meaningless will

chrisburnham

Hi, can anyone answer what happens when a will is not a will anymore.

My mum has severe dimentia and is now living full time in a home. When she was 'with' us, she saved almost obsessively to give her grandchildren and children an inheritance, and made a will accordingly.

However at nearly £4000 a month for her care, her savings are rapidly diminishing, and are now in the process of selling her home, to continue paying for her care.

So my question is, her intentions in her will will be meaningless if there is no money left. So what happens when it is time for the POA to stop, and the will to be read.

Regards
Chris

Owain_Moneysaver

If there isn't enough money left to pay all the bequests in the Will, those bequests can't be paid.

Whether all the bequests will be reduced proportionately, or the first paid and later ones ignored, depends on the exact wording of the Will.

Fire_Fox

Welcome to MSE.

The welfare state may begin to contribute to/ cover your mother's care when her assets fall to a certain level so there is unlikely to be "no money left".

As already noted, your mother's estate should be distributed by the executors according to the exact wording of the will (if say %) or the standard rules or hierachy covering expenses, debts, claims, legacies.

Gifts in one's lifetime are an alternative to bequests - birth of child, marriage, special birthday, clan gathering - and can give great pleasure to old and young alike.

Hopefully the children and grandchildren will appreciate the quality of care your mother had in her last months and years.

xylophone

The PoA ceases on death of the donor.

The executor will deal with whatever assets are left according to the terms of the will.

Legacies may have to be abated.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm12086

74jax

Did you mum make the will herself? It's unusual for a will to not cover many scenarios. Your OP reads as thought he will states a figure to go to each grandchild and a figure to go to each child is that correct?

Just in case the will isn't word as above and actually states a % to go to each grandchild and child, then this will still happen. It doesn't matter what the 'pot' is so to speak.

The will won't be meaningless so please don't feel it will be.

It might help if you rationalise it in your mind as your mum saved to have a good standard of healthcare in her later years when ill health set in and she couldn't live by herself. This might help rather than she saved for her kids etc...... No one should sacrifice their own care in later years to provide unnecessarily for children.

My mum is in a very similar position and that is how we have come to deal with it. Dad worked hard all his life and we see it as after he died his money has been used to give mum a life she could not have afforded otherwise. Her care is amazing.

When your mum dies and POA stops, the executors will get a copy of the will and carry out as per her wishes.

Talc1234

I would enquire about NHS continuing healthcare. We applied and successfully obtained it for my father when he had severe dementia in the last 18 months of his life.

If successful the NHS will pay all costs. I enclose a link for further information

https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/help/support/terminal-illness/care-needs/continuing-healthcare-assessment

Malthusian

There's a threshold below which the local authority will pay the full cost (£14,250 in England). So unless funeral expenses swallow all of that, the Will will still matter.

Very few people live long enough in care to reach that threshold, especially those who have savings plus proceeds of their old home to spend, plus severe dementia. It is of course possible that your Mum is one of the minority.

If you are concerned about the risk of her running out of money you should see an Independent Financial Adviser and investigate how much it would cost to buy an Immediate Needs Annuity. Not to preserve the inheritance, but to ensure your mother has the money to meet her needs for the rest of her life, without falling on the tender mercy of the council.

On average the estate loses out from the purchase of a care annuity (that's how insurance works) but that's irrelevant, especially as somebody (you?) has Power of Attorney in place for her.