You may have read about the cap on care home fees, which is due to come in to force in 2016.

The publicity suggests that no one will have to pay more than £72,000 for their care. However, you should perhaps not believe everything that politicians say!

I’m afraid that the truth is more complicated and in fact most people will still have to pay far more than this. First, the cap excludes accommodation costs (the bed and board fees). This can often be around a third of the home’s fees. Worse, the cap will only apply to the amount that the local council would pay for a bed in the home and not the private paying rate. For example, the private rate might be £800 per week but the council might only be prepared to pay £550. The shortfall of £250 per week still has to be paid but does not count towards the cap. In fact the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries has recently estimated that the average fee paid before benefiting from the cap will be £140,000 – almost double!

If you are concerned about care home fees take advice from us and do not be misled by schemes that ‘guarantee’ to protect your assets – they are likely to be bogus and expensive.

For more information about care home fees, contact our Wills and Probate team at one of our offices in Boston, Gratham, Lincoln, Sleaford, Spalding and Newark or contact David on 01529 301300.

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