Lasting power of attorney

freda11

His will states for mum to reside in the house until she passes. When he wrote his will (with the solicitor) he was thinking of leaving her a small cash amount but then he told solicitor amount the 'vultures' getting their hands on it and said he was not leaving her a cash amount but stated he was happy that he could trust me to ensure she was financially ok. I have every expectancy that the siblings will get her to contest the will even though they are all aware that it has been left to me. Thank god they live in Aussie and not the UK!! I know I have a long and unhappy journey ahead, what upsets me is that they are spouting off as if I would leave my mum with nothing I am the one who sees mum each week, takes her shopping, its me she calls on when any odd jobs need doing or her boiler breaks, all they do is ring her once a fortnight from over the water. Once he and she passes the house and monies according to his will becomes mine. Sometimes I think the donkey sanctuary was more favourable!

Mojisola

freda11 wrote: »

what upsets me is that they are spouting off as if I would leave my mum with nothing I am the one who sees mum each week, takes her shopping, its me she calls on when any odd jobs need doing or her boiler breaks, all they do is ring her once a fortnight from over the water.

In case it comes in handy in future arguments, I would keep a diary of all the times you do things for your Mum.

It would be very satisfying to plonk that down on the table in front of a group of relatives who are claiming you don't have your Mum's interests at heart.

freda11

Great idea

freda11

ps when she does contest the will hopefully it will go against her that for the 6 months he has been in the nursing home, she has refused to visit him once! To her, he died 6 months ago so sad, makes me so angry but if I mention her going she goes off on one saying, what a rotten life she had with him and she now wants nothing to do with him. I visit him 3 times a week and it broke my heart having to tell him that mum will not visit him. She has pastfor not visiting him whenever he has been in hospital so it's nothing new.

BitterAndTwisted

She wants nothing to do with him now that he's dying? That's about as hard-hearted as I've ever heard of. Is she a nasty piece of work, or what? I'd be having a really hard think about quite how much I was prepared to support her once he's passed. I wonder how she'd manage purely on her own resources?


Unless she's really wealthy she won't have much success contesting the will: that's purely the reserve of the very, very rich. Best that your step-FIL leaves her a notional sum, so she can't claim that she was "forgotten". Mind you, she's being left the house to live in for the rest of her life, so that's hardly forgotten, is it?

Honestly, I wish you the very best of luck as I think you're going to need it

troubleinparadise

Being granted the LPA doesn't give you the authority to transfer your stepdad's money to another account or transfer his house to your name, it just allows you to handle his affairs "in his best interests". That is to keep his finances running as he would have done whilst well, paying his bills or shopping for him as he would have done, spending similar amounts of money.

It would also be in your best interests to keep a careful note of all transactions you carry out on his behalf, and keep all receipts. Once you start using your powers under the LPA you may have to answer to the OPG or COP if anyone expresses a concern to them that you are not acting in your stepdad's best interests. Given what you have written about the nature of your family, it sounds possible that they might make such a complaint. So make sure that every action you take is accountable and transparent.

Good luck!

freda11

Thanks everyone, receipts will be kept. I hate to say it but she is a nasty piece of work at the end of the days she's my mum and I will make sure she is financially secure, but if she starts to turn on me I will turn my back. I will never stop making sure she is secure but I would cut all other ties. I am not blowing my trumpet but she needs me, and I dont think she realises just how much. I am not bothered that I cant transfer the money to my name just as long as I now no she cant transfer his money to her accounts. His money can stay where it is until he passes. TBH she has enough of her own money to live on quite comfy. She spends very little on food etc. She gets a govt pension and other bits n bobs and she has her own savings, when he does pass she will also get a percentage of his private pension. At the moment this pension goes direct into his sole bank account each month.

freda11

Unless she's really wealthy she won't have much success contesting the will: that's purely the reserve of the very, very rich...... so it would cost her to contest it then? Thinking about it she is also an executor of the will.

troubleinparadise

Perhaps read up on the grounds for contesting a will... via google - just so that you know a little more about that.

The fact that your stepdad has left her provided for with the house for her lifetime might cover that issue. As has been said before, sometimes a bequest of a lump sum (which doesn't need to be enormous) would also help to mitigate any possible argument.

Does he give her housekeeping money, or any regular payments, at present? Or does he take care of all the household bills? I'm just wondering with regard to whether she will be left financially worse off if she then has to take all those on herself without his financial input.

And hopefully his will was made when he was judged to be of sound mental capacity? That can be an area of question for challenging a will.

Are you also an executor along with your mother? Are there any other executors? More possible problems ahead with that one, of course. But being an executor doesn't mean that a person (I mean your mother!) has the right to alter the intentions of a will - again it is a role that comes with responsibility, and an executor is answerable under law for their actions.

Mojisola

freda11 wrote: »

Thinking about it she is also an executor of the will.

troubleinparadise wrote: »

Are you also an executor along with your mother? Are there any other executors? More possible problems ahead with that one, of course.

But being an executor doesn't mean that a person (I mean your mother!) has the right to alter the intentions of a will - again it is a role that comes with responsibility, and an executor is answerable under law for their actions.

Now that is likely to cause problems! I hope she's not the only executor.

While trouble's right that she has legal responsibilities as an executor, she also has a lot of power. If the will isn't complied with, she can be challenged but that's going to cost time and money.

She can also do the opposite and not deal with things so that everything is left for several years without being settled.