in later years.

Yes I agree Monical it is different, but my point was you can legally give your house away, someone said they couldn't. So sorry. But my facts are correct I could live in my house with my son having a half share, unfortunately he has given up the whole house. It just needs legal advice. Trusts can be set up at any age by the way.

Unless the house was put in trust I don't think you can just sign it over. You may be best get dome legal advice. I have put my house in trust so if I need to go into a home it cannot be sold from under my children.

But how does that work?
If you're self - funding it isn't an issue but if you need to have fees topped up who does the topping up? LAs can/will only pay a set amount so where does the balance come from?
Family could pay the difference but the alternative is that the bill keeps totting up and is ultimately reclaimed from the estate ie the sale of the house when the owner dies.
So the house does not have to be sold up front to pay fees but the bill has to be paid sooner or later.
It isn't the government or LA or SS who provide the cash - it's the taxpayer ie you and me.
Why should that be seen as fair when an individual has the necessary assets but prefers to give those assets to their AC?
Nobody promised me that if I was honest, worked hard and paid my mortgage then everything would be paid for me in later life.

The thing is, people who condemn scroungers and so on, and pass on their assets, then become scroungers themselves..

It is shocking that the state will not pay for elderly people's care just because they have been careful with their money and saved, it's awful their homes have to be sold, especially when they have put into the system and getting nothing back for it and people who just fritter their money away are looked after.

mcem
A very clear sensible answer.

When people get free health care we don’t call them scrounged because we have all paid in through s whole variety of revenue raising mechanisms. If we did the same to fund social care ( as in Germany for example) we would all pay in and then take out if we needed it. No one would be a ‘scrounger’ and what we saved/ invested would be ours to pass on as we wished.

And you don’t just have assets to pass on because you’ve worked hard - you can work hard as has been said upthread but never in a well paid job or you can have assets because you’ve been lucky -through inheritance for example

Nonnatimesfour

I doubt (but not having done the maths I cannot be certain) that the money most of us pay into the pot, covers the amount we take out.
Count the cost of prescriptions, jabs, x-rays, operations, sickness benefit claims et al throughout the life of the average person, against the portion of their contributions during the same time.
Woukd there be enough to fund...say...5 years in a care home at a round figure of £1k pw.
That equates to £260k, just over a QUARTER OF A MILLION POUNDS, not accounting for the rising cost of care during that time and that's just for 5 years. It could be a lot longer and dementia care is more costly.

woukd would

Thanks to everyone for your valued input.
I haven’t disappeared, as was suggested, but live overseas so on a very different time zone to the UK. So a UK solicitor isn’t as easy to talk to for me. It’s an email situation which will take time.
Hopefully I’ll get some response today and can start getting some legal advice.
Dad is happy at home, manages very well and has a carer popping in daily to check he’s ok - taken his meds etc. Hopefully it will be a long time before he needs personal care or a home.
And if that time comes I’ll be well informed on the legalities.
For those of you that think our situation was to avoid his fees you are wrong. Dad never imagined (maybe stupidly) that he would be in this position.
Thanks for the kindness from most of you. I appreciate it very much.

plumcushion, you could consider consulting a solicitor who specialises in older people's affairs.

Google 'Solicitors for the Elderly

maryeliza, although a social care fund might be a good idea, we do not currently have one.

I experienced something similar when my Dad had an accident which left him paralysed and unable to return home. He'd signed the house over 5 years before to me and my sister. The whole area of care is difficult to navigate so I would recommend contacting AgeUK as they are experts. There is something called "capital deprivation" which the authorities may classify this situation as. Get some sound advice.

Nonna I repeat. "The State" is you, me and every taxpayer.
Not some benevolent entity.
No magic money tree.
Are you happy to pay an extra, possibly hypothecated, tax or do you think that you are automatically entitled because you've already paid your dues?

Yes ikniw we don’t have a social care fund kitty. I was suggesting ways forward

I realise that maryeliza but that's not much help to the op is it?

Oh give it a rest kitty threads develop or do you police all threads for comments not helpful to the OP.? I would bet not

Ooohhhhh look mcem mentioned a hypothecated tax - quick kitty tell her we don’t have one and it’s not helping the OP

Threads about topics are supposed to meander and develop (e.g. "what do you think about the government's plans to...")

Threads about an individual's situation (e.g. what should I do about X) arent the place for general chat about wider topics, but as the OP isnt comming back I suppose it doesnt matter....

Oops sorry missed the OPs post..

Girls girls...settle down now. ??

That’s a new rule is it notanan issued by the thread police? Ridiculous