Free tools for families navigating elderly care
Practical calculators and checkers for adult children helping their parents through the UK care system. No sign-up. No data stored. Updated for the 2026/27 rules.
Available tools
Care Home Cost Calculator
Estimate weekly and annual UK care home fees, plus how much your local council might contribute under the 2026/27 means test.
LiveHome Care Cost Calculator
Estimate weekly costs for visiting carers in your parent's own home at 2026 rates (£32/hour UK avg). Includes the community-care means test where the property is excluded.
LiveNursing Home Cost Calculator
UK nursing home fees with the £267.68/week NHS-funded Nursing Care contribution auto-deducted. Most calculators don't show the FNC offset.
LiveDementia Care Cost Calculator
Residential, nursing, and specialist EMI dementia care fees in 2026, plus dementia-specific funding routes including the SMI council tax exemption.
LiveLive-in Care Cost Calculator
Single, couple, and respite live-in care fees with side-by-side comparison vs a nursing home placement. For couples, live-in is often £30,000+/year cheaper.
LiveNHS CHC Eligibility Checker
10-question quiz to find out whether to request an NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment for your parent. Based on the official 2022 National Framework.
Attendance Allowance Checker
Find out if your parent qualifies for Attendance Allowance and which rate they'd likely receive.
Power of Attorney Checklist
Step-by-step checklist for setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney in England and Wales.
Medication Schedule Builder
Print a clear weekly medication chart for carers, family, or hospital admissions.
Carer's Allowance Checker
See if you qualify for Carer's Allowance and how it interacts with other benefits.
Why Care Toolkit exists
The UK care system is complicated, fragmented across four nations, and changes most years. The information you need is scattered across gov.uk, charity websites, council pages, and forums. Most people only encounter it when they're already in crisis — a parent in hospital, a sudden diagnosis, a phone call from a worried sibling.
Care Toolkit exists to give you straightforward, reliable starting points. Every tool is free, every figure is sourced from official guidance, and we'll never ask you to sign up or hand over personal data. We're not a care provider, financial adviser, or legal firm — we're an independent resource trying to make a hard moment a little less overwhelming.