Putting house in trust

We recently did our will and discussed this trust thing. We were advised that if you do it too near the time of going into any sort of care facility it could be seen as deliberately trying to avoid care fees and Social services could and probably would take legal action to recover the fees. apparently this has to be done well in advance of needing care (but how does one calculate this). The fee for arranging all this was in excess of £3K so we just updated the will and did our Powers of Attorney at the same time.

I’m going to use my house to buy me the best, luxury care available!

EglantineSo am I. Having spent over 30 years visiting friends and family in care homes, some self funding, others dependent onthe state. As a result one of my biggest securities going into old age is knowing that I can fund any care I need and not be dependent on the state.

I think it is utterly immoral and unjust to evade paying for your own care. If you can afford to pay for your own care it suggests that you have had a successful career and been paid well for it - or inherited money you didn't work for.. You will have worked hard but so will most people who have been in much less lucrative employment.

This means that your children will have had a head start in life; gone to good schools, to university, have good jobs, own their own house, if a child is handicapped or disabled in any way that is different.

By wriggling out of paying for care you are asking tax payers many of which will be less successful in life than you, earn much less, have children in poorer jobs, to bear the burden of paying for your care so that your children already living comfortably can receive a large sum of money when you die.

The selfishness of this is mind boggling.

Regarding Tenants in Common, I don't think a house can be sold to pay care home fees whilst the spouse is still living in it anyway. It could help to mitigate the eventual liability, though.

As M0nica says, provided your offspring are well on their way in life, they may not need your money and it could ensure you have more choice of care home, should the need arise.

I have been looking into this for a client whose parents have a home in the UK and 2 abroad. There are 3 siblings and 5 grandchildren. He was asking about trusts. The problem with them is which generation do you have as beneficiaries. If it's the grandchildren, what happens if one of them wants to buy a home of their own. The questions go on and on. If your estate is largish then you should speak to a solicitor who is expert in trusts and you must also know what you want to happen.

Monica I disagree. I have friends who have earned exactly the same money as me, yet chose to spend it on luxury holidays, expensive TV, new decor regularly, expensive cars, etc. I have worked my butt off from nothing and still save save save, because I have been very poor, yet I will have to pay for my own care and they will probably have spent all their money by then and get it for free. I don't think that is fair at all. So perhaps I should go out and blow the cash and then rely on the state? Or perhaps I should not have worked so hard, and relied on state benefits and get the state to pay for my care home fees and my housing?
I think if someone has worked hard all their life, and chose to live frugally then the money they saved by doing so should not be taken by the state.

There is nothing immoral or illegal in a couple choosing to leave their share of a property to whomsoever they choose. We have a property trust in our will so that, when the guest one of us dies, their half share is put into trust for our children so that the survivor can continue to live in the house during their lifetime or use the proceeds of any sale to buy another property should they so wish.

Doing this won’t avoid or evade any care home fees for the first to die should they need to go into care. What it avoids is my husband’s share of the property being at risk of being used to pay my care costs should that be needed after he dies had he opted instead to leave his share of the property to me.

It also gives us each the reassurance of knowing that some of their estate will go to the children rather than being wasted (wine, women and song) by the survivor or lost to possible second spouse or step children. We have known the latter happen.

I agree with Monica's post

Razzy Frankly I couldn't give a toss how other people with similar incomes and savings to me spend their money. My greatest relief is that DH and I will not be dependent on the state should we need care of any kind near the end of our lives.

Read any newspaper and you will see how appallingly care is for many old and infirm people if they are unable to afford their own care. The price LAs will pay for residential care is usually below the cost of providing that care and the stories of dreadful care homes usually come from homes providing mainly for those dependent on LA funding.

It is bad enough that so many people at the end of long lives often devoted to care of others should be condemned to such poor care from the country they served. That anyone should heedlessly choose to opt for it when they could afford other, if it were not for reckless and wasteful spending, is insanity.

I am not insane I am glad to fund my own care that more may be available for those who cannot afford it.

I am not an expert but it is my understanding that a house does not have to be sold to pay care fees if the spouse is living in it.

I am pretty sure that if the LA thinks you have deliberately done anything to avoid paying fees they can make you pay.

If this is about IHT I very much doubt there are any legal schemes left to do this. Lots of loopholes have been stopped.