Care Home Fees Solicitors

As we get older, we all need to consider how we will fund the cost of our long-term care, whether it is for at-home care or the costs of living in a dedicated care home. The professional and experienced team at JMW is here to offer guidance on the cost of long-term care, providing the assistance you need to make the right decisions.

Many people severely underestimate how much their long-term care will cost and are left in difficult financial positions during a time in their lives when they should be relaxing, enjoying their retirement, and spending quality time with their friends and family. A very small minority of people will be entitled to NHS-funded nursing care as they get older, but the vast majority will not. It is therefore important to prepare for the possibility that you will need to pay for care fees yourself. Care home fees advice from our solicitors can help you to prepare and protect your estate for the next generation.

If you want to safeguard your future, it is vital that you speak to an experienced solicitor who can advise you on the specifics of your financial situation and offer bespoke advice. This is where JMW can help. To speak to our friendly estate planning solicitors today and to find out how we can help, call us on 0345 872 6666 or complete our online enquiry form and we will call you back.

What Our Clients Say

Why Choose JMW?

When you are planning your estate and aiming to minimise outgoings, it is vital to seek legal advice from solicitors specialising in care home fees. The team at JMW has significant experience in strategically estate planning to offset the costs of residential or nursing care and can help you to protect your assets from assessment.

We are here to provide all the assistance you need to make sure you keep on top of all costs associated with long-term care. Where possible, our team can help you to avoid care home fees or minimise the costs in cases where care fees are subject to a means test. Because our team's experience covers a range of estate planning options, we can discuss your aims for your financial assets and propose a plan that will meet all your needs.

JMW's specialist legal advice can help you to make the right decisions and account for nursing care or residential care fees in your estate plan. With our efficient and professional approach, we will make the whole process as productive and stress-free as possible.

Meet Our Team of Wills Solicitors

Our Care Home Fees solicitors offer expert advice on protecting your assets from care costs. We help you navigate the legal complexities, ensuring your estate is preserved for your loved ones​.

What Is a Protective Property Trust?

Care home fees can be expensive, but they might be unavoidable if you need long-term care when you get older. Many people express concern about their family home being sold to pay for care home fees, which will prevent family members from inheriting the property at a future date. A protective property trust is one way to avoid this outcome.

Also known as a property protection trust or home protection trust, this is a type of legal arrangement that is often used in estate planning to protect a family home. The property is placed into a trust by its owner, who receives a life interest in the property. This means that the person no longer owns the property, but still has the right to live in it and benefit from any income it generates until they die. Then, the trustees can distribute the property to the final beneficiaries.

In cases where a couple co-own a property, each party can decide whether or not to transfer their share of the property into the trust. Each partner can retain a life interest in the property, but the share is protected for the final beneficiaries. 

In this arrangement, the settlor (the person who created the trust) no longer owns the property, and legal ownership is instead held by the trustees. Trustees can be family members, friends, solicitors, or professional trust companies, and they will need to manage the asset according to the settlor's wishes. They may also need to fill in tax returns and other documents to account for the financial aspects of running the trust.

This type of trust is particularly popular for those looking to safeguard their property from various risks, such as care home fees, creditors, or beneficiaries' potential future financial problems. If the property is in a trust, it may not be considered part of the person's estate (and therefore is not part of the assessable capital) when a local authority assesses finances to calculate care home fees. 

There are other potential benefits to this type of trust. It can make sure that a particular property remains within the family and is passed on to children or other named beneficiaries, rather than being potentially lost to remarriage or creditors if one partner dies. It further allows the Settlors to specify precisely how the property should be distributed after their deaths. Finally, by keeping the property within the trust, it can be protected from beneficiaries' creditors, divorce settlements, or bankruptcy.

With all of this being said, a local authority may object to trusts that have been created just to avoid paying care home fees. You must create your trust and carry out other estate planning without breaking the rules on paying for care home fees, and this can be challenging without legal support. The team at JMW has a thorough knowledge of health and residential care and can offer legal advice on that is tailored to your specific situation.

How are Care Home Fees Assessed?

Care home fees are assessed through a detailed financial means test, which determines how much an individual will need to pay towards their care. An initial needs test is conducted by the local authority to determine the type of care required, whether residential or nursing care.   As discussed, nursing care is only offered to the minority who are assessed as having a primary health need.

This is followed by a financial means test, in which the local authority evaluates the individual's income, savings and assets. This includes:

• Income: pensions, benefits and any other regular income sources.
• Savings and investments: any savings accounts, ISAs, stocks, shares or investments.
• Property: the value of the individual's home may be included unless a partner, dependent, or other qualifying person lives there.

As of 2024, if an individual has savings and assets worth more than £23,250, they will generally have to pay for their care in full without any support from the local authority.  If you own a property but are moving into a care home, you will usually need to pay for your own care in full.

If you qualify for local authority funding and choose a care home that charges more than the local authority's standard rate, a family member would need to pay top-up fees to cover the difference.