Nursing Home Fees

Hi jinglbellsfrocks

I have got a copy of the land certificate and the property went in to my name 7 weeks after my mother's death.
I could have gone in to the house and lived in it but in theory the will could have been contested at that point. Nobody did.
I had the keys.
As I have said I continued to live in the house which was half mine and half my mother's after she passed away pending probate and nobody stopped me going in to it.
I think I will get all the free advice I can and take it from there.

Mary

I agree with GA. Although unjust, I would pay up the £800 to be rid of the irritation.

My first port of call would be an appointment with AgeUK with one of their very knowledgeable advisors just take all the relivant paper work with you showing the dates you took ownership of the properties and go from there,I certainly would not think of paying this amount.

Hi everyone

I have put Hunter in the search box and I have looked through his posts. He does not appear to have encountered this situation.
Probably this situation is almost unique.

Mary

I think the advice to refuse to pay is sound; but that if they start to take legal action then pay up, because the victory (if there was one) might be more costly. LAs themselves are not keen to get involved in legal fees either.

Aka

You can not legally be held liable for your sisters care but I would not be surprised if Social Services will try it on.
Only the assets of the patient can be taken in to account ( age concern factsheet 38).
When my mother went in to care Social Services wanted the house sold but I just showed them Age Concern Factsheet 38 and they backed off.
They did however say that there was no home suitable for Mum locally at the council's usual rates and I would have to pay a top up. I refused and the council had to pay more than its usual rates.

Mary

My sister is only 65 but it's on the cards she'll soon need residential care due to her lifestyle choices. I haven't spoken to her in years, nor do i intend to, but I am in touch with one of her neighbours so I know how she is getting on.
She has no assets and should she need long-term care I do not want to be responsible for nursing home fees.

This may see harsh, but she made her choices years ago and has only caused us problems and family strife whenever we have tried to help.

Does anyone know if I can be held responsible for such care?

Yes, in the cases he cited the LA always backed down - but we don't know this for sure...

Just refuse to pay, as the social services seem to try it on quite often, and scare people into paying up.
Get advice but don't pay anything yet.

I seem to remember that Frank Hunter refused to pay on several occasions and was proved right.

I hate to say so because it is patently unjust, but for the sake of £800, which it seems you will be able to afford, I think I'd probably pay up simply to save myself the stress and hassle that could drag on for months. You need time to grieve for your mother and your friend and getting caught up in a legal wrangle just now is probably the last thing you need.

Is there no document showing the exact date when the friend's house became yours? As the friend passed away only fifteen days before your mother's death, there can be no way you could have owned that house at that time.

Do not pay it. Get the evidence from the solicitor who handled the friend's will and confront the council with it. At the same time tell them to sod off.

Hi Everyone

Thanks for your thoughts.
With regard to the house I inherited being in probate at the time I suppose the house I jointly owned with my mother was half in probate at the time.
I continued to live in it and nobody tried to stop me.
I will ask Age Concern and the CAB but it would be a hollow victory if I win my case and not get awarded costs.
Probably there have been very few cases like this before as it must be a very unusual combination of circumstances.

Mary

Go to the CAB or Age UK. I think the latter is better on subjects like paying for care.

Blimey - that really is trying it on!

I should start by explaining that the house was not yours to live in at that point - I expect you already have.

Then try CAB, as others have suggested, and then your MP.

The trouble is LAs are so strapped for cash that they will try anything now.

They may in fact strictly have the law on their side (and they have ready access to lawyers, whereas you might have to pay) and I am sure they have checked this out. It seems that what they are saying is that the value of your mother's house was ignored because it was your sole residence and that when that ceased to be the case, that concession would come to an end. However, they have to act reasonably, and clearly the house under probate was not available to you as a dwelling in your mother's lifetime as a place of residence.

But do be prepare to find that you are not able to dispute it as the LA probably have the law on their side, however impractical and unreasonable this might seem.

Have your chat with CAB and as much free time as you can with a lawyer, but personally, if the case looks a bit dodgy, I would not take it further for fear of incurring greater expense.

I am so sorry that you are having to deal with all this at the time of a double loss, and send my condolences.

I cannot believe this. This deserves a petition to parliament.
You should contact your MP about it. Even a Tory should not agree with this - and should want your vote at the next election.

Or try the CAB or AgeUK.

I believe that you can get half-an-hour of free advice from a solicitor.

You need Hunter F. I think he said they couldn't bill you for your mothers care.
Can somebody find one his old posts on the subject for the op?