Concerned for my aunty's money

My_aunty's_nephew

Hello everyone, I am trying to help and advise my Aunty. She is 81 years old and very protective with her money. Having said that I don't think she is doing what is best. She has around £500,000 in various accounts like simple unfixed building society accounts, fixed interest accounts, premium bonds, stocks & shares isa's, etc. My concern is that she has over £300k with one building society which I see as risky due to the £75k protection limit and that she is not getting good interest on some accounts. My other concern is inheritance. She says she will leave her house to me but I also want to ensure I can look after her if she falls ill. I have no money or savings of my own and I am not her immediate next of kin. She has one other niece who she dislikes. I am the only real person who she puts any serious trust in. I therefore think it would be best to invest in a property now that I can (later) move us both into to look after her. But I'm not sure legally how we can use her money legally and tax efficiently for me to buy that future property now and use her money to improve it. Can anyone help on these two things? Thank you all. Your help and advice is appreciated.

bigadaj

You need to be careful about seeing to benefit from her, it may be what she wants and all abive board, but could just look bad, and be challenged by other family members potentially.

You are right to be worried about that amount in one bank or bs. Elderly people often don't want the hassle of monitoring and operating multiple accounts, in which case look at ns&i, it's government backed so there's no limit to the amount you can save there, you lose your money if the government fails but we'd probably have other worries then.

She could gift you money, but that would have to be absolute and there would be no inheritance tax after seven years, this could still be considered deprivation of assets of she went into care and you may then have to pay back for her care.

A possibility is that she could buy a property which you could live in and pay her rent. This would be a better return for her and might benefit you, but agin you need to be conscious of other family members and what is in her best interests.

With that amount of money it may well also be worth consulting an independent financial adviser, they will charge some money but may provide a better plan and return on the sums of money you suggest.

CLAPTON

where does she live now

My_aunty's_nephew

That's all really good advise thank you. Just one question which confuses me slightly though! My Aunty is in very sound mind. She lives on her own and is very capable in every respect. Is there some sort of law to say relatives are not allowed to benefit from other family members? I don't quite understand that!

My_aunty's_nephew

She lives in her own house

My_aunty's_nephew

You also mention about 'if she needs care and about care costs', but my intention would be to provide close care for her without her having to go into a care home. That to me makes sense but I'm not sure if authorities have the power to remove her from that and demand she goes in to a care home.

Linton

If she is of sound mind then you must accept that she makes her own decisions. You can warn her of the possible consequences but it is her decision. The lack of full protection is a concern and Bigadj's suggestion of NSI makes sense to me. The small amount of interest isnt a concern in my view if she has more than enough savings to meet her foreseeable needs. In her position would she really have a better life with a relatively few extra £s/year income if it adds to the complications and worry?

Has she granted Power of Attorney to you or anyone else in case she becomes unable to make financial decisions? If not, I think this should be your primary concern as, without this, your ability to care for her would be made much more difficult.

When considering her situation be very careful of mixing her interests with your own. It can easily be open to misinterpretation, especially if there is some bad feeling within her family.

My_aunty's_nephew

I'm not worried if I get nothing to be honest. I've already done money the money stress thing in my life and my view on the dreadful stuff is that if I could avoid it totally I would. Im not after anything I can assure you. My concern is for my Aunty who is my last surviving older relative. She is 81 and I really hope she stays healthy in to her 100's. Reality however is that probably won't happen and at some point she will need close care. She has trusted me to help her with her finances and I can see it could be improved which is why I'm asking for advice here!

My_aunty's_nephew

Thank you Linton. That's really good advice

Linton

My_aunty's_nephew wrote: »

You also mention about 'if she needs care and about care costs', but my intention would be to provide close care for her without her having to go into a care home. That to me makes sense but I'm not sure if authorities have the power to remove her from that and demand she goes in to a care home.

Do you have the skills to provide "close care"? Even if you do, you may not be able to do it on your own. 24 hour cover for a seriously mentally and/or physically disabled person can be highly demanding. And yes, it is ultimately the social and medical authorities who decide whether the care and care facilities you are able to provide are sufficient or not, subject of course to legal challenge.

elsien

My_aunty's_nephew wrote: »

You also mention about 'if she needs care and about care costs', but my intention would be to provide close care for her without her having to go into a care home. That to me makes sense but I'm not sure if authorities have the power to remove her from that and demand she goes in to a care home.

This is not a criticism, it is the life a relative who is looking after their partner.
Have you ever looked after someone with dementia? Someone who is up all night, where you can't leave the house because they wander off if you're not there, someone who can be aggressive towards you because they don't remember who you are? Someone who has forgotten where the toilet is so keeps having accidents round the house? Someone who won't leave your side for a second because you are their security so you get no time to yourself? Carers don't help because the person wants you not them?

With the best will in the world, sometimes caring for someone in their own home is not possible in the long run. They need more specialist care than one person on their own can provide.
You do not know the level of care your aunt may need and your post is all about what you think is best, you give no intimation that you have discussed this with aunty. So what does she want to do? Have you discussed any of this with her?

There are also alternatives to care homes for people who need more support but wish to retain some independence such as housing with care. Has your aunt considered these options for the future?

Does she want a close male relative providing intimate personal care and changing her continence pads if it comes to it? Some people do decide that a care home the better option for them than putting on one relative. What are your aunt's views on this?

If your aunt wants someone to make decisions for her if she does lose mental capacity in the future then she needs to make a power of attorney for both finances and health and welfare. She may also wish to consider having more than one power of attorney.

However the bottom line is, it really doesn't matter what you think is best. It's aunty's opinion that counts. If she's very protective with her money, then even if it's not working efficiently for her, spending a large chunk on a house for someone else may not appeal. My grandmother had a lot of money and it was all in a basic savings account getting very little interest -she wouldn't even have a cheque book or direct debits. We all thought it was daft but it was what she felt secure with, so her money, her choice.