Home Ownership

ginnie20

I'm not sure if this is a house or tax question.
My 80 year old mom is moving out of her house into a small flat.
My dad has died and she wants me to take on the responsibility in the form of joint ownership with her for comfort. 
She will buy the flat with her own money and this will be her only house after the sale. On her own she will not be liable for stamp duty.
I own my own house. I will continue to live in my own house, I don't have any plans to live with my mom. 
Her idea is that we would be named as joint owners as part of the buying process. 
My understanding is that if we purchase together we will be liable for 2nd house stamp duty (that she could avoid on her own).
I am an only child and my mother will leave her estate to me. As far as I can tell it makes no difference if we own the property together from an inheritance tax point of view.

Is there any other advantage or disadvantage to being both listed on the initial purchase contracts (other than her peace of mind) from a tax point of view?
Is putting my name on the flat going to make me liable for some kind of tax because it's effectively a gift?
Is there a smarter way of giving my mum the comfort of joint ownership at a later stage? Is it as simple as applying to the land registry after the purchase?
Would I have to pay the stamp duty anyway or can it be avoided if you wait a certain time period? 
Thanks!

oldbikebloke

My understanding is that if we purchase together we will be liable for 2nd house stamp duty (that she could avoid on her own).

you should congratulate your mother on her willingness to support those less advantaged than her through causing the payment of voluntary tax to HM Govt and therefore in support of UK Plc

SDLT - correct the entire purchase cost will be subject to higher rate SDLT, so it will cost her +3% on her and your share compared to +0% were she sole owner 

I am an only child and my mother will leave her estate to me. As far as I can tell it makes no difference if we own the property together from an inheritance tax point of view.

you are wrong.
She is voluntarily hitting you with Capital Gains Tax payable when the property is sold on the basis during your ownership there is a period when it was not your main home. QED CGT. 
If we take as read that mother's estate is below the IHT threshold she is therefore ensuring that "her" money will now incur a tax payment that in normal circumatcnes would be £0
Were she sole owner, she could leave the property to you tax free.

WHY DO YOU "NEED" TO BE A CO-OWNER?

Jeremy535897

Co-ownership (as joint tenants) achieves nothing, except that the property would pass to you by survivorship rather than by will (which can be changed). It would be regarded as a deprivation of assets, so would not help to get any future care funded by the council. It would remain in her estate for inheritance tax as a gift with reservation (although her estate is probably well within the nil rate bands available), and there are the stamp duty and CGT downsides noted above. It would be better for you to have a lasting power of attorney, if that would give your mother peace of mind.

Keep_pedalling

The best thing you can do is to suggest instead that she puts a lasting power of attorney (LPA) in place. That  would enable you to act on her behalf for all financial matters whenever needed. 

ginnie20

We already have a lasting power of attorney and we haven't found it very helpful. She is still being asked to deal with and sign off papers herself. She is old and just doesn't want the bother of doing this but she still has the mental capacity so the expectation seems to be that she should still do it, even though i have an LPA.

Jeremy535897

Making you a joint owner of the property won't help. Presumably you can do all her banking online?

Keep_pedalling

ginnie20 said:

We already have a lasting power of attorney and we haven't found it very helpful. She is still being asked to deal with and sign off papers herself. She is old and just doesn't want the bother of doing this but she still has the mental capacity so the expectation seems to be that she should still do it, even though i have an LPA.

The LPA is not the problem it is the ignorant people you are dealing with. You really need to educate them  on what the powers of a LPA mean.

oldbikebloke

ginnie20 said:

We already have a lasting power of attorney and we haven't found it very helpful. She is still being asked to deal with and sign off papers herself. She is old and just doesn't want the bother of doing this but she still has the mental capacity so the expectation seems to be that she should still do it, even though i have an LPA.

making you co-owner will not affect that, and as explained, is counterproductive from a tax point of view 
as others have said, informing the relevant people that you can sign, and doing so, is what is really needed

getmore4less

IT is possible to have joint legal ownership and have her as sole beneficial owner.
Quite common where trusts are involved(all property is held as a trust by the legal owners anyway).

Not really that useful here as the goal is just "peace of mind"
maybe finding out what she thinks is solved by joint legal owners it may be possible to give the peace on mind another way

Jeremy535897

It would be a bare trust, and would need proper documentation.