LPA and donor inheriting money - help needed

uknick

OP, welcome to MSE. I think some of the posters have been a little harsh on you for asking a question that many people in the UK worry about. After all, you were very honest and upfront about your "callous" reasons for asking the question.

The best advice so far given is that by Ognum, i.e. it is a little late to think about avoiding care home fees as your father already suffers from dementia. I can't see any local authority not applying the deprivation of asset laws in your case.

System

It's a perfectly reasonable enquiry to make, written with obvious humility and yes, a hint of guilt, but with commendable thoughts on practical and inevitable matters as well as simply concern for your father.

Don't be put off by the sort of sanctimonious moaners and carpers who form a significant minority on this website. You might be better off getting impartial professional advice from a solicitor, or perhaps a specialist legal forum.

xylophone

It might be worth getting advice on a DoV of your uncle's will

All affected beneficiaries must agree and I would imagine must be of sound mind- it is not wholly clear how much capacity the OP's father has?

Pollycat

Clifford_Pope wrote: »

It's a perfectly reasonable enquiry to make, written with obvious humility and yes, a hint of guilt, but with commendable thoughts on practical and inevitable matters as well as simply concern for your father.

Don't be put off by the sort of sanctimonious moaners and carpers who form a significant minority on this website. You might be better off getting impartial professional advice from a solicitor, or perhaps a specialist legal forum.

I might be sanctimonious but I'm not trying to take my parent's money for my own benefit.

I can't see any concern from the OP for her Dad.

atush

Personally, I dont think this is being too harsh.

There is a solution, get an au pair to help with the kids, and move Dad in. House too small? Sell his and use both to buy you AND dad a home together.

If you hadn't had the LPA, you could have asked for (or had your Dad ask for) a deviation to the will, passing his inheritance on to you if he didn't require it. But given you already have an LPA, and he isn't of 'sound' mind already, just be assured that his and his brother's money will buy him the best care for the longest time possible.

Or, to save your inheritance, look after him yourself. You choose.

jamesd

Jovibear wrote: »

I have a LPA in place for my father who suffers from mild dementia/forgetfulness.

Your obligation as LPA holder is to use all of his assets for his benefit. His assets include all those he is inheriting from your uncle.

Jovibear wrote: »

I wondered if there's anyway in which the inheritance due from my uncle's estate can come directly to me as the attorney (therefore not passing thru my dad's account).

Deed of variation for the uncle's will agreed to by the current benefiting party - your father, if he is of sound mind. If he is not of sound mind it's too late to get a deed of variation done because he's not able to knowingly agree to lose the money.

Jovibear wrote: »

The money will come to me eventually and I'm trying to avoid it being frittered away on nursing home bills. I know it sounds incredibly callous

It doesn't sound callous. It sounds like something that could get you time in prison if you do not act properly. Regrettably that does actually happen sometimes.

You have a conflict of interest here between your obligation as LPA holder to use the money for his benefit and your desire as beneficiary of his estate not to use the money for his benefit but to avoid doing that to use it for yours.

Seek legal advice about your obligations as LPA holder and whether he is of sufficiently sound mind to consider whether he wishes to give the money away and whether the gift done with a deed of variation will be effective in avoiding the obligation to pay for care. It seems clear that there is specific personal knowledge about his health condition that care is likely to be needed so all disposals of assets must be considered as possible deprivation of assets.

It would also be of use to get in a properly witnessed document any statements he cares to make about priorities for inheritance over care for him. It's possible that he might deliberately say that he wants the cheapest care the local council can find instead of the best care that his money will buy, to maximise your inheritance.

troubleinparadise

Your father will need care in the future, but it may not be residential care, depending on the speed and severity of the certain progression of the disease as well as physical decline.

He could have carers in his own home which might meet his needs adequately.

What having savings does do is enable him to be cared for with an element of choice.

I don't know of your relationship with your father, but given he has granted you LPA I must assume it is a good one. Don't underestimate the stress of trying to care for a relative with dementia, even if you live at a distance and aren't hands-on yourself.

Having funds to buy in additional care can give some relief from those stresses, and ultimately you will be grateful for that rather than regretting the loss to your own potential inheritance, which is a bonus, not a right, after all.

kittycat73

hi I need help aswell my parents gave me lpa last year and throughout the year I have struggled financialy so my mumj has let me use her bank account to pay for things she has also gifted me a large sum of money now the office of public guardian has wrote to me asking for lots of imformation including documentation from the accounts does any1 know what the next step is and what will happen best and worse case scenario im concerned because of the transactions I have made for my day to day living

kittycat73

hi I need help aswell my parents gave me lpa last year and throughout the year I have struggled financialy so my mumj has let me use her bank account to pay for things she has also gifted me a large sum of money now the office of public guardian has wrote to me asking for lots of imformation including documentation from the accounts does any1 know what the next step is and what will happen best and worse case scenario im concerned because of the transactions I have made for my day to day living

mania112

Clifford_Pope wrote:

with commendable thoughts on practical and inevitable matters as well as simply concern for your father.

You mean like....

Jovibear wrote: »

I'm trying to avoid it being frittered away on nursing home bills.

Because care should be morally and financially a primary concern (in my opinion), not what can be taken from the estate.

My other thought is why is there a non-financial LPA in place when the LPA was set up because 'He has previously been scammed out of thousands of pounds and is vulnerable - this was the reason for instigating the LPA'.