Tricky situation

Poppops

Hell. I'm looking for a little advice. It's a long story but I will try and stick to the facts.

My parents divorced when I was a child and my father has lived with his partner for 25 years. They appear to have had a lovely life together and his partner had always been lovely and kind to myself and my sisters. They are very comfortable financially and live in a beautiful house which they bought together and for which the mortgage has now been paid.

This was until four years ago.

My father went into hospital for a routine operation and sufferred a heart attack. Shortly after he had a stroke. When his condition wasn't improving in hospital he was moved to a care home which specialises in difficult medical conditions and he has lived there ever since.

He cannot walk or talk and it is difficult to know what he does and doesn't understand.

Within a few days of him becoming ill, his partner told us she was visiting a solicitor as everything was in his name and she couldn't service the bills, his credit cards etc. It was a turbulent time and none of us thought anything of it. She applied to the court for power of attorney and we all gave consent. From the second she was awarded that, things changed. She barely speaks to us and has never sent any of us or our family Christmas or Birthday cards etc.

Fast forward to today and she has a new partner who she has moved into my father's house. We can't be sure when but it was within six months. She gave his car away to her neice and his watch to her nephew. She has changed the locks on the house, not that we would just have walked in. My father had just retired from a well paid job and had received his lump sum the month before all this happened. His pension was final salary and his partner still receives that.

I know that we could contest power of attorney and while we are not sure she still has his best interests at heart we are not prepared to do this as my father's face lights up when she walks into the room and she has threatened to stop visiting him if we take any action. He is, of course, blissfully unaware of the situation. He cried when she went away for 2 weeks with her new partner and although we can't be sure, we suspect he was missing her.

Now however, my dad's health is failing fast. The doctors have told us that each chest infection becomes more dangerous.

My question therefore is what will happen when he passes away? Does she automatically get the house because they had a mortgage together or would we inherit his share? Is it OK that she may well have spent all his money?

I know this may sound callous, but I strongly believe her new relationship was going on before my father was ill. We feel that she has moved on and so should live independently of my dad. As it is, his money could be paying their bills.

There is no will.

Many thanks

TonyMMM

If she has Power of Attorney she is required to act in your father's best interests - if you believe that is not the case, you or someone else would have to raise their concerns with the Court of Protection. If you are not prepared to do so, and it sounds like you need to act quickly, then no-one else is likely to take any action.

What happens when he dies (and her PoA ends automatically) depends on whether he made a will when he was still able to do so ?

If the property is owned as joint tenants, then she will automatically own the house on his death. If it is held as tenants in common, his share would be part of his estate.

madbadrob

Hey sorry for the situation you find yourself in however the first thing I would be doing is looking into how she is dealing with your fathers affairs. If she has been using his money on anything that isnt for him ie holidays etc then you can and hould have her removed and charged with theft. I would get solicitors advice now before it is too late. I do appreciate that this could affect your father and you need to deal with it now.

Regarding the house it is not as straightforward as it may seem. The first thing you need to do is check the land registry and see whose name is on the deeds and if both how that property is held.

Do you know if before your fathers mental capacity failed him he made a will? If not and assuming he and his partner didnt marry you and your siblings would inherit what ever your father owned. I am guessing that because she needed an LPA to furnish his bills their bank accounts were not in joint names. If they were then she will automatically get whatever was in any joint account.

Where the house is concerned if it is held by just your father then under intestacy law you and your siblings would inherit the house however your fathers partner could contest this in court. She is his dependent and as such cannot be thrown out of the house and a court would be likley to give her a life interest in that property. If she could prove that she was also paying the mortgage and her names not on the deeds as either Joint tenant or tenants in common the courts could actually find that she is entitled to the property.

All in all I would if I was in your position obtain legal advice about this situation as a matter of urgency.

Rob

Poppops

Thanks for the replies.

There was no will. He kept saying he was going to make one but never did.

I will check land registry, thanks. I suspect it will be joint ownership. He used to tell us that she thought of herself as our mother (ours is absent) and would always look after us if anything happened to us. He would have trusted that she would pass everything on to us as she has no children.

Would she still be classed as his dependent even though she has been having a relationship with another man for almost 4 years?

Is it ok that she has given away some of his belongings?

The hardest thing is that, because we suspect she was having an affair prior to his heart attack, we know he would have dissolved their relationship if he had known and yet he doesn't have the power to do this now, and another man is living in his house and sleeping in his bed.

Seems morally wrong

mountainofdebt

Are they married?

Poppops

No, they never married

madbadrob

The questions you asked are why I suggested you should seek legal action immediately. What he would have done I am sorry to say cannot come into it and again the question about being classed as dependent is another one for the solicitor to give you a definitive answer on.

Rob

RAS

Check the Land registry urgently to find out whether the property is tenants in common or joint tenants. If it is a joint tenancy then when dad dies as sole survivor his partner get the lot. The same will apply to any joint bank accounts.

However if he had personal property and accounts and income (not in joint names) then attorney is legally required to use this in his best interests.

You need to be aware that whilst your father is alive you can report his partner to the Public Guardian and they will seek reports (how she has spent the money over the last few years). As soon as he dies, the PG Office refuse to have any interest in how money was handled prior to death.

You need good independant legal advice from someone well versed in the laws round attorneyship. NOW.

Poppops

Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to do the Land Registry search and take it from there

Poppops

Hi. I've now checked land registry and it doesn't state specifically whether the house is owned jointly or as tenants in common. Both my dad and his partner are listed as owners.

There is also no recorded restriction.

Can I assume from that that they jointly own the house?

sithemadmonkey

If it was tenants in common, there would be something along the lines of this in the restrictions section:

RESTRICTION: No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court.

...or something similar. If that isn't on there, then (apart from a few exceptions) it will most likely be joint tenancy, and so will automatically pass to her outside of probate. Have a read here for some more information.