Transfer of title deeds

kencokid

Hi,

My elderly parents own their own home and there has been much debate recently over care home costs etc. I'm aware that their property and I assume any savings they have will be taken into consideration and used to pay for any such care they would receive if they were to end up in a home so my question is if I asked them to transfer the title deeds of their property into my name would this now mean that their home would NOT be taken into consideration to pay for any card if they were to go into a home and if so would there be any implications that I should take into account if this was to happen. I have my own family but I am their only child so there would not be anyone else involved.
Your response will be much appreciated.
Thank you

Errata

You need to familiarise yourself with Deprivation of Assets. Info on the AgeUK website.

kencokid

Ok. Thank you. I will look at the AgeUK website but in your opinion, is this an option ?

mjdh1957

It is certainly an 'option' but whether it's a good one depends on whether your parents will need care in the future or not. If they do, then this transaction can be set aside if the court decides on the balance of probabilities that it was done with the intention of avoiding care home fees.

It is a legal minefield as numerous threads on this forum will attest.

McKneff

You cannot just give your money away these days, you may need it yourself.

In all honesty, would you like to see say yur next door neighbour
get their parents house, and the parents go into care and the tax payer ends up having to foot the bill. Course you wouldnt.

Had they considered it many years ago, then it would have been doable but.................

McKneff

It is unlikely that your parents would end up in care at the same time and if one of them still lived in the house, then no, it wouldnt be taken into consideration.

However, the council could put a charge on the house for whenever it is sold.

margaretclare

kencokid wrote: »

Hi,

My elderly parents own their own home and there has been much debate recently over care home costs etc. I'm aware that their property and I assume any savings they have will be taken into consideration and used to pay for any such care they would receive if they were to end up in a home so my question is if I asked them to transfer the title deeds of their property into my name would this now mean that their home would NOT be taken into consideration to pay for any care if they were to go into a home and if so would there be any implications that I should take into account if this was to happen. I have my own family but I am their only child so there would not be anyone else involved.
Your response will be much appreciated.
Thank you

Do a search on this site. This question comes up as regularly as night follows day.

If they transfer title of their home into your name and if it is later thought that they did this to avoid paying for their care (assuming both needed permanent residential care at the same time) then IIRC their home would still be considered to be theirs and an asset that could be used.

Other than that, they would be living in a house which wasn't theirs and there are huge implications for that. Would you then be their landlord and ask them to pay rent? This, too, has been discussed on Martin's site.

You're thinking of asking them to do this - it's not their idea, but yours, then? They need good legal advice.

Why would you want your parents to do this?

pollypenny

Here we go again!

Kencokid, you want us, ordinary tax payers to pay your parents' care home fees so you can inherit?

Cheek.

Savvy_Sue

Welcome kencokid, this is question which does come up fairly frequently and unsurprisingly there are strong feelings on the subject ...

mjdh1957 wrote: »

It is certainly an 'option' but whether it's a good one depends on whether your parents will need care in the future or not. If they do, then this transaction can be set aside if the court decides on the balance of probabilities that it was done with the intention of avoiding care home fees.

And you have to remember that it's actually a far smaller % of elderly people who end up in residential care than we tend to assume. Not to mention the fact that if they do have their own resources on which to draw, they will have choice about where they live. Don't know about you and your parents, but I know I and mine would prefer to choose their own care home rather than leave it to the local authority ...

margaretclare wrote: »

Other than that, they would be living in a house which wasn't theirs and there are huge implications for that.

especially if you die before them / become unwell / disabled / unemployed or involved in a divorce or relationship breakdown: it may sound unfair but if it's in your name it could be considered your asset in those situations, yet still considered their asset if they need residential care.

margaretclare wrote: »

Would you then be their landlord and ask them to pay rent?

Because if you don't, it'll be seen as a 'gift with reservation', and that raises interesting issues, even before we get onto capital gains tax etc.

margaretclare wrote: »

You're thinking of asking them to do this - it's not their idea, but yours, then? They need good legal advice.

I am trying to imagine how to start such a conversation: "Mum, Dad, I think it would be a good idea if you gave me your house ..."

I think there are more important conversations which should be had. "Have you made a will? And does it reflect what you want to happen? Have you thought about Lasting Power of Attorney?"

margaretclare wrote: »

Why would you want your parents to do this?

Indeed ...

BobQ

OP Half the people on this site will see you as being the sort of son who wants to protect their expected inheritance at all costs and who does not give a fig that the taxpayer ends up funding your parents care. They other half will probably be plotting to do the same thing.

Had you started your post with "my parents have asked me to find out if I were to ......" some might give you the benefit of the doubt but by accident or design you are looking at a way of ensuring that you benefit personally from a property transfer that is unlikley to be in your parents interest. As you have phrased it its deprivation of assets and you will most likely find that its a minefield. If one of your parents is within a few years of needing a care home its too late.

margaretclare

...and further to what I wrote last evening, what do you mean by 'elderly' parents? Elderly??? As someone wrote on the Benefits board recently, many older people, even those whom you might consider to be 'elderly', would be highly-indignant at being so described, although, to be fair, there are some who think of themselves as 'elderly' even though others might consider them middle-aged!

'Elderly' has a whole lot of negative connotations. Can't be expected to think for themselves, make own decisions, possibly that's why *you* are thinking of taking this step rather than *them*. What on earth was the point of describing them as 'elderly'? Wouldn't it have sufficed to write 'my parents'?

Rant over.