Financial planning for later life

SOLLA accredited Adviser Catriona Lumiste joined us for Carers Connect on May 15th to discuss financial planning for later life. You can view her talk in the video and view a summary of the Q&A discussion below, but if you have any questions in relation to your own circumstances, please do not hesitate to use the contact details, also below.

Q&A Summary

What about me?

If you have LPA for the person you care for but are struggling to identify someone to take this role on for yourself, you can contact a solicitor firm to take on this role.

Can I pay 'gifts' on someone's behalf as their Attorney?

If there has been a pattern of paying gifts by the person prior to their LPA Attorney taking responsibility for their finances, e.g. to children on an annual basis, this is generally deemed as acceptable to continue. However, these payments have to be made in consideration with care payments, i.e. payments should not be made if they deplete funds to a point where paying for care become unaffordable as the Local Authority could accuse you of deliberate deprivation.

What about Capital Gains in relation to second homes?

Capital gains is due upon the sale of a second home, but there is no capital gains due upon death in relation to inheritance.

Can deferred payments be used for care at home?

No, unfortunately deferred payments are only considered for residential care. There are other options, e.g. if family members are able to cover care cost gap/shortfall (see next question...).

What if family have to cover care costs prior to a property being sold, e.g. if moving into residential care?

Talk to a solicitor about setting up a loan agreement. This can include reasonable interest set in place, so when the house is sold, the 'loan' and any interest due can be paid back as a priority.

Are there any grants to help with maintaining the property while loved one is cared for at home and there is no additional money to pay for these costs?

There are grants available through organisations such as Turn2us, so you could reach out to see if they can help.

Carers Connect is our weekly social Coffee Morning. The session is blended so you can attend in person or online, and we have regularly scheduled Let's Talk sessions with guest speakers.

If there's a topic you'd like covered in a Carers Connect session, get in touch.