The focus at Chase de Vere is on providing our clients with expert and wide-ranging independent financial advice coupled with a high quality level of ongoing service.
We look at a recent case where Catriona Smith, Independent Financial Adviser in our Glasgow office, whose thorough and diligent work has led to one of her clients making significant savings in their council tax bill.
Catriona is recognised as one of the leading financial advisers in providing financial advice to older clients and she has particular expertise in advising on long term care. She is a full member of the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) and won the Financial Adviser of the Year category for Scotland & Northern Ireland at the Women in Financial Advice Awards in 2019 and 2020, before being ‘Highly Commended’ this year.
Catriona recently met up with one of her long established clients. The client’s husband is suffering from dementia and has now entered a care home, so his wife is having to deal with the finances, even though she has never really taken an interest in them before.
Catriona discussed, with the client, how they were going to pay for the husband’s care costs. As part of this, the client showed Catriona her Council Tax bill. She was paying around £600 each month, which Catriona thought was excessive.
Catriona asked her client to contact her City Council and explain that she was now in the property by herself, and also her husband had been diagnosed with Dementia and was in a care home. She had never done anything like this before and so Catriona wrote down exactly what she had to say to the Council.
The client has now sent Catriona her new Council Tax Bill and this has been reduced to just £50 each month. This is because:
- They were entitled to a discount as the husband had Dementia. The Council back-dated the money they should not have paid since he was diagnosed
- She never knew that, as she was now living alone, she is entitled to a 25% reduction due to single occupation.
Nobody had mentioned Council Tax costs to her previously when she had completed the Financial Assessment forms for care costs.
The client is now saving £550 per month until at least 6th April 2022, which will help towards her husband’s care costs and, in the meantime, Catriona is helping her by setting up an immediate care annuity.
Content correct at the time of writing and is intended for general information only and should not be construed as advice.