If my wife goes into a nursing home will the council acquire our home to pay for her care or only her share of its value?
My wife and I own our home as tenants in common. If one of us has to go into a nursing home can the council acquire the full value of the house over time or just that one person's half share?
Would a trust have to be set up to achieve this protection or is the fact that the property is held as tenants in common sufficient?
W.R. By email.
New phase: A reader asks about the implications for the home he shares with his wife should she have to go into a nursing home
Philip Scott of This is Money replies: Normally couples own their home as joint tenants, in other words both parties own the whole property. Under joint tenancy rules, if one person dies, their partner becomes the sole owner of the property.
But if you are tenants in common, each party owns a set share of the property, usually either half or a set percentage. In these circumstances, if one person dies, they can pass on their share, to their children if they so wish, while their partner can remain living in the property.
Importantly tenants in common rules can also prevent you having to sell your home if you need to go into long-term care.
Peter Wright, director and adviser at Plan Money, adds: If one person goes into a home and the other still lives there, the council cannot force a sale, it is disregarded from the financial assessment. If it is empty it will be considered an asset after 12 weeks, unless there is a very reasonable prospect of someone returning.
In this case, if one of you went into care then the property is disregarded for purpose of the financial assessment. This applies whether under tenants in common or not
But this could change if the second person died and the first person - the one being in care - inherited the whole property effectively and then this would fall into the financial assessment.
This would not be the case if, on second death, the property share was inherited by another person i.e. not the person in care as this would be seen by the local authority as having no resale value.
However this could be considered differently with various local authorities. A trust is needed - to offer the protection - to ensure the property ownership is required to go to a specific person and not to fall into the deceased estate, as outlined above.
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