Advice for sister buying house with elderly mother

elsien

Aside from the financial side of things already mentioned above, your mum may be independent now but the sad reality is that at 88 it's possible that this may change, and changes can happen quite quickly. So the burden of care will fall on your brother and his wife, more so by virtue of sharing the same house.
How do they both feel about this?
It's something some people can do and others can't. I have known it to work but only when everyone went into it having discussed all the ramifications and with the children being willing to end up as full time carers.

Plus in addition to the stated financial pitfalls, what if mum hates it in Brighton or otherwise decides she wants her money back to find somewhere else to live? Not just for going in to care but because she becomes unhappy with the arrangements?
Mum needs proper independent legal advice to set out what will happen if things don't go as planned.

iammumtoone

I think the reasons for you not wanting your mum to house share with your sister are very valid. I think your reasons for not wanting your Mum to move to Brighton are not.


What you do need to do is separate the two issues. This is about your mother not you, whilst I agree the move into the same house is not right, It might be good for your mother to move to her own flat in Brighton (has anyone actually checked rightmove to see what she can get for her money). Would your sister/BIL be happy with her moving with them but into her own place? The answer to this question will tell you a lot and its certainly something that needs to be discussed as an option.

Browntoa

If she needs long term care then Brighton council would classify her share of the property as an asset

Any attempt to claim it was a gift to them would be classified as deprivation of assets at the age of 88 .

Yorkshireman99

-taff wrote: »

Try posting on the mortgages board, you'll get more idea of the pitfalls.

I would say the issues have been answered well enough here.

mrschaucer

Browntoa wrote: »

If she needs long term care then Brighton council would classify her share of the property as an asset

Any attempt to claim it was a gift to them would be classified as deprivation of assets at the age of 88 .

I thought property was disregarded if lived in by a relative over 60. Is that no longer the case? And age really has nothing to do with deprivation of assets if the lady is fit and well.

Browntoa

At 88 there's a very good expectation that she could need care within a few years.

It's deprivation if she will sell her assets and transfers it to the son , it's not deprivation if she retains an interest in the new property.

Property is not disregarded , if you cannot directly finance care the council will take a charge against the property. The ages of the residents of a property is of no bearing

AnotherJoe

elsien wrote: »

Aside from the financial side of things already mentioned above, your mum may be independent now but the sad reality is that at 88 it's possible that this may change, and changes can happen quite quickly. So the burden of care will fall on your brother and his wife, more so by virtue of sharing the same house.
How do they both feel about this?
It's something some people can do and others can't. I have known it to work but only when everyone went into it having discussed all the ramifications and with the children being willing to end up as full time carers.

Plus in addition to the stated financial pitfalls, what if mum hates it in Brighton or otherwise decides she wants her money back to find somewhere else to live? Not just for going in to care but because she becomes unhappy with the arrangements?
Mum needs proper independent legal advice to set out what will happen if things don't go as planned.

Great point. Jointly buying a house effectively makes that move irrevocable. Even if mum decides she loves Brighton but wants to live in a flat or similar or move into more purpose built sheltered accommodation , thats going to mean sister selling her house. Even if you disregard the disruption, the cost of multiple sets of stamp duty on all these purchasez would likely be getting close to £50k.

-taff

There are also the questions regarding sharing the house, the financial side of repaying the mortgage as in who pays what share [ I see she is to have a third share, does this mean she is paying a third towards the house with your relatives paying the other two thirds between them? or is this just how the house is to be divided, so your BIL and wife own half and she owns half ?, who pays what bills and in what proportion, who would be responsible for shopping, what happens if she needs care in the house and who provides it, visitor arrangements, what happens if your BIL has money issues, who pays the mortgage then etc etc.

It's a total minefield.

mrschaucer

[QUOTE=

Property is not disregarded , if you cannot directly finance care the council will take a charge against the property. The ages of the residents of a property is of no bearing[/QUOTE]

Nope, I think you are mistaken here.
If you have a look at
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs38_property_and_paying_for_residential_care_fcs.pdf it says the following on mandatory disregards:

4 Disregarded property
4.1 Mandatory disregards
If you enter a care home permanently, any interest you have in your
existing ‘main or only’ home is usually taken into account as capital.
However, the value is disregarded from the means test if any of the
following people occupy the home. It applies if you no longer occupy the
home but it is occupied, in part or whole, as their main or only home by:
 your spouse, partner, former partner or civil partner, except where you
are estranged
 a lone parent who is your estranged or divorced partner
 a relative of yours, or member of your family, who is:
 aged 60 or over, or
 a child of yours aged under 18, or
 incapacitated.
They must have been occupying the property before you went into the
care home. The disregard lasts until this changes, at which time it may
become an eligible capital asset.

Ganga

If your mother passes away will your sister and her husband have to sell the house to payout the other beneficiaries of her will?