long term care

If you have an immediate need, we consider several options, always assessing which one is right for you. The big unknown are how long care would be needed for and would the type of care needed change in the future.

Your personal circumstances, assets and income, alongside the cost of your care are taken into consideration when assessing the best solution to pay for care.

Let us share some of our time with you and you will receive a personal plan explaining what is best for you and your family.

If you feel the time is right to plan for long term care costs several options are available to you.

The big unknowns are how long care would be needed for and would the type of care needed change in the future.

Your personal circumstances will determine the most suitable option for you. This may be using future regular income to pay for the costs, arranging your savings and investments now so they could provide additional income in the future if needed, looking at plans which would start to pay an income when needed in the future and guarantee to continue to pay for the rest of the life – or a combination of these.

There are many ways to plan for the future and we are here to help.

Let us share some of our time with you and you will receive a personal plan explaining what is best for you and your family.

This is perhaps an impossible question to answer. You don’t know exactly what the life expectancy is, how long care will be needed for, or if the care need will change in the future.

All the funding options are considered, taking account of existing savings and investments together with all the regular income you have from pensions and investments, to ensure that savings last as long as possible.

At Sapphire Financial Planning we look at all your options and advise you on your personal circumstance.

If you have capital more than £23,250  (England and NI, different rates apply in Scotland and Wales), you will have to pay for your care fees in full. Check your entitlement to NHS Continuing Health Care, as this may mean you do not have to contribute anything.

Your capital does include any savings, investments, pensions, property, and benefits you’re entitled to.

Your property will be calculated as the proportion of it you own, normally 50% between partners, but not necessarily if you are tenants in common.

And the property will be excluded if a spouse, or other qualifying relative, will remaining living in the property – so may not be considered at all.

At Sapphire Financial Planning we look at all your options and advise you on your personal circumstance.

If your home is owned on a joint basis by a married couple, and one will remain living in the property, it will not have to be sold, and it will also be excluded from the financial assessment.

If owned by somebody other than a spouse/civil partner – and they do not live in the property (or even if they do), it will still not necessarily have to be sold -but the local authority are likely to try and include the ‘carees’ share of the property in the financial assessment.

Let us share some of our time with you and you will receive a personal plan explaining what is best for you and your family.

This is an initial 12 week period when a person moves into a care home.

If your assets other than your property are less than £23,250 (England & NI), then the property will be disregarded and local authority will pay care home fees for 12 weeks. There is a chance you might still have to pay a top-up if your care home of choice costs more than the Local Authority rate.

If you have other assets more than £23,250 (England & NI), and you’re also not eligible for NHS Continuing Health Care, then you will have to pay for your care home fees immediately.

Let us share some of our time with you and you will receive a personal plan explaining what is best for you and your family.

When you enter a Care Home (either temporarily or permanently) you can continue to receive the following benefits: State Pension. The mobility part of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment. Incapacity Benefit / Employment Support Allowance Contribution Based.

If you are self-funding find out if you are entitled to Attendance Allowance.

You may even qualify for NHS Funded Nursing Care.

Let us share some of our time with you and you will receive a personal plan explaining what is best for you and your family.

Power of Attorney enables a person or people you choose to make decisions on your behalf when you are not able to.

The Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) was introduced in 2007 and splits out two separate powers.

1. A health and care decision LPA which gives power to make decisions about a person’s healthcare and personal welfare only after they lack the mental capacity themselves.
2. A financial decisions LPA which gives immediate power once it is registered to deal with a person’s property and financial affairs, including paying bills and collecting benefit and income.

If you do lose capacity to make decisions, you need someone who can do this for you. When you complete the paperwork for an LPA you have chosen the person who can make decisions on your behalf, probably someone close to you and who you trust.

Perhaps surprisingly your spouse or civil partner is not automatically able to make decisions for you. If you don’t have a financial decisions LPA this can mean any accounts held in joint names will be frozen and neither spouse will have access to the account.

If there is no power of attorney in place somebody will need to apply to the Court of Protection and if they are satisfied you don’t have mental capacity they will appoint a deputy to act on your behalf.