Asset Protection

One of the most common questions I’m asked is:

 “What will happen to my house and money if I end up in a Care Home?”

Most of us want our home and hard earned assets to pass to our family, to give them the start or boost in life that we never had; however if long term care becomes an issue, this may not happen.

This particular area of later life planning is complex and there is no “one size fits all” scenario, and it’s important not to contravene the rules around deliberate deprivation, so an in depth discussion and review with you and your family is essential.

During these discussions I find that many clients Wills are of the basic type with no provision for protecting their assets or home in the event of long term care.

By reviewing and rewriting your Will, there is a proven solution for some clients. If you are a couple, there is a type of Will which allows each of you to place you share of your joint  assets, i.e. house, savings and investments, in trust for your spouse, but still allowing them to have the use of the assets without actually owning them.

Let’s look at a couple of possible scenarios to demonstrate how this could work:

It’s not uncommon for one of you to go into care and then the surviving spouse to die thereafter. In this scenario, normally the deceased assets i.e. their share of the family home and any capital would then pass to the person in care, and would then be assessed to pay for their care.

On the other hand if one of you dies and your spouse ultimately ends up in long term care, they will own all the assets, which can then be taken into account to pay for their care.

As noted above deliberate deprivation of assets to avoid care costs needs to be avoided, but in the two scenarios described above, the Local Authority cannot accuse you of deliberately deprivation of assets, as you can leave your estate to whoever you choose, and not necessarily your spouse.

Please note that this option is only available to married couples, not single people; however, alternatives are available, for example the transfer of assets into a lifetime trust which also adds other benefits to your later life planning i.e. avoiding Executry costs and delays as well as protecting against family issues such as family issues, unreliable children or children becoming   divorced or bankrupt.

As noted above this is a complex area, but I can guide you through current legislation and help you find the most effective solution for your particular situation.

Give me a call or message to arrange a free initial consultation to determine what the best option is for you to make sure your hard earned assets are protected and pass to your family.