The daughters and sons of ageing parents are in for a big surprise when the time comes to search for an aged care home for mum or dad.
The money. Few realise that since July 2014 we have to pay for aged care if we are not on an aged care pension and we have a bit of wealth. Not a lot of wealth, just a bit of wealth. And a family home.
If this is you or your parents then expect that you will need to either come up with over $300,000 cash (and up to $750,000 cash in the better suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne) to get into a home.
The alternative is to pay a daily accommodation fee that could be $50 a day or up to $150 a day, again in the better suburbs. In after tax dollars.
These fees are known as RADs and DAPs, but there are other fees as well.
Bridging the gap
The net result is that the money has to be raised and usually in six months or less. Few families have the financial flexibility to be able to fund these costs at short notice so the family home comes in to play; selling it at short notice is often the quick solution.
Financially however it may not be the best solution. The wise family action is to have the family discussion and plan ahead. This often means obtaining financial advice and also getting an appraisal on the home’s value early so that repairs and other actions can be made to maximise its value.
These actions will save you significant money plus take away one stress when dealing with the at-times wrenching move to an aged care home.
Check out agedcare101.com.au for the planning for aged care. It may save both money and family relations!
