Evicting a family member

ThePants999

Hi folks,

My wife's side of the family are having some difficult times right now. Her grandma lives in a house that she owns outright. It's been in her family for ages, she's lived there all her life, though I don't know exactly when she came to own it. No mortgage.

Grandma has an (adult) daughter living with her. Daughter has lived there all her life, too. Not paying rent, but has undoubtedly contributed to maintenance over the years.

It's come to light that daughter has been abusing her mum. The rest of the family has managed to get grandma into a temporary home, but while she's quite infirm, she's not yet at the stage of being unable to take care of herself, so needs to return home. However, daughter is refusing to move out.

Questions:
1. What steps could be taken to remove the daughter? And are these steps ones that someone with POA could take if grandma appointed one?
2. If the house later needs to be sold to fund care, does the daughter have any right to (a) be involved in the decision, (b) be involved in the process, (c) receive any of the proceeds?

Thanks in advance!

Red-Squirrel_2

Has the abuse been reported to the police?

elsien

Or to the local authority safeguarding team?

ThePants999

I'd prefer not to talk much about that side of things. Unless it affects the answers to the questions?

I mean, obviously if the daughter were arrested and jailed then question 1 would go away but let's assume that's not happening.

Red-Squirrel_2

ThePants999 wrote: »

I'd prefer not to talk much about that side of things. Unless it affects the answers to the questions?

I mean, obviously if the daughter were arrested and jailed then question 1 would go away but let's assume that's not happening.

It will affect the answer. If the abuse has been reported the victim could apply for an order to keep the abuser away from the house and prevent contact for their own safety.

ThePants999

Great, thanks, I'll pass that on.

Red-Squirrel_2

ThePants999 wrote: »

Great, thanks, I'll pass that on.

It might be worth calling Women's Aid for some advice. I don't think they are limited to advising only where the abuser is a spouse.

EDIT

Actually this might be more appropriate:

https://www.elderabuse.org.uk/helpline

elsien

The power of attorney gives the same powers to someone else that your grandmother has now. She would be sensible to do one for future reference anyway.
Not sure on the answer to question 1. How old is the daughter and how does she currently support herself?
If there is a power of attorney then in grandmother loses capacity or chooses to delegate, the power of attorney would make any decisions with regards to selling the house. If there is no power of attorney and any best interests decisions need to be made for any move then the daughter could be excluded as being not appropriate to consult if the abuse is on record. Someone would need to apply for a deputyship to sell the house if grandmother lacked capacity to do so herself.
The answers to the other questions would probably depend on other factors such as her age and whether she might be considered to have built up an interest in the property over the years.

Muscle750

Trouble being is that even if its reported to the police unless the grandmother wants to press charges etc i doubt the plod will be in the slightest bit interested

xylophone

Is the house still suitable for an infirm, elderly occupant?

Perhaps she could grant PoA to another family member who could arrange the sale of the property, enabling the purchase/rent of some form of sheltered housing?

Ms_Chocaholic

If the matter was reported to the Police and grandma made a statement, then the adult daughter could be arrested and have bail conditions that she must reside elsewhere. This all depends on whether grandma will want to press charges and is an able witness.