Can my mum gift myself and sibling £5000

Fluffyqueen34

My mum is 80 not on any benefits.She doesn't own property but has some savings.She wants to give us £5000 each.Would there be any problems with her doing this?

Mojisola

No problem unless she needs means tested benefits or residential care in the future. Would she have enough money to cover her care needs if she gives away £10k?

Fluffyqueen34

.She is fairly comfortably of.Is there a set amount she would need or is that a daft question.Very unlikely she would ever need means tested benefits,but maybe residential care in the future.

xylophone

but maybe residential care in the future.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS40_deprivation_of_assets_in_the_means_test_for_care_home_provision_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

Fluffyqueen34

Thank you very much xylophone,

Mojisola

Fluffyqueen34 wrote: »

She is fairly comfortably of.

Is there a set amount she would need or is that a daft question.

In that case, there probably isn't a problem.

Unfortunately, the DWP or the council won't answer questions like this in advance. The average stay in a care home is around two years - work out how much this would be in her area.

She would be able to get her care fully paid for once her capital reduced to £14,250.

What would happen in reality is that she would be assessed as if she still had the £10k she had given away so would, in fact, be expected to pay for her own care until her capital reduced to £4,250.

AgeUK has useful information about this subject -
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/home-and-care/care-homes/paying-for-permanent-residential-care/

Also, remember that the majority of people never do go into care.

GingerBob_3

Scenario: prospective care resident gives money away to relative, say five years ago. Relative spends it all immediately. Maybe the resident can't even remember who it was given to. Who gets chased for the money and what sort of care would be available?

enthusiasticsaver

No, there is no problem. My mum has done this many times. If she dies within 7 years of giving it to you there may be some liability to inheritance tax on you though depending on size of estate and date of death.

There may also be an issue if she gifts money and then claims any means tested benefit (including for residential care) so you need to make sure that the £10k gift does not deplete her assets to such a level that she needs to claim.

teddysmum

GingerBob wrote: »

Scenario: prospective care resident gives money away to relative, say five years ago. Relative spends it all immediately. Maybe the resident can't even remember who it was given to. Who gets chased for the money and what sort of care would be available?

The local authority would probably find the cheapest (so likely worst quality) available. Mind you they probably do , anyway, if they (err, we tax payers) are paying.