House sale lump sum

MortgageMamma

MortgageMamma wrote:

Is your friend declaring themselves bancrupt? if so I think there are rules about disposing of assets prior to bancruptcy. even if its before the bancruptcy petition its a bit dodgy.

Same with people divorcing, if opposition even get a sniff of whats going on they will freeze assets and there can be severe penalties.

If its because your friends going into a nursing home and the house will be sold for care bills becareful proceeding are there are specific rules around this to,

Sorry it's impossible to advise without knowing specifics, bt if you are going to be gifted money in any way shape or form its a good idea to check the tax implications with a qualified tax specialist.

Remember whatever you tell a professional will remain confidential.

what was I supposed to say? whatever you tell a professional that is legal will remain confidential?! There is some truth in my statement that anything ltold to a professional will be kept confidential . I have not at any point said that an internet forum will afford full anonymity either, again another warning shot from another poster. Your link to the money laundering steering group is very useful provided it is used for the intentions the steering group intended.

This is a very sensitive subject and I partly agree with what you say, but if the individual or their associates are actually involved in something that is deemed unlawful by telling them to see one professional for advice and another to carry out the transaction post advice (whether legal or not) is just plain irresponisble. Nobody sane would give away all their assets to friends without good reason, and I cannot see a valid reason other than some form of fraud, unless they are or deaths door and have no dependants.

By revealing all this information, I do hope it used for a good purpose, and not assisting potential criminal transactions.

MM

clutton_2

Mortgage Mama I am so confused now !! You tell me "You are correct" in one sentence and in the next that i am an "idiot" - how does that work ???!!

jamesd

clutton wrote:

Mortgage Mama I am so confused now !! You tell me "You are correct" in one sentence and in the next that i am an "idiot" - how does that work ???!!

Great care is needed when possible illegality is involved, lest you inadvertently assist the person acting illegally. Had there been no opportunity to discourage the act, your comment might have been taken as informing a person acting illegally how to reduce their chance of detection, with the associated legal risk of that action.

AndrewSmith

@ the original poster:

I would not accept the money if I were you. It all sounds very suspicious to me. You could be potentially leaving yourself open to being dragged into something rather unsavoury.

Friend or no friend, I cannot see any reason why the money must be given to you, unless it is for the purposes of either evading detection of the funds in a liquidation scenario, or a desperate attempt to avoid tax of some kind. There may be other reasons such as keeping the money from an ex partner etc but each are as un-ethical as each other.

Best steer well clear.

Andy

MortgageMamma

clutton wrote:

Mortgage Mama I am so confused now !! You tell me "You are correct" in one sentence and in the next that i am an "idiot" - how does that work ???!!

what i meant was factually you are correct but these rules are there for a purpose and that is to help prevent criminal activity - the rules are not intended for joe publics information, though I have no doubt plenty of people know about them. Under money laundering guidelines anyone who deliberately informs or warns an individual they may under investigation can be penalised themselves. I called you an idiot out of frustration as you COULD have helped a potential criminal escape the net. I'm not calling the OP a criminal, but in all fairness this is an internet site and nobody knows who is behind the username.

MortgageMamma

AndrewSmith wrote:

@ the original poster:

I would not accept the money if I were you. It all sounds very suspicious to me. You could be potentially leaving yourself open to being dragged into something rather unsavoury.

Friend or no friend, I cannot see any reason why the money must be given to you, unless it is for the purposes of either evading detection of the funds in a liquidation scenario, or a desperate attempt to avoid tax of some kind. There may be other reasons such as keeping the money from an ex partner etc but each are as un-ethical as each other.

Best steer well clear.

Andy

Agreed. when in doubt do nothing.

jamesd

MortgageMamma wrote:

what was I supposed to say? whatever you tell a professional that is legal will remain confidential?!

Not including that sentence at all would be one option. However, personally, I would prefer, if possible, to see you taking the course of advising about the professional responsibilities involved, to discourage the person from the act.

MortgageMamma wrote:

Your link to the money laundering steering group is very useful provided it is used for the intentions the steering group intended.

I expect that it will be, since the group is surely interested in preventing illegal activities, as well as detecting them if they happen. Here, it's important to note the context, that we're discussing a prospective future transaction, so if illegality would have happened, there has been time to avert it.

MortgageMamma wrote:

This is a very sensitive subject

Definitely! Places the professional concerned in a situation that is, at best, difficult.

MortgageMamma wrote:

if the individual or their associates are actually involved in something that is deemed unlawful by telling them to see one professional for advice and another to carry out the transaction post advice (whether legal or not) is just plain irresponisble.

Yes, that could be irresponsible. However, what I discussed was seeking professional obligations information from one practitioner, then seeking advice on the prospective transaction to determine its legal status from another. I didn't suggest, and couldn't prudently (or ethically, in my view) suggest, using another practitioner to carry out the activity if the advice of the second practitioner was that it would be illegal and should not be done. My post wasn't as clear as it could have been, so I've added clarification in italics.

MortgageMamma wrote:

Nobody sane would give away all their assets to friends without good reason, and I cannot see a valid reason other than some form of fraud, unless they are or deaths door and have no dependants.

Some people are very private about their affairs, as can more often be seen over in the tax saving board, where people are often unnecessarily reticent. We don't know the proportion of assets involved, so this may be a small fraction of the whole.

cadace wrote:

No it is a friends house who does not wish to keep the money for their own reasons.

Several entirely lawful reasons come to mind, from repaying for past assistance to distributing funds well in advance of death.

MortgageMamma wrote:

By revealing all this information, I do hope it used for a good purpose, and not assisting potential criminal transactions.

I trust that it will be in this case, in part because it's clearly a prospective act, so even if illegality was possible, explaining the resources available to detect such things would serve their primary deterrent role.

Here we come to one of the fundamental rights in a democracy, the ability to know the law so you can avoid breaking it. That requires professionals who are willing to advise an ill-informed client that they are ignorant of laws that would make their contemplated course improper. Obviously such a professional should not assist the client in breaking the law, but only in not breaking it, via education of the client.

livinginhope

Hi cadace,this has all got very confusing!
Just to tell you from my experiences of selling houses,yes the taxman has to be informed,normally my solicitor did this for us,however,I had some debts to pay,so the solicitor paid them on my behalf and no tax was paid as the money cancelled the debt,therefore I hadn't come into any money!
As regards your mate giving away this money ??????? why???????

Ian_W

Private argument? Or can anyone join in?

Appreciate you're both concerned about money laundering and other dodgy activities, in fact so much so, you've probably frightened the OP to death and we'll never see him/her again. Sometimes, like reading the instructions when all else fails refering back to post #1 is helpful.

Do I need to tell the tax man and which bank would be the best to deposit the money in?

Anyone heard of a money launderer telling the tax man? :doh:

OP, if you do return there is some concern that there may be something shady about your friend simply giving you a large amount of dough. A bit of reassurance that it is all legit may help.

To answer your specific queries - you don't need to declare a straightforward gift - as opposed to earnings, investment or property income - to the taxman and the best up to date savings accounts are in Martin's article on the Savings section of the site. As someone mentioned ING is very good and straightforward but there are others.

HTH.

BobProperty

MortgageMamma wrote:

....the rules are not intended for joe publics information, though I have no doubt plenty of people know about them.......

Surely the law is there for all to see, be aware of, and therefore avoid doing anything unlawful. If you are taking about the Money Laundering Regulations then they affect a lot more people than just lenders. (In fact almost anyone doing business) http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20033075.htm
If you are talking about some rules of some professional body or the like OK, but the way that was worded it looked like you were privy to some laws that Joe Public wasn't.

livinginhope wrote:

Just to tell you from my experiences of selling houses,yes the taxman has to be informed,normally my solicitor did this for us,however,I had some debts to pay,so the solicitor paid them on my behalf and no tax was paid as the money cancelled the debt,therefore I hadn't come into any money!

Possible bad news mate, just cos you paid off everyone with the proceeds of the sale of a house doesn't mean you don't owe the taxman anything. Sorry.