urgent hep for mum re will

meritaten

moggitymog wrote: »

I thought that if it's left in a will that would be OK, the reason gifts can't be accepted is so there can be no favoritism, this can't occur if the patient has passed away

which is why I pointed out that a bequest is different to a gift! a bequest is made in a will and its one thing to give cash to a carer - its another to remember them in your will.
I can quite see why carers cannot accept gifts or cash while the client is still alive - however, remembering someone in your will is quite different!
I am not sure that employers can legally dictate that employees cannot accept bequests.
Gifts while they are working with the client yes - but bequests ??????????

Errata

The trouble is, care homes never think things through and haven't the wit to devise a policy which informs employees exactly what action they should take if they are offered a gift or left a bequest.

meritaten

what do you think errata? personally, I think that a bequest is NOT a gift and as its part of a will (being of sound mind etc) that a bequest is personal and NOT within the remit of employee contract!

Errata

A bequest comes from the estate not a person IYSWIM.
What do I think? I think owners of care homes don't think things through. If a contract says 'You must not accept a gift from a resident or anyone the resident has a personal relationship with' then clearly this doesn't cover someone who is no longer a resident because they're dead.

Edinburghlass_2

Is the care home a charity? Or do they support a charity that they want the money to go to as the way I see it if she can't accept the money it should go back to the estate for dispersal.

Not that I think that is right either btw. I recently saw a will with several bequests to various carers that helped the deceased as she had no family.

paddy's_mum

I think that meritaten's "of sound mind" is the key to this, especially if the bequest (in this case £5k) is a small proportion of the whole estate. If anyone later wanted to challenge the will, they'd have a job suggesting undue influence for a bequest that is peanuts in the scheme of things.

I think Mrs Carer is entitled to keep the money, which was clearly intended to be a thank you from beyond the grave, not a gift that might possibly have been pressured out of the person while still living.

Now, if the bequest was for 97.5% of the estate, that might be looked at differently ...

Pee

If I was your Mum, I'd consider how much I was earning and based on what I have been paid in the past for care work, even in the current difficult climate it might be better to keep the £5,000 and look for another job. (I'm thinking this could be six months or a years wages if your mum is working part time.)
Although when I was doing care work there was basically one other employer in the village so the other work options do need to be factored in.

Nicki

I can't see the difference between a gift and a bequest, sorry!

If the aim is to protect the vulnerable from carers putting pressure on them to hand over cash, why does it make a difference whether the elderly person is forced to hand over cash while alive, or to change their will to leave a bequest when dead?

I am not suggesting for a moment that the OP's mother was anything other than a good friend to the old lady or that she pressured her in any way, but that is the evil the rule is designed to prevent. And it doesn't IMO matter whether it is a proportion of the estate or the whole of it, it needs to be a blanket policy.

Yes, this is hard on decent people like the OP's mum who lose out, but unfortunately there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there and anyone who does need a carer is vulnerable. I know my own parents who are in their mid to late 80's now (and who don't have any carers) have become a lot more naive and susceptible to pressure as they have aged, and i've often had to help them out when they have handed over money unwisely in recent years to seemingly plausible people who have just been ripping them off. And my dad is a retired bank manager and has no dementia issues so you would think should be pretty financially astute. So I know from my own experience that the elderly can be very vulnerable and that extra protection is needed.

Mojisola

missmelanie wrote: »

Hi, Im so unsure of where to get advice or even where to post this. My Mum works as a carer for a large elderly persons service and has just found out a cient left her 5k in her will. Under her contract she was told she couldnt keep it but after she took the cheque into her office, the management didnt seem clued up on the actual legal side of it all and asked her if she minds the money being donated to the charity. My mum herself isnt fussed she isnt after money but she struggles so much I would love her to be lucky just once. Would anyone have a clue if theres a chance she could keep it as its a legal document a will. Any help much appreciated

By "the charity" do you mean the company that employs your mother? I would find that unacceptable! If the company sees there is a problem with carers receiving presents from their clients, can't they see an issue with the company receiving money from them?

There is another potential problem that your mother needs to be aware of. If she accepts the inheritance and then gives the money to the company or any other charity, the money will be deemed as having been hers and may affect any means tested benefits that she claims or tries to claim in the future.

If the company insists that she can't accept it, she needs to return the cheque to the executor. That money will then split between the other beneficiaries.

I would get a solicitor to look at the wording of her contract and see whether she could keep the inheritance.

Errata

If the company insists that she can't accept it, she needs to return the cheque to the executor. That money will then split between the other beneficiaries.

The executor(s) can't play fast and loose with bequests, they are required by law to execute a will in accordance with its instructions, which can only be changed by way of a Deed of Variartion which requires the consent of all the beneficiaries (this may not be possible if one or some of them are children) or by effecting a Disclaimer which allows the disclaimed bequest to be distributed according to fixed rules of law.

The OP's mum can (now that I've done some googling) make a Disclaimer formally renouncing the bequest. She may wish to do this under the guidance of a solicitor, the cost of which should be met by her employer (if there's any justice!) as the law relating to Disclaimers is technical and obscure. If the OP's mum is in receipt of any state benefit eg HB, CTB, tax credits she would be wise to discover what her legal position is regarding them if she turns down £5k.

The employer can't have it both ways by forbidding staff to accept gifts and then saying but it's ok if they're handed over to the employer. The staff member can't hand anything over to them without accepting it.

HTH - it's an unusual situation.