Fair Deal/Nursing Homes Fair Deal Scheme - joint savings ac

[fionaos68]

I am preparing a Fair deal Application Form on behalf of my mum, aged 90. We have a joint savings ac with the same amount in it for more than 5 years. I am not sure what to do about this account for declaring cash assets for the application form. Do I declare the whole amount, even thought it is held jointly and set up years ago by us both together, before we ever even though we would be considering a nursing home , or do I declare 50% of it on the basis that it is held jointly with me, her daughter? Cannot find an answer to this anywhere so would be so very grateful for any advice from anyone with experience. Many thanks.

 

[_OkGo_]

I would start by calling the Support Office to get guidance on your situation and also contact your bank to determine what type of joint account it is. There are a lot of peculiarities around joint ownership and whether it was set up as joint tenancy or tenant in common. If you have funded 50% of the account, then it should be fairly clear that only 50% belongs to your mother. If the joint account was fully funded by you mother, then the type of account is very important as to what you own.

In the greater scheme of things, I would err on the side of caution and disclose all information. I would rather include the full amount and have it included in a successful application rather than have the application rejected for inaccurate disclosure of assets

 

[Up Rovers]

I would start by calling the Support Office to get guidance on your situation and also contact your bank to determine what type of joint account it is. There are a lot of peculiarities around joint ownership and whether it was set up as joint tenancy or tenant in common. If you have funded 50% of the account, then it should be fairly clear that only 50% belongs to your mother. If the joint account was fully funded by you mother, then the type of account is very important as to what you own.

In the greater scheme of things, I would err on the side of caution and disclose all information. I would rather include the full amount and have it included in a successful application rather than have the application rejected for inaccurate disclosure of assets

I would wonder does one need to be careful also about long term inheritance allowance being affected especially if there are siblings involved. You don't want your allowance being lowered by 50% of the account when the money will long term be going back into the estate. Not sure if Revenue's involvement in the Fair Deal loan would note this. Hope this line of thinking makes sense or perhaps I'm not explaining myself correctly