I have a joint bank account with my grandfather who is about to go into aged care. He receives the pension from Centrelink and does not own a home. The only asset he has is this joint bank account which has approximately $100,000 in it. My question is - will this bank account be assessed even if it is a joint account? So does that mean that he will have to pay more in the home?
Hi ellis-bell,
I assume from your query that your grandfather has submited an Income and Assets form to the Department of Human Services (DHS)? This will determine how much government assistance he is eligible for towards his aged care fees. To access government funding towards aged care fees everyone has to submit this. From what you have written it appears that your grandfather has limited assets and therefore I would expect that he would be eligible for considerable support towards his aged care fees( if not fully supported). If he does qualify for full support then the only fee he would have to pay is the daily fee which is 85% of his Age Pension payment. I would also assume that as it is a joint bank account then he would be deemed as owning 50% of that amount ie. $50,000.To clarify this I suggest you call DHS Income and Assets Department on 1800 227 475 to clarify. If your grandfather has not submitted the Income and Assets form you can download it at this link:
Kind regards,
Jill