Do I have to sell my mum’s house now that she’s gone into a care home? Private Wealth

Your local authority will only help towards care fees once your mum’s assets (including her home) are worth £23,250 or less.

Your mum or, if she is unable to make decisions for herself, her attorney or deputy should make the decision about the property by asking, ‘Is it in mum’s best interests to retain or sell the house?’. If there is no benefit to the house being kept, it should be disposed of in the best possible way.

The local authority will expect the value of your mum’s house to be used before they will contribute to care home fees. They can also place a charge over the property if fees are not forthcoming enabling them to recover fees if the property has been taken into account.

In some circumstances, the property won’t be taken into account. These include:

• if your mum only needs temporary or short-term care.
• if the property is still occupied by her partner, an estranged partner if they are also a lone parent, a relative aged 60 or over, a child of hers under the age of 18 or a disabled relative.