Paying for your partner’s aged care? Don’t make this $750,000 mistake

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Lending money within families has always been fraught. Add aged care to the mix, and what starts as an act of generosity can quickly become a financial and emotional minefield.

Increasingly, spouses are stepping in to fund aged care costs. It reflects a broader social shift – second and third marriages and blended families are now the norm rather than the exception. With that comes a mismatch between how the system assesses people, and how their lives are structured.

Under Australia’s aged care means testing rules, couples are generally assessed on half their combined assets and income. On paper, that sounds equitable. In reality, it often isn’t.

Take a common scenario. A couple meets later in life. He has modest savings and no home. She owns the house they live in and is financially........

© The Age