| Later Life Care
The cost of Later Life Care is now approaching £1,000 a week, which you or your family will have to pay in full where your estate is valued at more than £22,250.
Under current legislation, anyone with savings or capital of more than £22,250 is required to pay their own care fees, which in many instances can lead to a surviving spouse having to sell the family home. If half of the property is placed into trust on first death as opposed to being left to the surviving spouse it is deemed to be jointly owned and the council cannot make a claim against it. They may place a charge against the property for when it is eventually sold, but even in this scenario they would still only be entitled to up to half of the proceeds.
In addition to this, other assets such as cash and investments can also be placed into trust during your lifetime and on death. The surviving spouse would retain access to these assets but again they would not be counted as part of his or her estate for Later Life Care costs. |
