You have worked hard all your life, and hope to have a bit to pass on to your family - but then it’s all eaten up paying for Care fees!

Those who live in Hertfordshire with assets above the current threshold of £22,250 are expected to fund their Care costs in full. Where liquid assets i.e. cash is not available, Hertfordshire County Council will take a charge on your home or force its sale. But it doesn't have to be this way.

Therefore Care planning for people living in Hertfordshire is an important consideration. It is also important to know that a person living in Hertfordshire is only responsible for providing for the costs of their own Care planning, not for those of their partner/spouse.

Care planning can help people living in Hertfordshire. However, houses in Hertfordshire will be temporally deferred in assessing affordability for Care planning if a surviving spouse or partner lives there. This rule extends to other relatives aged 60 or over who live in the property too.

The majority of couples don't realise that it’s possible to protect their Hertfordshire family home to ensure they pass it onto their family, by altering the way in which they own it.

It is also very important to consider Care planning as early as possible as legislation may change in the future. Hertfordshire County Council are responsible for funding Care in the county. Care planning will involve severance of tenancy of any property held in Hertfordshire.

All property in Hertfordshire should be held in this way and each persons share directed via a Will into Trust for the beneficiaries of the couple. This ensures the home remains in the family bloodline for generations, which is the main consideration for this kind of planning. Irrespective of Care planning considerations this is by far the best way to direct assets for your beneficiaries. So should be done at the time of making your Wills, which can’t be done soon enough. Dying without a Will creates big problems for your dependents.

When it comes to finding a financial adviser in Hertfordshire, who can arrange the appropriate Care planning, a personal reference from a happy client is worthwhile. You can also look for a suitable financial adviser in Middlesex, or Buckinghamshire too.

If a son or a daughter living in Hertfordshire, lives with their parents and both parents go into Care what will happen about paying for Care?

If the property belongs wholly to the parents, Hertfordshire County Council can take a charge against the property to recoup the cost of Care when it’s sold.

Assets such as Cash, Stocks and Shares, Bank and Building Society accounts, PEPS, ISAs, etc will be deemed to be liquid assets and in addition to any income received will be assessed to pay Care in Hertfordshire.

Careful planning as to the way these assets are held can help protect these assets for future generations rather than paying for Care in Hertfordshire.

Care planning is just as applicable in neighbouring counties/areas like Middlesex, North West London or Buckinghamshire.

Care Planning is not regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is available on a referral basis through a preferred specialist supplier of Frog Financial Management and not First Complete Ltd. Frog Financial Management is not responsible for the advice given.