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A woman of 91 is being sued after giving her home to her son instead of selling it to pay nursing home charges. The legal test case brought by Emily Youngman’s council could see thousands of elderly homeowners forced to deprive their families of an inheritance.
Suffolk County Council is threatening to bankrupt the frail pensioner if she fails to pay the £280 a week fees for her nursing home care.
In a writ at the High Court in London, the council claims she gave £100,000 cottage at Blundeston to her only son 5 years ago to avoid having to sell it to raise cash for nursing home fees. The council, which describes itself as a “victim” in the action, claims she gave away the detached Victorian house to put it beyond their reach so they could not force her to sell it.
The council is asking the High Court to set aside a “declaration of trust” giving the property to her son.
Mr Youngman condemned the action as “disgusting”, saying: “My mother has worked hard all her life and never done anything wrong and now they want to take away the only possession she has got to leave to her grandchildren.She is not really aware of what the council is doing to her but I am going to have to sit down and tell her: I am sure she will be very upset.” The council is adamant that Mrs Youngman, a former publican, should pay for her nursing home care.
Anthony Douglas, Suffolk’s Director of Social Care, said: “Suffolk only involves the law as a last resort and we regret having to do so. “Under the law we are obliged to assess every person we fund in a residential care home to see if they have the resources to pay for their accommodation.
Typically, a person being funded in residential care who owns a property has the value of their property counted as an asset, and is charged. That person may, in some cases, have to consider selling their home to pay the costs"
Padraic Flanagan, Daily Express, October 2nd 2002
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