Paying for care as a financial attorney
Guidance from Estate Advisory Group
Written and legally reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner·Last reviewed 13 August 2026
The financial assessment decides who pays. Your job is to get it done accurately and to protect the donor's position lawfully.
How the means test works
- The local authority assesses capital and income; the upper capital threshold in England is £23,250.
- The donor's home is disregarded while a spouse, or certain relatives, still live there.
- A deferred payment agreement can let care fees be charged against the home instead of forcing a sale.
- Check NHS Continuing Healthcare before assuming the donor must pay.
Deprivation of assets
Do not give assets away to avoid care fees
The local authority can treat the donor as still owning what was given away, and an attorney who does it is acting outside their authority as well as against the donor's interests. There is no time limit on this rule.
Top-up fees and contracts
If the family wants a more expensive home than the local authority will fund, someone must pay a third-party top-up — and it cannot come from the donor's own funds where the authority is funding. Never sign a care home contract in your own name; sign as attorney for the donor.
Worked example: a means test in practice
Harold, 84, moves into residential care with £35,000 in savings and a house he owned outright, now empty. His son Gary, acting as financial attorney, notifies the council, which assesses Harold's capital above the £23,250 upper threshold and treats him as a full self-funder for now. Gary arranges a deferred payment agreement so the council can put a legal charge on the empty house rather than forcing an immediate sale, giving the family time to plan a sale or find a tenant once the property is prepared, while Harold's savings pay the weekly shortfall.
Funding routes at a glance
| Situation | Likely funding route | Attorney's role |
|---|---|---|
| Capital above £23,250, no NHS need | Self-funding | Manage savings and consider a deferred payment agreement |
| Capital below the lower threshold | Local authority funded, means-tested contribution | Provide financial information for the assessment |
| Primary health need | NHS Continuing Healthcare | Request an assessment — see the NHS CHC guide |
| Family wants a pricier home | Third-party top-up | Arrange who pays it — not from the donor's own funds if authority-funded |
Common questions
Can I pay a relative from the donor's money for providing care?
Not without a court order or an express instruction in the LPA.
Should I buy a care fees annuity?
It can protect against a long stay, but take regulated advice and record why the decision is in the donor's interests.
Does the family home always have to be sold to pay for care?
Not always, and not immediately — a deferred payment agreement or a disregard while a spouse lives there can avoid a forced sale.
Who checks the local authority's financial assessment is correct?
You, as attorney, should review it line by line and can challenge it through the council's formal review process if it looks wrong.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of Money, tax and property. The pages below take it further.
- Property & Financial Affairs LPA
The LP1F: money, bills, savings, property and everything a bank will ask for.
- Make an LPA online
The whole journey end to end: questions, documents, signing and registration.
Review and sources
Reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner. Last reviewed 13 August 2026. We recheck fees, forms and Office of the Public Guardian guidance whenever they change — see our editorial policy.
Official sources
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This is general information about how Lasting Powers of Attorney work in England and Wales. It is not legal advice about your situation. What we do and do not do.
Published by Estate Advisory Group