How much money can you give away ?

2

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  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,040
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    Now it’s only a guess but if the learjet’s mother lives in a house that is currently worth £140,000 she wouldn’t exactly be living in the posh side of the town where I live.

    Thats a 3 bedroom semi-detached house in a nice area round here.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • Any
    Any Posts: 7,944
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    jimmo wrote: »
    Now it’s only a guess but if the learjet’s mother lives in a house that is currently worth £140,000 she wouldn’t exactly be living in the posh side of the town where I live.
    No idea where you live but I live in posh village near big town in family house and even here you can get a house for £140k (and I guess she doesn't have a big house as she doesn't need it).
    Council houses you pick up for £50k... at least around here...
  • RayWolfe
    RayWolfe Posts: 3,045
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    jimmo wrote: »
    Believe me, when you see neighbours who have never worked and never even paid the rent, jetting off to the Costas or the Canaries 3 or 4 times a year you do begin to wonder.
    Really?
    I should get on to the Daily Mail about that. They will certainly be very interested.
    Meanwhile, even if it is entirely as you suggest, do you really think my 92 year old mother, on a small pension but self sufficient, should be paying even more on her council charge to support the OPs mother?
    Interesting point of view.
  • learjet
    learjet Posts: 15
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    Isn't it funny the way a thread takes off sometime :T

    As far as I was concerned I asked a perfectly innocent question (maybe a dumb one but that's why the forum is here) and only dunstonh has taken the trouble to answer in a useful and factual way. Thank you dunstoneh.

    I don't think all the sarcastic answers help at all especially the assumptions that I am trying to rip my Mum off. These posters have been reported.

    As a matter of fact I have supported my Mum for years with regular lump sums, paying for holidays, repairs to her house, a new central heating system etc. and continue to do so. She lives at the other end of the country from me and I want to make sure she is happy. I take exception to the suggestion that I'm trying to get her money - I don't need it. I would have simply kept in the BS and let her have it when she wanted. Obviously I realise this is not allowed now - that's all I wanted to know.

    Thanks to the helpful posters.

    LJ
  • RayWolfe
    RayWolfe Posts: 3,045
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    An amazing high horse you have climbed. Well done.
    From a position of asking how you could cheat the system (pretend that Mum has no money so that the tax payer can keep her), to one of the dutiful son with only her best intentions in mind.
    Just think about your first question for 10 seconds and see how moral you were being then - regardless of whether your idea was legal or otherwise - and then ask yourself if your critics were being really harsh.
    ... as for reporting your detractors, how very sad. Bet you were really popular at school.
  • Any
    Any Posts: 7,944
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    RayWolfe wrote: »
    An amazing high horse you have climbed. Well done.
    From a position of asking how you could cheat the system (pretend that Mum has no money so that the tax payer can keep her), to one of the dutiful son with only her best intentions in mind.
    Just think about your first question for 10 seconds and see how moral you were being then - regardless of whether your idea was legal or otherwise - and then ask yourself if your critics were being really harsh.
    ... as for reporting your detractors, how very sad. Bet you were really popular at school.

    This is a post straight to the point:rotfl: :T
    You should be a lawyer.
    I agree with everything you just said.
  • custardy
    custardy Posts: 38,365
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    Any wrote: »
    No idea where you live but I live in posh village near big town in family house and even here you can get a house for £140k (and I guess she doesn't have a big house as she doesn't need it).
    Council houses you pick up for £50k... at least around here...

    2 bed tenement flat in edinburgh,not in the posher areas though!
  • Any
    Any Posts: 7,944
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    learjet wrote: »

    I don't think all the sarcastic answers help at all especially the assumptions that I am trying to rip my Mum off. These posters have been reported.

    LJ

    Ermmmm, what exactly have you reported them for? For having an opinion?
    Sorry, I thought that is the whole idea of a forum....

    Watch out, watch out, planning to scam a government but is reporting people who object!!!:confused:
  • JimmyTheWig
    JimmyTheWig Posts: 12,199
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    I must say that I got the impression from the OP that the idea was to [STRIKE]rip off[/STRIKE]gain from the benefits system, rather than to rip off his mum.

    Good advice from dunstonh, as usual.


    How about this as a practical suggestion...
    How much savings does your mum actually need?
    What if she spent the next however long eating away at her savings? Yes, I'm sure she oculd buy some reasonably generous gifts for you and your sister, but more importantly buy stuff for herself. Get stuff done around her house to prepare for the future. E.g. get the garden redesigned to make it low maintenance which will help as she becomes less mobile. Have a downstairs bathroom put in, for example. Or maybe a stair lift? And just generally enjoy the savings that she has built up.
    Then when she's down within the limit she could claim benefits.

    That may leave her slightly outside of her comfort zone in terms of savings. But then it's a good job she's got a son who can afford a few quid to help her out if things get desperate. (And given the fact that you could get the money back at the end of the day from the house sale I'm guessing means that you could afford to lend her £20k if need be.)

    How does that sound, OP? Do you think your mum wuold like the idea?
    How does it sound from a legal POV, others?


    Alternatively, could she buy an annuity with £20k? I.e. something that pays out monthly for life? At 76 she should get a decent monthly return.
  • RayWolfe
    RayWolfe Posts: 3,045
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    Very sensible suggestions AND entirely within the fact and the spirit of the law.
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