A BBC story today (see February 2012) explores some of the issues behind families attempting to hide properties or other assets from local authorities. The story tells of one family that was almost pulled apart by the decisions made. Deciding to hide the facts or even lie is a big step to take, but the way local authorities behave differs considerably.
The decisions taken nowadays to avoid paying local care home costs, while there is sufficient capital to do this, surely stems from one of two ideas: that the system is not fair, in that it asks for too much, leaving too little as an inheritance or that while there are legal ways to avoid the fees, they must be taken. There are certainly legal ways to help avoid nursing home costs, including property trusts, which include giving a lifetime interest to the survivor of the elderly couple. Talk to your will writer to see what options may be best for you. At the end of the day, the rules will keep changing, so is it ethical to say that while it is possible to avoid these fees, one should always try to do this?
The decisions taken nowadays to avoid paying local care home costs, while there is sufficient capital to do this, surely stems from one of two ideas: that the system is not fair, in that it asks for too much, leaving too little as an inheritance or that while there are legal ways to avoid the fees, they must be taken. There are certainly legal ways to help avoid nursing home costs, including property trusts, which include giving a lifetime interest to the survivor of the elderly couple. Talk to your will writer to see what options may be best for you. At the end of the day, the rules will keep changing, so is it ethical to say that while it is possible to avoid these fees, one should always try to do this?
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