Readers’ forum: Residence nil-rate band and nursing home fees

My client has now retired but she was a successful businesswoman who has built up a comfortable level of wealth and has significant amounts of pension and investment income. She has never married and has no children. Her will leaves her estate (after a few charitable bequests) to her sister who is married and has children of her own. She had already started making regular gifts to her sister out of surplus income to reduce her eventual inheritance tax liability.

Unfortunately my client is now having health problems and will need to move into a nursing home. She can’t afford to pay the fees and keep making the same level of gifts to her sister. Rather than sell the house she is thinking of renting it out. That would raise some funds but not enough to fund all of the nursing home fees. So she has suggested...