Dementia tax info sketchy and misleading

Many do not know how the system works and, prompted by scare stories, some people are gifting their properties to their children now – which leaves them financially vulnerable, may not achieve the desired result and in some cases may also result in additional inheritance tax when they die.  
inflation

The primary concern is that people requiring care, either now or in the future, simply aren’t getting the right advice. This may be that they are not aware of the support systems that are out there and I know from experience how hard they can be to access. Contributor Claire Carberry Partner – DMH Stallard and one of the UK’s leading experts on care for older people.

Many do not know how the system works and, prompted by scare stories, some people are gifting their properties to their children now – which leaves them financially vulnerable, may not achieve the desired result and in some cases may also result in additional inheritance tax when they die.

Additionally, there are a number of companies, many unregulated, who are preying on vulnerable people, asking them to pay thousands of pounds to put their assets into trusts which are unnecessary, and in many cases, simply not able to achieve what they promise.

As the recent Channel 4 programme stated, the minute you think of taking action to avoid care fees, you potentially fall foul of the ‘deliberate deprivation’ rules. It is essential that anyone thinking of trying to plan for care seeks proper, regulated advice. Someone faced with impending care bills of thousands of pounds may be reluctant to pay a few hundred extra to be told something that they feel they already know, but it really is worth paying that little bit more to ensure that you know what you are entitled to and that you have done all you can to ensure that your affairs are in order.

It’s important to ensure that that advisor is regulated and specialises in this area.  Solicitors should ideally be members of Solicitors for the Elderly or the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Financial advisors should be members of the Society of Later Life Advisors.  This guarantees a minimum level of expertise and experience and provides some form of redress if things do go wrong.

Read more

Latest News

Read More

Rethinking ROI

23 July 2025

Health, Safety & Wellbeing

23 July 2025

One thing we know for certain: grief does not follow a schedule. Some parents may find comfort in returning to work and the routine it...

Leadership

22 July 2025

Leadership transitions often come with an internal pressure to act quickly and “make your mark.” Yet the best leaders balance that urgency with deliberate patience....

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

University of Sussex – Human Resources Salary: £25,733 to £29,179. Grade 4, per annum, pro rata if part time

University of CambridgeSalary: £12,109 pa (based on FTE £28,381pa) plus pension and benefits

University of Oxford – Oxford School of Global and Area StudiesSalary: Grade 6: Point 1 £34,982- Point 7 £40,855 per annum (pro-rata for part time

HR Manager, HR Generalist, CIPD, Payroll Input, Your new company A forward-thinking Multi-Academy Trust – is seeking a proactive and highly organised HR and Payroll

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE