Power of Attorney and house purchase

Pixie5740

If the house has to be sold to pay for nursing care there is unlikely to be much if anything left for anyone to inherit anyway. Sounds like you're a decent sort who is going to do things by the book which is probably one of the reasons you're the power of attorney.

xylophone

I would be the sole benefactor.

I don't perfectly understand this - do you mean sole beneficiary of her estate?

You will instruct a solicitor who will act on your aunt's behalf and a different solicitor to act on your behalf in the sale/purchase?

Paul_the_Painter

Just to be on the safe side, make sure you properly document the condition of the property (photos videos etc) just in case the council come back to you in 10 years time with a suspicion that you bought under value in order to avoid deprivation of assets.

agrinnall

It might be worth making a call to the Office of the Public Guardian to see if they can offer any advice on the best way to proceed.

https://www.gov.uk/office-of-public-guardian

troubleinparadise

Further to Agrinnall's post:

OPG's booklet on the Powers of Attorney:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/forms/opg/epa101.pdf

Page 22:

Can the Attorney sell the Donor’s property?

All actions taken on behalf of the Donor must be in the Donor’s
best interests. If the Attorney believes that selling the property is
in the Donor’s best interests and the Donor is the sole owner of
the property and the EPA allows it, then the Attorney may decide
to sell the property.

Attorneys do not need approval from the Court or the OPG to sell
the Donor’s property. However they must apply to the Court for
permission if for any reason the sale is below market value or the
Attorney or a family member wants to buy the property.
If the Attorney does not seek the Court’s approval under these
circumstances then the sale may be challenged.

TopCatLandlord

I suppose that doing the place up and renting it out to pay some of the the care home fees is not an option?
This is what I did when my mother went in to a home with dementia. Mind you the £1500 a month rent only pays just over a weeks worth of care per month.


Good luck in sorting it out - a big responsibility.

della11

Thanks to everyone for your input.
Have decided that its just best to sell up and see how long the proceeds will last.
My estimate is 4 years.

della11

Just to complete this thread I decided it best to sell the property on the open market and is due to complete shortly. Thank you everyone.