Court protection order vs Power of attorney???

margaretclare

If FIL wanted to sell the house (where would he live then?) he couldn't do it if MIL is still 'on the deeds'. He'd need her agreement/signature, which he obviously can't get.

I've heard of cases in the - ahem - older generations, where the house was in the man's name only, the rationale being that he was the only earner and therefore the only one who could pay the mortgage. Therefore, as I indicated earlier, it's essential to find out the tenure - in his name only, in joint names or tenants-in-common. 3 possibilities.

margaretclare

Securityguy, I agree with your grandmother. DH and I don't consider ourselves 'old' either, although I suppose most people would think of us as such. However, we did set up PoA for each other some years ago now.

CATS

the house is in joint names. One of the reasons we want him to sell the house is that he currently lives very far from all of us and we would like for him to buy a smaller house, bungalow somewhere closer to all os us so we can be there and drop in often. At the moment they live 2 hours away from us we cant get there as quick as we would like, also being closer means we can all help much more with the care of MIL. I guess if we want to do this then we would need a court protection order for my MIL's signature?

RAS

CATS wrote: »

So here is what I am thinking:

MIL has already lost mental capacity therefore is it worth doing a court of protection or not?

House in both names, bills in joint accounts etc

FIL still has mental capacity so we want him to apply for lasting power of attorney before something happens to him and he loses capacity.

Should we just get him to apply for POA and forget the court of protection?

What heppens if FIL wants to sell the house whilst MIL is still alive but has no mental capacity? would we need a court of protection then for her?

http://www.justice.gov.uk/protecting-the-vulnerable/mental-capacity-act

You need FIL to do an LPA to cover when he loses capacity.

You need to get one or more people appointed as deputies of MIL. Given FIL's age it may be best to have one younger person included.

RAS

CATS wrote: »

One of the reasons we want him to sell the house is that he currently lives very far from all of us and we would like for him to buy a smaller house, bungalow somewhere closer to all os us so we can be there and drop in often. At the moment they live 2 hours away from us we cant get there as quick as we would like, also being closer means we can all help much more with the care of MIL. I guess if we want to do this then we would need a court protection order for my MIL's signature?

What does FIL want? He and she may have a long history living in that area and he may still have valuable support network there.

Remember older people who have to relocate often go downhill much faster than expected when they lose their routine and support networks.

margaretclare

CATS wrote: »

the house is in joint names. One of the reasons we want him to sell the house is that he currently lives very far from all of us and we would like for him to buy a smaller house, bungalow somewhere closer to all os us so we can be there and drop in often. At the moment they live 2 hours away from us we cant get there as quick as we would like, also being closer means we can all help much more with the care of MIL. I guess if we want to do this then we would need a court protection order for my MIL's signature?

So where is MIL at present? Is she in hospital near where they live, 2 hours from you?

With the stress FIL is undergoing at present, his wife's very serious illness, is this the right time to be pressuring him into selling up and moving house?

Moving house is up there near the top of the list of stressful life events. Wouldn't it be better to wait and see how events turn out with MIL and her illness, while giving FIL all the support and sympathy that you can.

I apologise for any offence, but being of that generation myself, I do tend to see it a bit from my point of view. If that happened to DH and me, I wouldn't like some well-meaning relative to come along trying to make me make decisions I'd prefer not to make until necessary.

Mojisola

CATS wrote: »

One of the reasons we want him to sell the house is that he currently lives very far from all of us and we would like for him to buy a smaller house, bungalow somewhere closer to all os us so we can be there and drop in often.

At the moment they live 2 hours away from us we cant get there as quick as we would like, also being closer means we can all help much more with the care of MIL.

RAS wrote: »

What does FIL want? He and she may have a long history living in that area and he may still have valuable support network there.

Remember older people who have to relocate often go downhill much faster than expected when they lose their routine and support networks.

I can see both sides of this - I've been the one who had to respond to emergencies at my parents' house and I was so thankful that I lived locally to them. It was much easier for them and me that way.

On the other hand, they stayed in a house that was larger than they needed because of the wonderful support system they had around them. A house a few doors away from me came up for sale and I did discuss with them the option of moving. When we looked at the pros and cons, they decided to stay. They had half a dozen neighbours who would respond to any problems they had, they were local to church, they had been with the same doctors for years, they were friendly with the local shopkeeper, etc.

Had they moved even just across town to be near me, they would have had me and no-one else watching out for them.

RAS

I had a 3 and a half hour drive on dual carriage ways and motorways, so I am not under-estimating the difficulties. Particularly when the phone calls comes saying that there is no one at home, the coat and handbag are there and no-one knows where the parent has gone.

CATS

Hi margaretclare,

MIL is still in hospital, they think she will be able to come home in a couple more weeks and they are putting together a care plan. The hospital is currently 2 hours away from and my other brother's in law, we are making a daily 4 hour journey to hospital and back to feed her and ensure she is ok, luckily we are all taking it in turns.

I am of the same mind that we should just let it be at the moment and wait until she comes back home and see how things settle, however I have 4 brother in law who are already looking at the best solution. They dont really have a support network in the area as they dont really go out and interact, their English is not 100% and therefore they tend to stick to their own community and friends, which is not in the area they live in. One of the ideas put forward has been that they go live with one of the son's and they will sell their house and FIL sell his and they will buy something with an annex. To be honest I dont think any of this has been discussed with FIL. I am just trying to get info on what is best to do legally as my FIL is completely against doind a POA or a will so somehow we need to convince him to do one or the other and I need info to be able to have a facts conversation with the brothers. Pesonally I think we should just let it be for a few months but I do see the need of a POA for FIL, just unsure about the court protection order

getmore4less

I skiped a few posts but here is one senario that everyone(upto then) seems to have missed.

What happens if FIL dies before MIL.

How are the current wills distributing assets or is this going to be intestate senario?