Care costs are the plan many never make.
Later in life care can cost more than most people expect, and there's no cap on it. Planning ahead keeps the choices, and your home, in your hands.
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A cost most families don't see coming.
Most people don't think about care until they're standing in a hospital corridor being asked where their parent will go next.
By then, the decisions are rushed and the costs are a shock. In the South East, residential care averages £75,000 a year, nursing care £89,000. The £86,000 cap was scrapped in 2024. There's no limit on what a person might pay.
Families who plan ahead face it with options, not panic.
How care gets paid for.
Who pays depends on your finances.
Most people have to pay some themselves.
Care funding is means-tested. Whether the cost falls to you, the local authority, the NHS, or some combination depends on your needs and finances. There's a threshold on savings and assets before you pay for care yourself. Knowing where you stand is the first step.
Self-funding
If your assets are above the local threshold, you pay for your own care. This is the position most homeowners in the South East find themselves in.
Local authority support
If your assets fall below the threshold, your council contributes. They assess both your finances and your care needs to decide how much.
NHS funding
In specific medical circumstances, the NHS covers care costs in full. It's not automatic, and the assessment is strict, but it's worth knowing whether you qualify.
Can I protect my home from care fees?
It's the question everyone asks. It deserves an honest answer.
Planning early makes a difference to how care gets paid for. But there are rules. If a local authority believes you gave away assets to avoid care fees, they can still count them. It's called deliberate deprivation, and it catches people who leave it too late.
We'll tell you what's possible.
Steady guidance through a hard subject.
It's about a parent, a partner, or your own future. Faced with dignity, not dread.
Thirty years of this in Sussex, Surrey and Kent. We explain the rules, tell you what's possible, and build a plan that protects your finances and your choices.
We'll meet you where you are.
FAQs
The questions families ask about paying for care.
From First Call to Clear Plan
Three steps. That's all there is.
Talk to us
One call. No obligation. Tell us about your estate and what you want to happen to it. We'll tell you honestly what the options are.
See the plan
A clear financial plan built around your life. Not the same plan we gave the last person. Yours.
Get on with living
We handle the complexity. You get on with the reason you started saving in the first place.
When you're ready we're here
Tell us a little about yourself. One of our advisors will be in touch within one working day.
30 minutes, by phone or online.
No pitch. No pressure. No paperwork.
A real person, within one working day.
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Independent financial planners across the South East
Worthing
Phone: 01903 259200
Godalming
Phone: 01483 427366
Haywards Heath
Phone: 01444 405160
Uckfield
Phone: 01825 766130