Moving into mums house

Both_Feet_on_Terra_Firma

I don't know if anyone has been in the same situation but i am looking for some advice. My mum has asked myself and my hubby and son to move in with her as she is getting older to help care for her it is a large property with downstairs living available if needed . I am an only child so I would be inheriting this property anyway my mum has told me this already it is not a property that i would want to stay in forever too far from everything without a car and no bus route nearby and would be looking to sell to get a bungalow for my later years myself and my daughters have power of attorney but i am concerned if i sell my main home what would happen if my mother at some point needed nursing home care could i loose my home? this is one of the things that concerns me with this arangement is there a way to prevent this?

FreeBear

Both_Feet_on_Terra_Firma wrote: »

but i am concerned if i sell my main home what would happen if my mother at some point needed nursing home care could i loose my home? this is one of the things that concerns me with this arangement is there a way to prevent this?

Buy a share of your mother's home and get yourself added as a joint owner. But his opens up a minefield of other potential problems, so you really need to get qualified legal advice.

AdrianC

Both_Feet_on_Terra_Firma wrote: »

I am an only child so I would be inheriting this property anyway my mum has told me this already

Umm, not necessarily!

but i am concerned if i sell my main home what would happen if my mother at some point needed nursing home care could i loose my home?

Your mother would need to pay for her care.

If she gifts a large part of the equity in her house to you, then that's deprivation of assets.
Are you selling a property to go and live there? Can you buy into the property with that, so that money is available to her to invest for paying for future care? Of course, if that proportion runs out, then the house may still need to be sold to release the rest of her assets.

So, yes, if it needs to be sold, you may "lose your home". But since you wouldn't be planning to live there anyway, and are only going there to care for her, would that be an issue? Once she's in care, you wouldn't need to be live-in carers...

Cakeguts

Tell your mum to sell her large property and move into a much smaller one closer to you that is easier for her to manage. She can get a carer to come into the smaller property if she can't manage everthing.



It is important to remember that as you get older yourself you cannot care for an older person it may need several people.



It is also important to remember that older people need to take some responsibility for their lives and living in a large house that it too big for them but then expecting other people to help them continue to live in the large house without making any effort themselves to solve the problem is selfish. I am sure that you would want to help her to move out of the large house?

csgohan4

get legal advice as above, you need to ensure if it tax efficient depending your IHT thresholds your mother is in for you to buy a share if your going to inherit anyways.

Both_Feet_on_Terra_Firma

Thank you all for your replies i WANT to care for my mother there is no expectation i think its more company she is looking for the house she lives in was adapted when my father was seriously ill so she can live downstairs .Unfortunatly we do not live in the best area and are awaiting news of the new Thames crossing so not ideal we may even sell both properties and buy one between us . I fortunately have 1 daughter who is a social worker for adult care and 1 who is a nurse so we are not without help in those areas as for carers there are none in this area and countrywide there is a massive shortage she already has a cleaner and gardner I think i will speak to a solicitor to see what our options are Thank you all for your advice

getmore4less

There are ways to protect your new home.

Depending on values you need to be a bit careful with nil rate bands to ensure you max those(upto £1m) to avoid IHT issues.

The main issue seems be be you don't want to live there.

xylophone

It seems that you are not particularly happy in your current location but neither do you favour your mother's location.

If you sold both properties, (and assuming that you and your husband are happy to share a home with your mother) would it not be possible for you to buy a property that suits you all but leaves your mother some capital?

Both_Feet_on_Terra_Firma

You are correct i dont particularly like where i live but my husband works locally for about another 6 years and i have good neighbours no mortgage and quite a few holidays every year but like most places we are seeing the area start to slide downhill not much different to many others I love my mums house we moved there when i was 6 months old so it has many happy memories and i always wanted to move back to the area but as my mum has had to give up driving I see the the issues she has regarding shopping, popping to the shops what little high st/banks there are this again is happening in every high street and travelling locally its a 20 minute walk to the nearest bus stop not much at my age but at 87 not so easy. So seeing my mums issues is her house in the right place for an elderly person without a car probably not and i wouldn't want to move at nearly 90 so for that reason i would sell and look for a bungalow with good close local transport .

getmore4less

How far from hubby's work.

What do your kids think of the place and would it be suitable for either of them at some point in the future.

Both_Feet_on_Terra_Firma

getmore4less wrote: »

How far from hubby's work.

What do your kids think of the place and would it be suitable for either of them at some point in the future.

At the moment 14 mile round trip it would add another 30 mins to his journey if we moved. I have 3 children but 2 already own their own homes but the youngest did say that she wouldn't want me to sell it as she has all her childhood memories there but it has never really been a serious discussion until now so she may change her mind if the facts were presented