How do I protect my inheritance from a nursing home?

TIPS TO PROTECT YOUR INHERITANCE FROM A NURSING HOME

As people get older, they often worry about what will happen to their hard-earned savings and assets. One of the biggest concerns is that they will have to spend all their money on care in a nursing home, and their children or other relatives will be left with nothing.

There are some steps you can take to protect your inheritance from the cost of care, though it is important to seek professional advice to make sure you do it in the most tax-efficient way.

1. Make a Will

If you don’t have a Will, now is the time to make one. This ensures that your assets will go to the people you want them to, and not be subject to the rules of intestacy.

You can also use your Will to put in place trusts for your children or other beneficiaries. This can help to protect their inheritance from the cost of care, as the money will be held in trust and not form part of your estate.

2. Give Assets Away

You can give away assets during your lifetime, which can help to reduce the value of your estate and therefore the amount of Inheritance Tax that will be due.

However, there are rules around this, so you need to take professional advice to make sure you don’t inadvertently create a taxable event.

3. Make Use of Exemptions

There are a number of exemptions from Inheritance Tax, which can help to reduce the amount of tax that is due.

For example, if you leave your home to your children or grandchildren, there is no Inheritance Tax to pay. There are also a number of other exemptions, so it’s worth taking professional advice to see if any of these apply to you.

4. Use Tax-efficient Investments

There are a number of investments that are exempt from Inheritance Tax, such as ISAs and certain types of life insurance policy.

These can be a helpful way to reduc