buying house for relative to live there

mrsS_2

hello everyone- first ever post so please be patient.

My husband and I (sounds odd!) are buying a bungalow for his widowed mother to live in. She basically has no assets apart from the bungalow she already owns. The plan is she will relocate to our bungalow and live in it rent free until she dies or has to go into a home. she can either sell her property and live on the proceeds (so freeing us up from having to support her financially as we do at the moment) or rent it out to get an income.

Obviously, she wants to make sure that if there are any huge family rows that we cant throw her out and conversly we dont want her falling under a bus after 15 years having obtained some sort of legal title and it then goes into her estate to go to whoever is the benificiary of her will.

I am in the process of appointing a solicitor for the purchase and mortgage but i have spoken to 2 different ones and they have come up with differing opinions.

The cheaper solicitor says there is no need for a legal document as we have given her permission to stay and she cannot therefore obtain squatters rights. He didnt think there was any need for her to have any legal protection to stay- that she should just be very grateful!

The dearer solicitor was talking about a declaration of trust.


I am tempted to go with the dearer one- although this goes against all MSE principles- but thought I would just post and see if anyone had been/knew of anyone else in this situation and what legal documents were actually required?

Obviously i dont want to spend hundreds of pounds on unnecessary paperwork

thank you all in advance

mrsS

lynzpower

I dont get what the point of this is, she has a home to live in already, would equity release not be more appropriate if shes skint?

hedley

Think very carefully before consdering equity release-they can work out very expensive- we looked at this some time ago for my parents and decided against it- what the company was expecting back on death was astronomical!!

Trusts are the way to go I believe- ensure that you have a wateright legal position- the first solicitor -pah total rubbish!!

mrsS_2

sorry- one of criteria is to relocate her to where the majority of her children live so she can be looked after as she gets more elderly

I dont personally like equity release schemes- it just seems to take any chance of her passing on her inheritance out of her hands and on to an insurance company.

as we have already agreed to buy the house further suggestions on how to financially support the mother in law will probably not be particularly helpful- I just really need to know the legal position

thanks everyone