Paying For Care At Home & Care Home Funding

“We would like to thank you for your skill, advice and expertise in our case against the Council. We are delighted with the outcome and are very pleased that we were fortunate enough to choose you to advise and represent us.”
‘Chris’, Planning and Paying for Care Client 

Planning & paying for care for elderly or vulnerable people

To protect your family, it is important to plan ahead for how you will cope should you or a member of your family need to pay for care at home, or in a care home or nursing home.

Under the current rules in England, if your assessable assets are over £23,250 you will pay care fees in full. You may be entitled to care funding assistance if you qualify for NHS continuing healthcare or Section 117 aftercare funding. In addition to means tested social care, other rules will affect what care funding you receive.

The rules in Wales are different – you can have up to £50,000 before you have to pay for all your residential care. The maximum weekly amount you will pay for care in a setting that is not a residential home is also capped.

Care funding and care home funding rules are complex and there are often mistakes when assessing how much someone should pay for their care.

Martin Searle Solicitors specialise in Community Care Law. We make sure Social Services correctly apply financial assessment rules so you can avoid care home fees that you are not required to pay.

Our Planning and Paying For Care solicitors offer advice on how to avoid selling your house to pay for care and ensure your partner has enough to live on after you move into residential care.

Please refer to our Paying For Care Frequently Asked Questions.

It may be useful to refer to our list of Abbreviations Used in Community Care Law and Abbreviations Used in SEN and Disability Law.

The £86,000 social care cap

In July 2024, the Labour government announced that the £86,000 care cap that had been promised by the previous government, designed to protect adults from catastrophic care fees by limiting the amount that they would have to self-fund in their lifetime, was to be scrapped. The Conservative government had scheduled the care cap to take effect from October 2023, and then delayed it until October 2025.

In January 2025 the Casey Commission was formed to undertake a two-phase thorough review of adult social care reform. The Commission is due to deliver its report and recommendations on adult social care funding in 2028. In the meantime, the social care funding rules remain unchanged and anyone who has more than £23,250 in assessable assets will continue to self-fund their care costs at home or in a care home.

How we can help with care home fees

If you’re entitled to care home funding, Cate Searle and our team of Community Care lawyers can ensure you avoid incorrect care home fees so that you do not overpay for care. We can advise on deprivation of assets rules and how social services will assess assets including:

• Income and capital assessments
• Investments
• Any property
• Jointly held assets

We can advise on alternative funding options including deferred payment agreements (social services’ loans) to pay care home fees, and help you understand top up fees and out of area placements.

Our Care Home solicitors also have the expertise to provide care home contracts advice to ensure that contractual arrangements are approached in the correct manner.

Help with paying for care at home

If you or a loved one want to be cared for at home, we can advise you on the steps to take to access appropriate funding for paying for care at home. We can help you access other funding such as disabled facilities grants for adapting your home. We can also advise on respite care to give a family carer a break and charging rules for temporary care placements. If you require care and have complex health needs, you may be eligible for NHS continuing healthcare funding of care at home.

Contact us today on 01273 609911, or email info@ms-solicitors.co.uk.