My husband is severely brain damaged following a traffic incident in July.
I have been told that he will need to go into residential care this year. His expenses are currently covered by TAC.
I have guardianship & administratorship from VCAT, also permission to sell our home but must use the proceeds to buy another home in joint names, this is for logisitical and upkeep reasons plus due to the semi rural nature of our home, it would not be suitable to have him there for home visits, nor can I look after it on my own.
I have been told that we will be means tested prior to him going into care but TAC will pay also.
He has recently been terminated from his job and I used his final payment to reduce our mortgage. He has some other work related benefits to claim which I also intend to use to reduce or pay off our mortgage.
I have some money set aside to purchase a car as my current one is over 20 years old and prior to his injury we had planned to do this, this year.
Can you tell me more about the means test and what it entails. This is all new territory for me and if fate had not stepped in my husband would be planning his retirement at age 66 in 2021.
My husband is currently 64 and I am 67. I am a little annoyed that someone else can possibly tell us what to do with OUR money that we have earned over all these years. We have both worked full time most of our lives and this incident has changed our lives forever.
Thankyou BS
Hi Babss, The finances that surround someone moving into an aged care home are pretty complex. We have more information on our site here: How do I complete an income and assets test? | agedcare101 You can also see what the government says around some of the costs here:https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/forms/sa457 And you can have a look at the Income and Assets form here: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-11/sa457-2212en.pdf As you know, some big decisions need to be made around this, such as selling your home. If possible, we really do recommend you talk to a Financial Advisor who specialises in aged care (but triple check they are not a general Financial Advisor but have the knowledge of aged care). They can hear the detail of your scenario and offer options that you didn’t know were available. Also given the traffic incident the Advisor may be able to offer more tailored advice given your scenario is a bit different to others .We hope this information helps. the agedcare101 team