READERS have had their say on an issue that affects many families every year – funding care for our elderly generation.
Opinions were divided on the topic of care funding after we reported on a case where a Warrington family have been told by the council they must sell their parents home of 45 years to pay for the continued care required for their mum who is battling dementia.
Gary Rushby spoke out about his ‘disgust’ at the handling of his particular case, whereby the council has ‘continuously’ contacted him regarding the sale of his mum Gena’s home in Cinnamon Brow since the sad death of his father Barry, in order to pay the £5,000 per month care bill since Gena had to move into Victoria House care home last year.
Readers voiced their opinions on the issue, which highlighted that despite being a homeowner, a persons assets inevitably belong to the state if they eventually need to live in a care home or receive care.
One commenter said: “We had to sell my mum’s home to fund her care home fees. She had lived there for 65 years.
“The money is all but gone so we are now having to apply for funding. It breaks my heart as we had to get rid of most of her precious belongings and she thinks she is going home.”
Meanwhile another was of the opinion that in order to inherit assets you should ‘earn the property’ by taking care of our elderly people.
They said: “If you care for them, then the property can be inherited, if you put them into care – then that’s the price paid.
“No one ‘wants’ to spend their last years in care, but unfortunately that has to be done for numerous reasons. Either earn the property by taking care of them yourself or they have to pay for their care if they have the means to.
“The problem, all too often, is that those set to inherit the property, don’t want to, or can’t take care of them for whatever reason, and then think it’s unfair that they have no inheritance.”
Speaking from experience, one commenter stated that their parents ‘worked hard to buy their house, downsized to a bungalow and had money to spare’, however when their dad died and their mum went into a nursing home, the bungalow had to be sold to pay for their mum’s care.
“By the time she died there was £15,000 left from the £200,000 she had when she went in there,” they said. “My in-laws rented, had nothing to sell and by the time my mother-in-law died, having paid next to nothing for her care she had a lot more in the bank.”
To cover care costs, there is the option to apply for Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding, which is a package that covers care fees provided by the NHS.
However recent NHS England data shows that between 2024 and 2025, the success rates of applicants applying for this funding is low with approximately 19 to 21 per cent of people assessed as eligible for it.
One resident agreed with the system’s approach to care funding, adding: “Why should the state pay for your care if you have the means to pay for it?
“This is a fundamental point that we are all responsible for paying our way and there is no automatic right to inherit. Once you have reached the lower threshold then the state steps in. This is the safety net that is there for all of us.”
Weighing in on this, one resident said: “Unfortunately, this is what happens. You’re only allowed I think it’s £26k savings and then you have to sell any property you have to pay care fees.
“Care homes are expensive, they are businesses and soon sap up any savings.
“Fees are varied from home to home and some are far more expensive than stated in the article. A good idea is to split a couples will into tenants in common and therefore in this case half the value of the property would in turn go to the son, the other half, his mums half go to care fees.”
Another commenter added: “I think in the time we live in no one should expect inheritance anymore especially if your loved one needs care and you have the means to pay for it.
“I lost my parents in my 20’s but I wouldn’t of put them in a home, they would of lived with me. Yet I have seen the heartache dementia gives families, as I have worked in the system and I totally understand why people can’t cope with it because it’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen.
“I feel sorry for anyone going through this but if you can pay for care then you must.”
On a final note, one resident said: “Sadly this had been going on for years. Not worth buying your own home or saving for your retirement anymore. They take every penny from you.”