Who is responsible for care home fees?

Next of kin is not a legal status here

There is no rule making children responsible for a parent's care costs. "Next of kin" carries no financial obligation in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The person receiving care is responsible for their own fees, from their own assets and income.

The exception is if you have signed something. If you have personally signed a contract with the care home, or agreed to act as guarantor, or agreed to pay a top-up, you are bound by what you signed. Read anything before you sign it, and be careful about signing in your own name rather than as attorney or deputy for the person receiving care.

Acting under a lasting power of attorney does not make you liable either. You are managing their money, not promising your own.

How funding is actually decided

Two separate assessments determine who pays what.

A needs assessment establishes what care is required. Anyone can request one from the local authority regardless of how much money they have, and it is worth doing even if you expect to self-fund, because it establishes the level of need on the record.

A financial assessment, or means test, then establishes how much the person contributes. This looks at capital and income.

The capital thresholds

Above an upper capital limit, the person pays the full cost themselves. Below a lower limit, capital is left alone and only income is considered. Between the two, a tariff income is assumed on the capital in that band and added to the contribution.

In England the upper capital limit is £23,250. Above that you pay the full cost yourself. The lower limit is £14,250, below which your capital is ignored, though your income is still assessed. Between the two you pay a tariff income of £1 a week for every £250 of capital above the lower limit.

Both figures have been unchanged since April 2010, so inflation has quietly pulled more people above the threshold every year. Northern Ireland uses the same limits. Scotland and Wales set their own, and Wales uses a single limit that is considerably higher.

Whether the value of a home counts is a separate question with a set of important exceptions, covered in our guide to care fees and your home.

Where the NHS pays instead

Some care is health care rather than social care, and health care is free.

NHS Continuing Healthcare is a package funded entirely by the NHS for people with a primary health need. It is not means tested. The assessment threshold is high and the process is difficult, but where it applies it covers the full cost including accommodation. Relatively few people receive it, and some who should, do not.

NHS-funded Nursing Care is a smaller contribution towards the nursing element of care in a nursing home, paid where someone needs nursing care but does not qualify for full continuing healthcare.

Both are worth applying for. A decision can be challenged. Our guide to dementia and care funding goes into this, since it is where the distinction most often bites.

Top-up payments

If the local authority is funding a placement and the family wants a home that costs more than the authority will pay, a third party can pay the difference. This is a top-up, and it is a genuine ongoing commitment: fees rise, and if the top-up stops the person may have to move.

Be clear about what you are agreeing to and for how long. This is one of the few places where a family member does take on a real financial liability.

Deferred payment agreements

Where a home would have to be sold to fund care, a local authority may offer a deferred payment agreement instead. They pay the fees, secure the debt against the property, and are repaid later, usually from the eventual sale. Interest and administration charges apply.

This can prevent a forced sale at a bad moment. Whether it is the best option depends on the alternatives and on what else the person holds.

Practical order of events

1. Request a needs assessment from the local authority, whatever the person's means.
2. Ask whether NHS Continuing Healthcare has been considered, and get the answer in writing.
3. Establish what the person actually owns and what income they receive, before agreeing to anything.
4. Do not sign a care home contract in your own name unless you intend to be liable.
5. Do not sell a property under time pressure. Options exist.

This page is general information about the rules and does not constitute advice.

Last reviewed: 17 September 2026. Next review: Annually.