Give £s to sons/IHT/Dep of Assets

Nebulous2

I don't think anyone has answered your question about how the money would be recovered if you were assessed to have deliberately deprived yourself of assets. They don't recover it in that way, they simply assess you as still having it. So they wouldn't pay your care. Your sons would either have to pay it or look after you themselves.

JustAnotherSaver

From my personal experience -

Your money may buy you the nice care home that you speak of but it doesn’t guarantee buying you nice care. There’s a difference.

Now before others hop in saying they had someone who was taken care of wonderfully - read my opening 4 words.

Sea_Shell

Nebulous2 wrote: »

I don't think anyone has answered your question about how the money would be recovered if you were assessed to have deliberately deprived yourself of assets. They don't recover it in that way, they simply assess you as still having it. So they wouldn't pay your care. Your sons would either have to pay it or look after you themselves.

What if the money has GONE!! And nobody can afford to pay care, or even any top-up fees? Or not live anywhere near being able to offer care? Or only be in a 1 bed flat themselves?

Do local authorities really leave people to rot, starve, die in their beds in these circumstances.

(not taking sides, just trying to understand what would actually happen, rather than what might happen)

Linton

Sea_Shell wrote: »

What if the money has GONE!! And nobody can afford to pay care, or even any top-up fees? Or not live anywhere near being able to offer care? Or only be in a 1 bed flat themselves?

Do local authorities really leave people to rot, starve, die in their beds in these circumstances.

(not taking sides, just trying to understand what would actually happen, rather than what might happen)

The council can ask the courts for an order to recover the costs from the DoA gift recipients. If the recipients did not or could not comply the courts could do whatever they deem necessary. Ultimately I guess the council could be left with an unpaid debt on its books and the gift recipients bankrupt.

Keep_pedalling

Nebulous2 wrote: »

I don't think anyone has answered your question about how the money would be recovered if you were assessed to have deliberately deprived yourself of assets. They don't recover it in that way, they simply assess you as still having it. So they wouldn't pay your care. Your sons would either have to pay it or look after you themselves.

The question related to HMRC recovering IHT rather than care costs, and was not answered because it is never going to happen in his situation, or indeed 99.9999% of estates. As virtually all estates that fall into IHT territory involve property it is actually very difficult to leave an estate with insufficient assets to pay any IHT bill due.

As an extreme hypothetical example, Fred a divorcee with one son (Joe) lives in rented accommodation and has an estate of £825k. There is a potential IHT bill of £200k on the £500 that sits outside of Fred’s NRB.

2 years before Fred dies he gifts Joe £800k so his estate only has £25k in it and HMRC are still owed £200k, and Joe is responsible for the £175k shortfall. If Joe fails to pay then HMRC will enforce the payment (plus penalties) in any way possible, and unless he has blown the lot on the horses they are going to get their money one way or another.

castle96

soolin wrote: »

The one other thing I must ask, and then I'll shut up hijacking this thread, OP, is anyone at all pressurising you to do this?

I know that is an odd question but in my extended family some years back we had a person of about your age being pressurised by a child to hand everything over to them - it was being done in such a way as to not seem like pressure and to seem more like someone trying to help- but it was elder abuse in that the parent felt that they absolutely had to go ahead- despite the rest of the family trying to protect them.

If any other person is party to this decision, walk away, clear your head and speak to a disinterested third party to see how they view it.

No pressure from anywhere. All are my 'thoughts'

Keep_pedalling

castle96 wrote: »

No pressure from anywhere. All are my 'thoughts'

I just hope those thoughts have been modified somewhat since you started this thread.

castle96

yeah...…...

JustAnotherSaver

castle96 wrote: »

yeah...…...

Don’t worry, it’s not you, it’s the general viewpoint of the board. I have a mother who sounds pretty much exactly like you. Would like to split her cash between her kids, give us all everything etc because that’s just the way she is.

I’ve had it out to me on here before that I’m out for what I can grab. Absolute nonsense but that’s the nonsense you have to battle here I’m afraid. Just because there’s some people out there like that, we all get tarred with that brush.

Keep_pedalling

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Don’t worry, it’s not you, it’s the general viewpoint of the board. I have a mother who sounds pretty much exactly like you. Would like to split her cash between her kids, give us all everything etc because that’s just the way she is.

I’ve had it out to me on here before that I’m out for what I can grab. Absolute nonsense but that’s the nonsense you have to battle here I’m afraid. Just because there’s some people out there like that, we all get tarred with that brush.

It’s not nonsense it is common sense. I don’t think anyone here is against helping your children it is about balancing their needs against yours. I have seen what happens to people who are asset rich and cash poor. In their latter years they end up not being able to pay to keep their house in good order and end up living in squalor.

I would never let a parent do that to themselves, and neither would I do that to myself.