Telmar Estate Planning

Care Fees Planning

Protect your assets from care costs and secure peace of mind for your future.

Care fees can be a significant financial challenge. With the right planning, you can protect your savings, your home and your legacy while ensuring you receive the care you need.

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Why care fees planning is essential

Protect your assets

Care fees can quickly erode savings and the value of your home.

Maintain choice

Protecting your wealth gives you more choice about your care.

Support your family

Leave more for your loved ones and reduce the financial burden on them.

Reduce care costs

Effective planning can legally reduce the amount you may need to pay.

Plan for the future

Put strategies in place now to safeguard your future and your legacy.

How we can help reduce care fees

Gifting Strategies

Make gifts in a tax-efficient way to reduce your capital while still meeting your needs.

Property Protection

Protect your home with the right planning and ensure it can pass to your loved ones.

Trusts

Use trusts to protect assets and control how and when beneficiaries receive them.

Income Maximisation

Structuring your income efficiently to reduce assessable capital.

Deferred Payment Agreements

Explore local authority options to defer care fees using your property.

Care Fee Forecasting

Understand potential costs and plan effectively for future care needs.

Protection for Partners

Ensure your spouse or partner is financially protected.

Lasting Power of Attorney

Ensure the right people can make decisions on your behalf if needed.

Discuss your care fees options

Expert Guidance

Planning Ahead for Long-Term Care Costs

How care funding works in England

In England, local authorities carry out a financial assessment before helping with residential care costs. If your capital exceeds the upper limit, currently £23,250, you are expected to pay the full cost yourself. Between the lower limit of £14,250 and the upper limit, you contribute on a sliding scale. Your home is usually included unless a spouse, partner or certain relatives still live there. Income from pensions and benefits is also assessed, and you are left with a small personal expenses allowance. Rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so advice must reflect where care is provided.

Deprivation of assets rules

Councils can treat you as still owning assets you gave away if they decide the main purpose was to avoid care fees. This is known as deliberate deprivation of assets, and there is no fixed time limit. Legitimate planning therefore focuses on sound reasons, good timing and proper structures, such as protective property trusts in Wills, rather than last-minute gifts made when care is already foreseeable. Councils look at your health, knowledge of likely care needs and the timing of any transfer. Planning undertaken many years earlier, for genuine family or tax reasons, is far less likely to be challenged successfully.

Practical options for families

Care fees planning can include Will trusts that ring-fence half of the family home, Lasting Powers of Attorney so someone can manage finances, NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments for primary health needs, and specialist immediate needs annuities that cap ongoing costs. Telmar helps Hampshire families understand the options, explain the rules clearly and make informed decisions before a crisis forces rushed choices. We also help families understand top-up fees, self-funded care choices and how to protect a surviving spouse's income and home when one partner moves into long-term residential or nursing care.

How We Work

Our Proven Approach

1

Initial Consultation

We discuss your situation, care needs and financial goals.

2

Assessment & Strategy

We assess your assets and create a tailored care fees strategy.

3

Implementation

We put the plan in place and handle all the details.

4

Ongoing Review

We review your plan regularly to ensure it remains effective.

Get Expert Advice Today

Speak to our inheritance tax specialists for a confidential, no-obligation consultation.

  • 01329 550190
  • admin@telmarestateplanning.co.uk
  • 9 Pier Street, Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, PO13 9LD

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Questions, Answered

Care fees are the costs of receiving care in a residential home, nursing home or in your own home.
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Ready to Protect Your Future?

Book a consultation today and take the first step towards peace of mind for you and your family.

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