Parent with terminal illness, wondering whether to sell the family home before death

sololite

My widowed mother has a terminal illness and Alzheimer's. She has left the family home and is in a care home. She is not expected to live much longer. I have power of attorney. The empty house is becoming a real concern and impossible to maintain with limited resources and time.

I am wondering if I should sell the house and be done with it.

Please could anyone offer advice on the issues and pitfalls etc. I should consider before embarking on such a plan?

Thank you so much.

PasturesNew

Yes, do it. You'll have to sell it at some time, so if you can get that as "one thing less to worry about each day" it makes sense.

I sold my mum's when she was in a home with dementia. I don't remember telling her I'd done it, IYSWIM. It was just one of those "unspoken things" where you just do it and carry the "guilt" of not telling them.

I had POA, which we'd set up with the solicitor that did dad's Will.

Keep_pedalling

I think it best if you could sell, but there are some things you should consider. Your POA ends on the death of your mother which could impact any sale going through at the time as you will no longer have the authority to sell as POA and the no sale can complete until probate has been obtained. If you are also the named executor of her will and her estate is a simple one then this should not be too much of an issue, but it could still cause a sale to fall through.

Margot123

Having been in a very similar situation, I'd advise that you sell it.

I fell into the trap of becoming an 'accidental landlord' in order to respect the wishes of the POA donor; they always had the dream that they would return home. The stress in adopting this role was beyond words, with a 'nightmare' tenant ringing up at all hours with ridiculous complaints.

The donor was put onto palliative care but lived almost another 4 years.

In hindsight, it would have been better all round to have sold it in the first place. The donor's (unhelpful) family were the only ones to benefit in the end.

Yorkshireman99

sololite wrote: »

My widowed mother has a terminal illness and Alzheimer's. She has left the family home and is in a care home. She is not expected to live much longer. I have power of attorney. The empty house is becoming a real concern and impossible to maintain with limited resources and time.

I am wondering if I should sell the house and be done with it.

Please could anyone offer advice on the issues and pitfalls etc. I should consider before embarking on such a plan?

Thank you so much.

The POA only allows you to act for the benefit of the donor. It is questionable if selling the house will meet that rule. You should get professional advice befor doing so.

Keep_pedalling

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

The POA only allows you to act for the benefit of the donor. It is questionable if selling the house will meet that rule. You should get professional advice befor doing so.

I would argue that selling is donor's best interests. An empty house is a liability in that it is vunarable to vandalism, and general decay.

Mojisola

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

I would argue that selling is donor's best interests. An empty house is a liability in that it is vunarable to vandalism, and general decay.

And is costing money - maintenance, insurance, council tax, etc.

Spending the parent's money on an asset that she will never return to can't be seen as a good use of her money.

Yorkshireman99

Mojisola wrote: »

And is costing money - maintenance, insurance, council tax, etc.

Spending the parent's money on an asset that she will never return to can't be seen as a good use of her money.

Common sense says yes but the OP should check what the law says that may be different, The OP cannot afford to rely just on advice from here.

getmore4less

Mojisola wrote: »

And is costing money - maintenance, insurance, council tax, etc.

Spending the parent's money on an asset that she will never return to can't be seen as a good use of her money.

The default is sell unless there are compelling reasons to keep(or donor instructions).

As an attorney has no obligations to spend time or money on the property the donors costs soon mount if the property is not in use and people are getting paid to do basic things.

It also needs a complaint to the OPG to challenge the sale while the donor is alive, who is going to do that?

Post death the executor has to deal with any wrong doing by the attorney.

She is not expected to live much longer.

This should not stop the sale process begining.

As has been pointed out the LPA lapses on death, it can be sensible to get at least one of the named executors in the loop early as they will have to take over not just the sale but the finances as well, getting them up to speed can expedite the probate process reducing the risks of delays.

A named executor can continue the sale process immediately, in practice an administrator(waiting for the grant) can as well.

Executors can even exchange contract without grant but few buyers will got that far as completion is unknown as it needs the grant.

badmemory

I had POA & sold as soon as my mother no longer remembered to ask about the house. It was such a relief too. No more having to keep checking up on it weekly to fulfil the ins terms & keeping it clean, gardening & trying to make it look lived in & this is on top of the strain of visiting & at that time I was still working. It was all really stressful.

Margot123

badmemory wrote: »

I had POA & sold as soon as my mother no longer remembered to ask about the house. It was such a relief too. No more having to keep checking up on it weekly to fulfil the ins terms & keeping it clean, gardening & trying to make it look lived in & this is on top of the strain of visiting & at that time I was still working. It was all really stressful.

You did the right thing. No one can imagine those 'little things' that make a big impact on the attorney's life such as keeping the house looking lived in, gardening etc.

Yes, you should act in the interests of the donor but at the same consider your own well-being.

My problem was that the donor was very much aware of the house, and wanted to return even though bed-ridden and terminally ill for years needing 24 hour care. It was their last glimmer of hope. I was emotionally, and physically, drained by keeping that hope alive.