Advice Needed About Mothers Benefits

croyland87

Hi. Just want to start off by saying that you have a wonderful community here and it's a pleasure to finally be a part of it.:)

Basically this question is about the entitlements and benefits of my mother, I'm asking on her behalf.

My mother and I brought our council home (the house I was brought up in) about two years, we got a fairly good deal with the right to buy scheme etc. I provided all of the capital for an outright buy but we brought the house together since I was not on the tenancy simply living and registered there. Unfortunately my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease shortly after the purchase and I have been looking after the needs of my mother since. Sadly my mothers condition has regressed quite a bit since and her care needs cannot be provided by me alone. My sister has offered to take care of our mother and asked her to move in with her. I've discussed the idea with my mum at length and she's happy with the idea and has expressed the desire to go. I'm happy too since my sister is a registered nurse and can better cater to our mothers needs.

Our problem lies in the fact that my mother wants to transfer the house we brought together to my sole name. I'm not sure if this will affect her benefits. She currently receives Employment Support Allowance.

billywilly

croyland87 wrote: »

we brought the house together (and) my mother wants to transfer the house we brought to my sole name.

Being the devil's advocate, why does your mother want to give away her 50% share of the house to you?

pmlindyloo

croyland87 wrote: »

Hi. Just want to start off by saying that you have a wonderful community here and it's a pleasure to finally be a part of it.:)

Basically this question is about the entitlements and benefits of my mother, I'm asking on her behalf.

My mother and I brought our council home (the house I was brought up in) about two years, we got a fairly good deal with the right to buy scheme etc. I provided all of the capital for an outright buy but we brought the house together since I was not on the tenancy simply living and registered there. Unfortunately my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease shortly after the purchase and I have been looking after the needs of my mother since. Sadly my mothers condition has regressed quite a bit since and her care needs cannot be provided by me alone. My sister has offered to take care of our mother and asked her to move in with her. I've discussed the idea with my mum at length and she's happy with the idea and has expressed the desire to go. I'm happy too since my sister is a registered nurse and can better cater to our mothers needs.

Our problem lies in the fact that my mother wants to transfer the house we brought together to my sole name. I'm not sure if this will affect her benefits. She currently receives Employment Support Allowance.

Transferring the house you bought together into your name is not a good idea. If your mum has to go into a care home then this could be seen as deprivation of capital.

You have got yourself into a bit of a pickle because although you provided all the money it seems the Right to Buy regulations meant that it had to be in both of your names.

So, are you tenants in common or joint tenants on the deeds?

As regards your mum's benefits then if they are means tested then you need to read this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419817/dmgch52.pdf

52641 onwards.

They would normally assess the market value of your mum's share of the house as capital which would then make her ineligible for means tested benefits.

Since you own some of it then it is debateable as to whether it has a market value since no one would want to buy half(or whatever) of a house. It is possible (even likely) that it would be disregarded and your mum would still be entitled to her means tested benefits.

You have put yourself in an awkward position as this is likely to come up again if your mum goes into a care home.

merlin68

Is your name actually on the property now?

Ames

billywilly wrote: »

Being the devil's advocate, why does your mother want to give away her 50% share of the house to you?

Probably because the OP provided all the money to buy it in the first place.

Cheeky_Monkey

Having read some of your previous posts, I'm a bit confused.

Apparently, you already own a house jointly with your father as well. Is that right?

croyland87

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Transferring the house you bought together into your name is not a good idea. If your mum has to go into a care home then this could be seen as deprivation of capital.

You have got yourself into a bit of a pickle because although you provided all the money it seems the Right to Buy regulations meant that it had to be in both of your names.

So, are you tenants in common or joint tenants on the deeds?

As regards your mum's benefits then if they are means tested then you need to read this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419817/dmgch52.pdf

52641 onwards.

They would normally assess the market value of your mum's share of the house as capital which would then make her ineligible for means tested benefits.

Since you own some of it then it is debateable as to whether it has a market value since no one would want to buy half(or whatever) of a house. It is possible (even likely) that it would be disregarded and your mum would still be entitled to her means tested benefits.

You have put yourself in an awkward position as this is likely to come up again if your mum goes into a care home.

We are joint tenants on the deeds.

tomtontom

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

Having read some of your previous posts, I'm a bit confused.

Apparently, you already own a house jointly with your father as well. Is that right?

And looking to buy another RTB property. How many discounted properties can one person buy?

konark

If your mother has already been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease , and that will usually happen well after onset of symptoms, she will not be able to gift you half the house as she will be deemed not to be in sound mind.