Hi,
A friend of mine will soon need to go into a Residential Care Facility. She has no assets (not even a car) and her only income is the pension. But she has a personal loan and credit card debt. What will happen to these debts? Will she still have to pay them off? Does the government take them into account when assessing how much her care fees will be? Thanks.
Hi there,
Thanks for your question. It is our understanding that the debts will still stand although the capacity to how quickly she can repay the debt may have some flexibility"Does the government take them into account when assessing how much her care fees will be?" If she truly has no assets then the government will assess her as a fully supported pensioner which means that the government will give her the highest available financial support when entering into an aged care home.
The first thing she will need to do is speak to the Department of Human Services about this. Call 1800 227 475 to speak to the finance section.
We wish your friend luck on her journey.
The Agedcare101 Team