One of the questions we are often asked at Inheritance Solutions UK is ‘How can I avoid nursing home fees?’ For most people their biggest concern is that they may need to sell their home in order to pay for their nursing home fees in old age. However, this does not need to be the case. By taking a few simple steps you are able to protect your assets for those that you love, now and in the future.
THERE IS A SOLUTION WE CAN PROVIDE
In order to avoid nursing home fees we can set up a Lifetime Trust which enables you to transfer assets (such as property and savings) into Trust during your lifetime. This means that should nursing home care be needed, these assets will not form part of the estate and so cannot be included in any assessment made by the local authority.
The person setting up the Trust remains in full control of these assets and decides how they are used, for example selling property, transferring money and spending it. In effect, this means that these assets are excluded from their estate should they need to pay for nursing home fees.
USE QUALIFIED ADVISORS TO HELP SET UP A TRUST
Clients have frequently asked whether they should simply transfer their property into their children’s names. This can cause a number of further issues. The first being a capital gains tax issue. This is seen by the Inland Revenue to be an investment for the children as they are the new owners and so may well be charged a capital gain on that asset when they come to sell it. The other issue is that if one of these new owners then has a claim against the estate, for example divorce, bankruptcy or premature death these assets now belong to them and so can be claimed by third parties.
By having assets placed in a lifetime trust none of these issues arise as the assets do not belong to the children, they belong to the trust and for this reason cannot be claimed should such events occur. In short, by having a Lifetime Trust you are able to protect your assets in the way that you wish without leaving yourself open to any issues from outside parties.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP TO AVOID NURSING HOME FEES – CALL US ON 0800 028 5119
Call Inheritance Solutions UK’s expert Trust advisors and let us help you to avoid nursing home fees. Call us today and let us help you find a solution or find out more about avoiding care home fees.