My mum wants to sign her flat to sister

WhiteHorse

Um. Who exactly came up with the idea of signing the flat over?

lalinchante

I came up with the idea.

olly300

Why would the council kick your sister out of the council flat? One reason why lots of people want a council flat is that they have security of tenure for life.

One option is for both you and your sister to take turns taking care of your mum even if you work. This means while your sister is taking care of your mum she stays at your mums house, and when she has a break which she needs even if it's 24 hours over the weekend she goes to her council flat which remains her main residence.

Also even if when your mum eventually but sadly passes away giving your sister your mum's flat isn't the answer. Even if your mum's flat is freehold then your sister is responsible for the repairs. If it is leasehold then she is also responsible for management fees and services charges which are expensive to pay for with no income. With a council flat the council are responsible for repairs and there are no such fees.

poppysarah

Living in the property of a loved relative who has passed on can be very traumatic.

Them giving up a secure tenancy is madness. Especially for a flat with service charges and possible expensive repairs.

lalinchante

It's interesting to get others perspective.

I've always wanted my own property, which I have and own outright.

I want my sister to have the same. I don't think upkeep and service charges would amount to much more than what she pays in rent now.

If Mum goes into full time care, the flat will have to be sold, mum's savings will be eaten up until she reaches that 23k.

This was why I was trying to find a way for her not to lose all her money in care.

noelphobic

lalinchante wrote: »

I
If Mum goes into full time care, the flat will have to be sold, mum's savings will be eaten up until she reaches that 23k.

This was why I was trying to find a way for her not to lose all her money in care.

Even when the savings go down to 23k contributions still have to be made on a sliding scale until savings go down to around 14k.

My mum was in residential care for 6 years until she died recently. There is a legal charge on her property for 70k plus from the local authority, so I understand your dilemma.

Have you looked into the possibility of making a claim for fully funded NHS continuing care?

lalinchante

Could she make a claim for NHS care when she has savings and a flat?

noelphobic

lalinchante wrote: »

Could she make a claim for NHS care when she has savings and a flat?

it's complicated and am on my netbook so can't post any links without my mouse. If you google 'fully funded NHS continuing care' then you should find some info.

Basically it comes down to whether someone's healthcare needs are primarily health or social. If they are health related then the PCT is obliged to fund their care irrespective of their savings and/or income.

That's the theory, but in practice it can be very difficult, almost impossible, to get them to agree. It is at least worth looking into though.

I have just applied to the PCT to get them to re-examine my mum's case.

olly300

lalinchante wrote: »

It's interesting to get others perspective.

I've always wanted my own property, which I have and own outright.

I want my sister to have the same. I don't think upkeep and service charges would amount to much more than what she pays in rent now.

While you haven't indicated what type of flat it is i.e. converted house, flat in a block, and neither whether it's freehold or leasehold something as simple as a new boiler could set your sister back £3,000. There as if the council replaced it, it would be free.

There is a poster on here who sold her own house due to the fact that paying for the up keep was causing her a lot of worry and stress. This poster also pointed out in another post that she though a repair would be really expensive so went for a whole winter without hot water due to not being able to afford the first quote given for a repair.

Would you like to burden your sister with worrying like that about the cost of up keep of her mum's former and last home? It's simply not fair on both of you to expect her to turn to you for everything as well as the point made by poppysarah.

lalinchante

Thanks Noel, I will google NHS funding.

Olly, thanks for your input, all of which I hadn't thought of, and neither had my sister. We have much to discuss before deciding what to do.

I will continue to read comments.