THE FIRST edition of the predecessor to this work was published in November 2000, and the second in April 2002. Both focused upon the issue of protecting the existing capital of older people in the context of the increasing cost of long-term care.

Apart from the inevitable bundle of legal changes since spring 2002, it has become apparent to the author that a much more in-depth approach is now demanded by the reader. This entirely new work represents a total rewrite with those needs in mind.

This work is much more 'technical' in its approach than its predecessors. However, the author agrees with Ruskin:

"It is far more difficult to be simple than to be complicated, far more difficult to sacrifice skill and cease exertion in the proper place, than to expend both indiscriminately."

To balance the inevitable loss of some of the intrinsic simplicity of the first work, a sad result of practical necessity in an era characterised by a surfeit of regulation, it is hoped that the use of more practical pointers and the introduction of precedents should compensate the reader.

The anticipated nature of the reader of this work

The reader of this work is anticipated to be a professional person, a solicitor, other legal adviser, accountant or financial adviser. They will most often be directly engaged in assisting their clients to plan ahead by using their existing capital assets. That is in the context of those clients wishing, amongst other things, to minimise the personal cost of long-term care.

The aim of this work

Despite its soporific nature and other faults, this work is aimed at assisting older people to secure the best financial assistance possible should the need for long-term residential or nursing care arise. That is especially where relatively modest, but hard-earned resources might otherwise be lost in care fees.

The three-part structure of this work

• Part one addresses what may be achieved with a little knowledge of the making of gifts and wills but without much knowledge, other than contextual information, of the scheme of the local authority means-test. The legal aspects are wide-ranging leading the reader through the ethics, practicalities and relevant legal issues, combined with some, hopefully useful, precedents geared towards the protection of capital.
• Part two concentrates on the details of the local authority means-test. What is properly assessable capital and what is not? How should capital be valued? What aspects of a resident's capital are ignored? How do those 'disregarded' assets impact upon planning for old age? It addresses the potential pitfalls to certain arrangements. It considers the powers of and limitations upon local authorities in collecting means-tested contributions for care fees. It concludes with some practical advice and precedents geared to long-term, capital-protection planning.
• Part three is a brief overview setting the local authority means-test in the context of the public law responsibilities of local authorities and the NHS to older people who are in need of long-term care accommodation. It includes additional information upon care assessments, choice of accommodation, making claims for free NHS continuing health care and the registered nursing-care contribution.

Summary

• Enable the older person, or person intending one day to become such, to understand and get the best from the means-tested benefits system relating to care;
• Enable professional advisers to get behind the mystique and misinformation surrounding the subject matter of protecting the existing capital of older people, and thus to enable them to fulfil their role better;
• Enable professional advisers to develop much-needed services geared to older people. That is in an efficient manner, with the best opportunity of improving 'the bottom line' whilst also avoiding unnecessary claims against their professional indemnity insurance.

So whilst this work may again prove the author to be a dull boy who should get out more, it is hoped it should also prove to be worth its purchase price.