From April 2009 the first £14,000 of any Capital is totally disregarded.

If you have Capital of between £14,000 and £23,000 then you will be treated as having additional weekly income of £1 for every £250 over £14,000 for the purpose of assessing how much you have to pay towards your fees. If your Capital is over £23,000 then you will be expected to pay the full cost of your care.

Capital can include the value of your former home after the first 12 weeks of you becoming a permanent resident in a care home.

The value of your home is however disregarded if any of the following people still live in the property:

• Your partner
• A lone parent who is your estranged or divorced partner
• A child under the age of 16
• A relative over the age of 60
• A relative who is incapacitated by reason of long term illness or disability

A deferred payment agreement is an arrangement whereby the Local Authority helps to pay the cost of the care home fees pending the sale of a property. In return they secure their interest by way of a legal charge on the property. This then enables them to recover any fees paid from the proceeds of the sale when the property is eventually sold.

Such arrangements are interest free until 56 days after the date of the resident’s death.

You should always seek independent legal advice before signing a deferred payment agreement.

You must be able to show that you have a primary need for health care.

This is determined by carrying out what is known as a Continuing Care assessment.

A trained assessor will complete a document called a “decision support tool” which helps a panel of healthcare professionals to reach a decision.

The decision support tool looks at the care needs in a total of 11 care domains and grades them as Low, Moderate High, Severe or Priority.

If you have one priority need or two severe needs you should automatically qualify for free care. If however, you have a number of care needs which are graded high and/or moderate you may still qualify and it may be worth appealing against any decision not to provide free care.

In order to qualify for free NHS care you must show that you have medical needs which are considered to be intense, complex and unpredictable. Such medical needs must be more than merely incidental to your overall care package.

Social care is the practical and emotional support that is provided to help people do the everyday things that most of us take for granted. e.g. getting in and out of bed, getting washed and dressed, eating at mealtimes etc., as well as keeping an eye on someone to make sure they are safe.

You should be able to argue that you have a beneficial interest in the property providing you have evidence to show that you contributed to the original purchase price, otherwise your claim may be more difficult to argue.

When entering into arrangements of this sort with a family member it is always best to make sure that either your name is included on the title deeds or alternatively that there is a formal trust deed.

You may need to take legal advice.