The honest truth: There's no guaranteed way to protect your house from care home fees. However, with proper planning well in advance, you can take steps that may help protect some of your property for your family.
How Care Fees Work
The Capital Threshold (2025)
- Over £23,250: You pay full care costs yourself
- £14,250 - £23,250: You get some help, but still contribute
- Under £14,250: Local authority pays (you may still contribute from income)
Does Your Home Count?
Your home is included in the means test UNLESS:
- Your spouse or partner still lives there
- A relative over 60 lives there
- A disabled relative lives there
- A child under 18 lives there
If none of these apply and you go into permanent care, your home can be sold to pay fees.
Legal Protection Strategies
1. Property Protection Trust (Will Trust)
One of the most effective strategies for couples.
How it works:
- You own your home as tenants in common (50/50)
- When one spouse dies, their share goes into a trust
- The surviving spouse can live there for life
- When they need care, only their 50% is assessed
- The deceased spouse's 50% may be protected for children
Limitations:
- Only protects the first-to-die's share
- The surviving spouse's share is still at risk
- Must be done BEFORE care is needed
2. Tenancy Severance
The essential first step for property protection trusts.
Changes ownership from "joint tenants" (automatic inheritance) to "tenants in common" (separate shares that pass through your will).
Cost: From £75
3. Life Interest Trust
Similar to property protection trust but can cover all assets, not just property. The surviving spouse gets income/use for life, then assets pass to children.
4. Making Gifts
You can give away assets during your lifetime. BUT there are major rules:
- Giving your house to children
- Transferring money to family
- Any gifts made to reduce your assets below the threshold
The test: Was avoiding care fees a significant motivation for the gift? If so, it can be challenged - even years later.
What DOESN'T Work
Putting Your House in Your Children's Names
If done to avoid care fees, this is deliberate deprivation. The local authority can:
- Treat you as still owning it
- Pursue your children for the fees
Plus you lose control - your children could sell it, lose it in divorce, or go bankrupt.
Equity Release
Releasing cash and spending it or giving it away doesn't protect the property - and the cash could be seen as deliberate deprivation.
Moving In With Family
Selling your house and moving in with family just converts the asset to cash - which will definitely be assessed.
What Works Best?
For Couples: Property Protection Trust
- Set up NOW while both are healthy
- Sever the tenancy first
- Create trust wills
- This protects the first-to-die's share
For Single People: Limited Options
Unfortunately, options for single people are more limited:
- Trust wills don't help (no spouse to benefit)
- Gifts risk deliberate deprivation rules
- Deferred Payment Agreements let you delay selling but don't avoid fees
The 12-Week Disregard
When you first go into permanent care, your property is ignored for the first 12 weeks. This gives time to:
- Assess whether care is permanent
- Make arrangements for the property
- Apply for a Deferred Payment Agreement
Deferred Payment Agreements
You can ask your local authority to pay your care fees and put a charge on your property. The fees (plus interest) are repaid when:
- You die and the house is sold
- You sell the house
- You pay off the debt another way
This doesn't avoid fees - it just delays the house sale.
Planning Ahead - The Key
The earlier you plan, the better:
| When You Plan | Options Available |
|---|---|
| In your 50s-60s | Most options, best protection |
| In your 70s | Good options still available |
| When health declines | Limited - some options may be seen as deprivation |
| When care is needed | Too late for most protection strategies |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put my house in trust to avoid care fees?
A lifetime trust (putting your house in trust now) could be challenged as deliberate deprivation. A trust in your will is different - it takes effect after death and can protect the deceased spouse's share.
How far back can they look for deliberate deprivation?
There's no time limit. However, the further back, the harder it is to prove your motivation was avoiding care fees.
Will the rules change?
The government has proposed care reforms multiple times. Any changes may affect these strategies - another reason to get professional advice.
Is it too late if I'm already 80?
Not necessarily. If you're in good health, legitimate planning is still possible. The key is doing it well before care is foreseeable.