Adult child in family home

Recently my husband gave cash to a beggar outside a shop in the street. He asked the man why he was begging and he said tht when his other went into a care home he became homelss! You are right to be concerned about your son's future.

You cannot gift your house or part of it to your children to avoid future care costs as this is seen as deliberate deprivation of assets and local authorities can still include this when assessing your financial situation regardless of who now owns the property. Putting it into a trust fund isn't straight forward either as has been hi-lighted recently!

Could you gift the house to your son with the proviso that half of it (or if there are savings to take into account half of your estate) goes to your daughter on your death? Or gift it to the two of them with the proviso that your son can live there until your death, at which point it should be sold and the proceeds split between your children.

I'm not sure if that would count as deprivation of assets, as the whole concept of that seems so subjective, but it feels so wrong that something you own and have paid for is not yours to dispose of as you please in case you need care in the future (which you may not).

Obviously this would need legal advice, but if it can be done it seems the best solution.

But surely, Oreo that's going to cut out the daughter?
And presumably care home fees will come out first!

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You don't need a solicitor for this because even they would not know what the local council would decide at the time, however as the law stands a gentleman at the age of 48 with no disability nor dependency, would be expected to be able to fend for himself i.e. have a job and pay for his own home. Your house would be taking into any financial assessment and be sold to pay for care. What you do in your will is a totally different matter as that does not come in to force until you are dead and any care has been paid for by which time all your money including the house could have gone. Sadly that is the state of affair, whether we like it or not. Care direct will give you all the answers except whether the council would give your son a disregard at the time. Once your son is 60 the house would be disregarding, so your goal would be to hang on!!! If you don't have any mental issue and do not foresee having care in the future, you can do what you like with your house and money now but that is always a risky thing to do and for that you definitely need a solicitor of course.

And does this still require inheritence tax paying, if they too are on purchase from outset?We only buy a share at first i beleive on a rent to buy.

One of my sons and i (he still lives at home, he has a disability) have decided to look at rent to buy houses, but to apply together, & i presume in such a case that would secure his home if anything happened to me(recently had major heart surgery) but his brother will be moving back in full time after 2more yrs at uni.(disabled student) Should we consider doing this as a 3way purchase to secure BOTH their future home?

I mean this kindly because I don’t know what the circumstances are, but why can/could he not secure his own housing?

Jaxjacky

Unfortunately I think it would leave your son homeless, only a dependent or marital partner would be able to stay in the house.

I agree, as things stand.
The only way to avoid this is to leave him the house in your will, that ensures his future.

Definitely take professional advice about this. We can all tell you what we think might happen but probably none of us actually know for sure. It's too important not to get the true facts from a solicitor or even Citizens Advice.

Age UK:

www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-a-care-home/do-i-have-to-sell-my-home-to-pay-for-care/

Moving into a care home permanently

If you move into a care home permanently, your home won't be counted in the financial assessment if any of the following people still live there:

•your partner, spouse or civil partner
•your estranged or divorced partner if they're also a lone parent
•a relative who is 60 or over
•a relative who is under 60 who has a disability
• a child of yours aged under 18.

Local councils can also choose to leave the value of your home out of the financial assessment, even if someone living there doesn’t fit into one of the categories above. They don’t have to – but they should consider any requests.

What about the tenants in common approach, although that would leave out your daughter. Then any care fees would only be payable on your half of the property, if I understand it correctly. You may need to look at other options to leave something for your daughter.

I’d advise taking professional advice on this. You could start with Citizens’ Advice, who can arrange a free advisory hour with a solicitor if it’s outside their remit to help. Age UK can also be very helpful, but probably CA is a good start.
Wishing you all the best.

Unfortunately I think it would leave your son homeless, only a dependent or marital partner would be able to stay in the house.

Arrangements are different in Scotland, and in England. You need to check which apply to you.

Residential care costs here are around £2000 per week.
£100,000 pa. You should take a look around local care homes to see what's available.

If taken into residential care, your finances will be assessed. If you were unable to self- pay, the costs would accumulate to be claimed (after you die) as a debt from your estate , before any other bequests in your Will.

If your house is your main asset, it could then be sold to cover the care debt. Depending on house value, and size of debts, that might drain your assets dry leaving little or no inheritance for either child; and your son homeless.

I don't think your house would be 'seized' as you put it. The costs of your care woud be off-set on the value of your home so that when you die and the house is sold, the money for your care will be taken from the estate.
Otherwise, you pay from your care with your pension and your savings, I believe.
As for forcing your son from the house, that is equally unlikely, but if he cannot afford to pay out his sister her share of the estate then it may decide to leave and find another home, which is what happened to my brother. He didn't even want to stay in the family home after my mum passed away.
If he has income of his own or maybe some benefits from the state then he could apply for local housing depending on his circumstances.
You say he isn't dependent on you so presumably has income of his own.
Once you have passed away you have no control over what happens to the house, that is for your children to decide.