Question 3
My aunt owns her home but needs to go into nursing home care. My mother, her widowed sister, has made her home with my aunt since my father’s death. If the house needs to be sold to meet my aunt’s care costs, what will happen to my mother?
Paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 of the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 states that where the resident (of a residential or nursing home) no longer occupies a dwelling house as his home, its value should still be disregarded where it is occupied in whole or in part by a relative of the resident who is aged 60 or over, or is incapacitated. A “relative” for this purpose includes a sister.
In addition the local authority might disregard the property where it considers it reasonable to do so. Paragraph 18 of Schedule 4 suggests that it would be reasonable, for example, to disregard a dwelling’s value where it is the sole residence of someone who has given up their own home to care for the resident, or someone who is an elderly companion of the resident, particularly if they have given up their own home.
Your mother should not therefore be in any danger of having to remove from your aunt’s home, which should be disregarded by the local authority in its assessment of your aunt’s financial position.
