My House and My Will

pathtofreedom

I guess it all depends if you're happy on a cheaper care home. Maybe go visit some and look at the different prices to give yourself an idea what an extra few 100 a month makes a difference to where you'd go. Hopefully you won't need it but personally I'm 38 and am desperate to pay my mortgage off to make sure I do have a way to pay for my care later, as the idea of a council home scares me. Would you son actually want you to live somewhere you don't like for your final years just so he has some cash? If he is in a good situation himself he might not even like the idea of you considering this, as it is your money, you should have the best care you can get, not the budget easy jet version.

pathtofreedom

Also why not look into life insurance if you want to make sure he has some money? It might feel like your paying twice for something, but if you're lucky and don't need care, then he could get a house and cash, if you do need care having the knowledge you were looked after well, would surely be better than thinking you struggled just to give him some cash he could have lived without.

jennifernil

" If you sign you house to your son, even part of it and he needs to move house it will be considered he is buying a second home and he will have a very large stamp duty bill."


As the proposals stand at present, the above statement is incorrect.

If the son was moving, and thus replacing his main residence, there would be no additional stamp duty to pay.

AdrianC

Johnny8718 wrote: »

I am just concerned that the local authority could take advantage of the situation and could claim more than they are entitled to.

They can't "claim more than they are entitled to" - all that happens is that it is the individual's responsibility to fund their own care, until such time as their assets are down to a certain value. At that point, the local authority pay part, until the assets are down to a lower level - at which point, the local authority pay everything.

Trying to "hide" part of your assets from that is, by definition, trying to get what you are not entitled to - financial assistance while you still have assets.

By the time that one of us is deceased and possibly the other unable to make sound financial decisions, I just need to be sure that I did the right thing by my family.

And that's where Power of Attorney for your son would come in.

Mardle

Johnny8718 wrote: »

Thank you for your thoughts. I am not at all saying that I should do this. I agree with your sentiments regarding the tax payer as I have been one for the last 60 years.

I am just concerned that the local authority could take advantage of the situation and could claim more than they are entitled to. By the time that one of us is deceased and possibly the other unable to make sound financial decisions, I just need to be sure that I did the right thing by my family.

I am not trying to evade my obligations nor am I trying to defraud the government pocket. I just needed clear advice as I simply do not know what all of this means and I am taking the advice of one solicitor and am basing everything that I have ever worked for and its security - on his judgement and his ideas.

I thank you for your comments but am only trying to protect my families future. Aren't we all?

John.

Have you and your wife done Lasting Power of Attorney forms so that your son can act for you at a later date if it becomes necessary? He will then be responsible for paying your care home fees from your savings and the proceeds from the sale of your house. The council will only take over the sale if there is no-one else with the authority to do it.

Do you own the house as 'joint tenants' or 'tenants in common'? As tenants-in-common you can leave your share of the house to whoever you want. As joint tenants it would go to the survivor.