Places to live as we age?

[Jomie 30]

Quote

Quote Annie Bynol: 

 

Selling your home ahead of when you need to saves on inheritance and what the government can take away from you.

Creating a trust can enable a surviving partner or children protecting  up to 50% of their inheritance.

Good idea to plan early.

 At this stage do the work yourself, independent advice is not always impartial except for a  solicitor and setting up a Trust advice.

 

Useful advice but it is a minefield. With regards to skipping care home fees, trusts and other avoidance tactics need to be done when the person is well and could not foresee that he or she would need care. I read somewhere that there is now no seven year rule. Signing property over to children could result in homelessness for the elderly person if their child gets a divorce or into debt. The first, and possibly simplest thing to do is to own the property as tenants in common because then each partner owns a 50% share and it cannot be used for residential home fees of the one who requires care. 

Edited May 5, 2019 by Jomie

[dave_the_m 61]

1 hour ago, Jomie said:

Signing property over to children could result in homelessness for the elderly person if their child gets a divorce or into debt

Very true. Some 80-ish old neighbours of my parents recently got evicted. They gave their house to their daughter; then their son-in-law re-mortgaged the property and failed to keep up payments.

[Jomie 30]

What a horrible thing to happen. Where did they go when they were evicted? Did the council rehouse them?  

Thinking about the OP's question, the decision to move home is a difficult one. Extending a property to include a downstairs bedroom with bathroom is one route but one is still left with the upkeep and expense of a house that may be under occupied.  A lot depends on the size of the existing home plus garden.  Downsizing can make things considerably easier in the long term.  I agree with the research that found the optimum age for this as being before the mid sixties - needs to be done sooner than later because as you age, the management of a house move can be daunting.  Don't know if this is a common thing among elderly folk but we have dispensed with things and find that less space is needed.  Smaller properties usually require less cleaning and work.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Jomie

[Annie Bynnol 612]

5 hours ago, Jomie said:

Useful advice but it is a minefield. With regards to skipping care home fees, trusts and other avoidance tactics need to be done when the person is well and could not foresee that he or she would need care. I read somewhere that there is now no seven year rule. Signing property over to children could result in homelessness for the elderly person if their child gets a divorce or into debt. The first, and possibly simplest thing to do is to own the property as tenants in common because then each partner owns a 50% share and it cannot be used for residential home fees of the one who requires care. 

Exactly the type of Trust I meant.

Not expensive to arrange and easy to administer.

Can be very trick/impossible  to change.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Annie Bynnol

[dave_the_m 61]

32 minutes ago, Jomie said:

What a horrible thing to happen. Where did they go when they were evicted? Did the council rehouse them?  

 

I don't know the full details - just that it was a "Can't pay we'll take it away"-type scenario, with most of their possessions being left behind.

[catmiss 12]

Have a look at Housing Associations. Some of them operate schemes where there are over 60s schemes with flats to rent, buy or share ownership. There’s facilities such as restaurant, hairdressers and social activities on site with warden call and care as bought in options as required 

[Moonbird 10]

There are some beautiful flats at Roman ridge Wincobank, 2 bedrooms and a very good size, they are a complex with door security so no one can just walk in, some have balconies and the back ones have a lovely view of the back garden and woodland where there are squirrels and foxes etc to watch if you like that sort of thing.

 

They are for independent living, but when its needed there carers/cleaners  there to help, there are clubs and a restaurant, buses just round the corner...some are rented some are privately owned.