Going to a care home is a huge decision for you and your family. There are various factors you have to consider, but the most significant and worrisome for many families is the cost of the care home.
In many cases, people start organizing finances for their care home way before they need to go into one. One way people pay for care homes is by selling their current homes. But what if they can’t? Can their next of kin be held responsible for their care home costs?
Who Pays for Care Home Fees?
Depending on your financial ability, there are several ways to pay for your care home fees. Understanding the different financing avenues is crucial, especially when you don’t want to sell your home to pay for the care home.
Self Funding
If you have the financial means, you can use your own money, such as savings, assets, or regular income, to cover your needs. This is the most straightforward method of paying for care homes and involves the fewest hurdles and challenges.
However, self-funding requires that you have the means and resources to pay for the care home.
Local Authority Funding
In some instances, the local authority can also help with the care home fees. However, this depends on their agreement with the care home. Usually, the local authority stops paying for the service about three days after the date of a care home resident’s death.
If you need the local authority to step in and help with the care home fees, there are several steps you must follow. One of them is you have to figure out the type of care you need and how much you need to pay for it.
The local authority will then conduct two sets to determine whether you qualify for their assistance. These are:
- Needs assessment: This is to determine whether you need to go into a care home and what type of care you need.
- Financial or means testing: Another test will examine your finances and determine whether you have the means to pay or if the authority needs to step in and help with the fees.
There are limits and thresholds you have to meet for the authority to pay for your care. Even if you don’t need financial help, it’s still essential to get a needs assessment.
NHS Funding
Sometimes, the NHS can pay for care home costs for people with serious health needs. There are two ways the NHS can step in:
- Through the NHS, Continuing Healthcare will cover ongoing medical care for those with complex health needs due to accidents, disabilities, or significant illnesses.
- NHS-funded Nursing Care can help cover care home fees if the NHS decides that you need nursing care.
Are Next of Kins Responsible for Care Home Fees
If you have a parent or a loved one in a care home where you are the kin, you might be worried about accumulating care home fees, especially if the resident is no longer able to keep up with them.
It is important to note that legally, you’re not obligated to pay for your family member’s fees. Whether it is a parent, spouse, blood relative, or relative by law, you don’t have the obligation to pay for their care home unless you have joint assets or contracts in place with the resident.
The fees are the responsibility of the kin only if they have signed a specific contract with the care home and agree to cover the costs.
There are instances where kin may choose to contribute financially, such as:
- Top-up fees: If the council is providing funding but doesn’t cover the full cost of your preferred car home, you may choose to pay the top-up fee to cover the difference. In this case, you will need to sign a contract with the council before agreeing to these payments.
Care Fees After Death
Most next of kin are concerned about care home fees if their loved one passes away in the care home. In the unfortunate event that your loved one passes away, any outstanding care home fees are settled from their estate. These debts are prioritized before any inheritance is distributed to the beneficiaries.
If there was a deferred payment agreement with the local council, which means a loan was taken out against their home, the outstanding debt needs to be repaid to the council from the sale of their property. This is usually done 90 days after their passing.
Conclusion
Understandably, the costs of a care home can be astronomical as much as the services are desperately needed, and you might be worried that the care home or the local council might come after you for the care home fees. However, the next of kin is not legally responsible for the fees unless they sign a contract to take up the costs.
There are different ways to fund care home services that you can explore, which can ease the burden of cost and provide your loved ones with the care they need when they need it.