{"id":62012,"date":"2025-04-30T04:34:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T04:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/62012\/"},"modified":"2025-04-30T04:34:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T04:34:11","slug":"my-father-was-sold-a-trust-to-beat-care-fees-thats-useless-and-will-cost-3000-to-cancel-sally-sorts-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/62012\/","title":{"rendered":"My father was sold a trust to beat care fees that’s useless and will cost \u00a33,000 to cancel: SALLY SORTS IT"},"content":{"rendered":"

My 85-year-old father and I decided to make new wills with Jones Whyte in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The woman handling our case insisted we should have a family protection trust fund for his home, suggesting that it was a must in case he went into a nursing home \u2013 which has never been the intention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We agreed under stress and paid \u00a32,566, not understanding the full implications and the fact the house which my dad wants me to inherit was signed over to the trustees \u2013 Jones Whyte \u2013 irrevocably.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When we asked for the trust to be dissolved, Jones Whyte came back to say this would cost at least \u00a33,000 plus VAT. We don\u2019t think this is fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Please help.<\/p>\n

R.M., Glasgow.<\/p>\n

\"Pointless: <\/p>\n

Pointless: A reader’s father was sold a family protection trust fund for his home, despite the fact the house was signed over to the trustees \u2013 Jones Whyte \u2013 irrevocably<\/p>\n

Sally Hamilton replies:\u00a0You and your father were clearly convinced that the family house could be protected from being sold to meet care bills. This landed him with a \u00a32,566 bill and a product you didn\u2019t need or want.<\/p>\n

A trust is a legal structure where trustees \u2013 in your case, solicitors \u2013 are appointed to control the contents for the benefit of the person it is set up for.<\/p>\n

This means a property cannot be sold without the trustees\u2019 consent, for example.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is a chance that the authorities will overlook a property held in a family protection trust when assessing liability for care bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it should have been made clearer to you that there is also a high risk that they will not.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many local authorities do not take kindly to trusts if they believe they were arranged to hide assets \u2013 known in legal parlance as the \u2018deliberate deprivation of assets\u2019.<\/p>\n

Such trusts are tempting because the law says people must pay all their own care home costs if they have assets of \u00a323,250 or more in England and Northern Ireland, \u00a335,000 in Scotland or \u00a350,000 in Wales.<\/p>\n

Emily Deane, technical counsel at the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, told me: \u2018Using a trust to prevent paying care home fees is not a risk worth taking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If a local authority decides that you have deliberately reduced your assets to avoid paying for care home fees, they may still include the value of the property you no longer have when they do the financial assessment.\u2019<\/p>\n

Such trusts are often used to potentially reduce inheritance tax<\/a> (IHT) bills if the value of someone\u2019s estate on death is otherwise likely to exceed the threshold.<\/p>\n

Currently, it is possible to bequeath up to \u00a3325,000 without incurring IHT \u2013 and if passing a house down to a child or grandchild on death, there is an extra allowance of \u00a3175,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scam Watch\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Shoppers should beware a scam Facebook post impersonating retailer Boots, consumer website Which? warns.<\/p>\n

Fraudsters write that Boots is offering mystery boxes with \u2018leftover cosmetics\u2019 for \u00a33 \u2013 in return for answering a three-question survey.<\/p>\n

The tricksters direct you to a link to complete the questionnaire but this will aim to steal your personal and financial details, Which? says. The posts could come from a hacked account.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do not click on the link. Instead, press the three dots in the right corner of the post and click \u2018report\u2019.<\/p>\n

This means your dad\u2019s estate would have to exceed \u00a3500,000 before any tax was due. At the time his trust was implemented, he was 82 and his home was worth \u00a3230,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You believe it has barely changed in value in the three years since. Your dad could simply leave the house in his will with no IHT due.<\/p>\n

You asked Jones Whyte to unwind the trust. But you were shocked to be told this would cost \u00a33,000 plus VAT and a fee for reviewing the trust.<\/p>\n

I felt you had a good case so asked Jones Whyte to put you back in the position you were in before setting up the trust without stumping up any more cash. You wanted me to negotiate with them on your behalf, but Jones Whyte declined.<\/p>\n

As you were nervous, a friend accompanied you to a meeting and took notes. Discussions went well and the firm agreed to wind up the trust \u2013 at no charge.<\/p>\n

Your father\u2019s house is now back in his own name and you are planning to make some modifications to the property to make his life easier. You were grateful for my intervention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A spokesman for Jones Whyte says: \u2018While we cannot comment on the specific details of any particular client matter, we are pleased to have been able to resolve [this client\u2019s] concerns to their satisfaction, both constructively and respectfully at all times.\u2019<\/p>\n

BA won’t help with our insurance claim\u00a0<\/p>\n

We booked British Airways flights to Washington DC last June costing \u00a34,574. At the beginning of that month my husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He notified the insurance company, Staysure \u2013 but more than nine months later we are still waiting to be paid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The sticking point is BA, which needs to provide a document proving we didn\u2019t fly on the date booked or at a later date.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My husband has filled in form after form but gets nowhere. Please help.<\/p>\n

K.G., Sandhurst.<\/p>\n

Sally Hamilton replies:\u00a0I was sad to read that your holiday plans to visit your three grandchildren had been thrown up in the air due to your husband\u2019s shock diagnosis. I was sadder still to learn of the extreme headwinds he\u2019s faced getting his money back.<\/p>\n

Travel insurers need to receive official cancellation documents to process a claim \u2013 for audit, record-keeping and fraud prevention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The only money sent so far was \u00a3463 in refunded air passenger duty. Airlines by law must reimburse this cost if passengers don\u2019t fly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Your husband contacted BA on its chat service and by phone almost weekly once he had recovered from his cancer operation, but to no avail. He even drove to Heathrow to try to find a BA employee who could help.<\/p>\n

I was horrified by the lengths he had been forced to go to in his condition, so I stepped in on your behalf, first asking BA to get its act together.<\/p>\n

I am pleased to say BA issued the missing document the same day and apologised for your experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Staysure escalated the case to its underwriters who agreed to settle immediately due to the exceptional circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Within two days you had received \u00a33,931 in your account \u2013 your booking cost minus the refunded airport taxes and the insurance excess of \u00a3180.<\/p>\n

Your husband told me there were no words to express his relief and thanked me for my intervention. I wish you both the very best.<\/p>\n

Straight to the point\u00a0 <\/p>\n

I switched my energy supplier from E.ON in October and sent the utility firm a final payment of \u00a3125.10. But it later sent me a bill for \u00a3235 for October, despite<\/p>\n

having switched provider by then. It offered me a \u00a3156 discount for the bill but I don\u2019t think I should owe anything.<\/p>\n

B.M., Suffolk.<\/p>\n

E.ON apologises and says your new energy supplier took an incorrect meter reading. You have been offered \u00a3150 as a goodwill gesture.<\/p>\n

***\u00a0<\/p>\n

Late last year the recliner mechanism in my SCS sofa broke. I paid an SCS technician \u00a375 to repair it but it broke again two days later.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The technician has visited again but could not fix it.\u00a0The supplier of the recliner parts is now no longer in business so SCS offered me a 50 per cent refund of what I paid for the sofa.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That was in March \u2013 I\u2019ve heard nothing since.<\/p>\n

E.B., via email.<\/p>\n

SCS apologises and has now refunded you. It says it sent you a response but this never reached you.<\/p>\n

***\u00a0<\/p>\n

In November I ordered an iPhone 16 on a 24-month contract, paying \u00a329 upfront and \u00a337.99 each month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When it arrived the box looked like it had been tampered with and was empty except for the charging cable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My provider won\u2019t cancel the contract and says the parcel had the phone inside when it left the warehouse.<\/p>\n

C.F., Fife.<\/p>\n

Your provider has now sent you a replacement phone and refunded the money you have already paid towards the bill.<\/p>\n

***\u00a0<\/p>\n

My son bought me a \u00a375 voucher as a Christmas present. When I came to spend it I was told the card had already been validated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Its customer service has reloaded the card \u2013 but only with \u00a326.<\/p>\n

E.A., Hampshire.<\/p>\n

The remaining \u00a349 has now been credited to the voucher.<\/p>\n