Care Fee Planning Advice

Did you miss Home Care Preferred Barnet’s Care Fee Planning event? We’ve rounded up the key takeaways from the evening.

What is care fee planning?

Care fee planning (sometimes called funding plans) are tax efficient investments enabling people needing care (or their Powers of Attorney) to buy an income for the rest of their life in order to pay for care fees.

Where can the fee be applied?

Care fees can be provided at home (we offer various types of support, services and live-in care options), in a care home, retirement village, a nursing home or at a hospital or hospice.

What is a Power of Attorney?

An LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney) is a document that allows a person, over 18 years of age and with mental capacity, to voluntarily appoint one or more persons (donees) to take decisions and act on their behalf as a decision-maker if they lose mental capacity one day.

There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney:

1. Property and Financial Affairs LPA
2. Health & Welfare LPA

When should I appoint an LPA?

Anyone can appoint an LPA, naturally, it would be unwise to wait until a person is showing signs of physical or mental vulnerability before executing an LPA. Knowing that provisions have been made for the future usually offers peace of mind, as unfortunately, no one can predict when illness or deterioration will take place.

What is the difference between the two types of LPA?

Property and Financial Affairs LPA: this allows your attorney(s) to sell your home, manage your bank accounts, pay your bills, collect your pension etc. This can be done while you still have the capacity as well as when you lack capacity.

Health and Welfare LPA: this allows your attorney(s) to enforce your wish not to be resuscitated or to take decisions regarding your care when you no longer have the capacity.

Why are LPAs and Wills important?

If you do not have a Lasting Power of Attorney, and lack the capacity to manage your own financial affairs, but have assets which need to be managed, a deputy must be appointed by the Court of Protection. This can be a costly and time-consuming process and it can be very difficult to be appointed as a deputy for health and welfare.

Who can become a deputy?

More than one deputy can be appointed by the Court of Protection to act. Minors are not eligible and persons who no longer have mental capacity and are undischarged bankrupts are unlikely to be appointed.

The appointed deputy is often a friend or family member but can also be a professional appointed by the Court, for example, where there is no suitable candidate close to you or there is disagreement between two potential candidates which could work against your best interests.

What Care Fee funding is available?

There are three funding streams:

1. The Local Authority/Social Services
2. The NHS
3. Self-funders

Who can give me further advice about Care Fee Planning?

Before getting started you should consider whether there is a way to ensure your money does not run out and consider whether an inheritance can be protected for the beneficiaries in your Will. Once you have gathered your information you can speak to the Home Care Preferred team who will be able to offer details of Care Fee Planning specialists – contact us to discuss further.