My wife and I are giving our house to our two children on the understanding that we can live here to the end of our days but I’m told that if either or both of us have to go into a nursing home the children would be held responsible for the charges involved. Is this correct, and if so can it be avoided?
The local authority could refuse to pay your care home fees if it can prove you gave your house away to avoid paying them but if you don’t need residential care in the near future it could be that your motives won’t come under scrutiny. You must take legal advice before giving your house away: you could end up losing your house, and you could just land your children with a capital gains tax bill.