Selling my parent's home whist in care.

greatcrested

Beatboy said:

frogglet said:

On  another note have you thought about using your mums yearly gift allowance.

What is a yearly gift allowance?

Anyone can make limited annual gifts which are exempt from Inheritance Tax if the donor dies.

However as already explained, as POA you cannot suddenly start giving away her money annually any more than you can give away the proceeds of the house sale before her death.

[Deleted User]

68ComebackSpecial said:

frogglet said:

On  another note have you thought about using your mums yearly gift allowance.

That would only be deemed reasonable if it followed a pattern established by the mother prior to her illness and the POA being invoked. If she typically gave/ spent £25 per person as a birthday gift it would not be reasonable to increase it to £1,000. 

That's not on the agenda anyway. My main concern is not being able to maintain the house. I am also aware that CHC funding is reviewed 3 months after awarded and anually thereafter. Wthout going into details there are other key factors in her requirements apart from the dementia. Thanks for your advice.

DairyQueen

68ComebackSpecial said:

frogglet said:

On  another note have you thought about using your mums yearly gift allowance.

That would only be deemed reasonable if it followed a pattern established by the mother prior to her illness and the POA being invoked. If she typically gave/ spent £25 per person as a birthday gift it would not be reasonable to increase it to £1,000. 

^^ This.

OPG takes a dim view of any attorney who 'gifts' anything inconsistent with the vulnerable person's pre-POA pattern. I know of one attorney who gifted themselves £15k from their mother's assets after she moved into care. That didn't end well for the attorney.

Acting as attorney for a vulnerable person requires the same level of professionalism and integrity as a solicitor or accountant. Suggest that OP reads the government guidelines in order to avoid the consequences suffered in the above example. Rule 1: you must always act in the interests, and only in the interests, of the person for whom you are the attorney.

[Deleted User]

DairyQueen said:

68ComebackSpecial said:

frogglet said:

On  another note have you thought about using your mums yearly gift allowance.

That would only be deemed reasonable if it followed a pattern established by the mother prior to her illness and the POA being invoked. If she typically gave/ spent £25 per person as a birthday gift it would not be reasonable to increase it to £1,000. 

^^ This.

OPG takes a dim view of any attorney who 'gifts' anything inconsistent with the vulnerable person's pre-POA pattern. I know of one attorney who gifted themselves £15k from their mother's assets after she moved into care. That didn't end well for the attorney.

Acting as attorney for a vulnerable person requires the same level of professionalism and integrity as a solicitor or accountant. Suggest that OP reads the government guidelines in order to avoid the consequences suffered in the above example. Rule 1: you must always act in the interests, and only in the interests, of the person for whom you are the attorney.

If you read my other posts you will see that I have no intention of gifting anybody and I am acting in my mother's best interests as I've done all my adult life.

AdrianC

Beatboy said:

DairyQueen said:

OPG takes a dim view of any attorney who 'gifts' anything inconsistent with the vulnerable person's pre-POA pattern. I know of one attorney who gifted themselves £15k from their mother's assets after she moved into care. That didn't end well for the attorney.

Acting as attorney for a vulnerable person requires the same level of professionalism and integrity as a solicitor or accountant. Suggest that OP reads the government guidelines in order to avoid the consequences suffered in the above example. Rule 1: you must always act in the interests, and only in the interests, of the person for whom you are the attorney.

If you read my other posts you will see that I have no intention of gifting anybody and I am acting in my mother's best interests as I've done all my adult life.

You say you have no intention of making a gift to anybody, but let's look back at the original post with which you started the thread...

Beatboy said:

My mother is currently in care and paying for it. A  deferred payment agreement on the property is currently in place but I am fighting to get her Continuous Healthcare Funding. I have power of atourney over her financial affairs. There are two beneficiaries in her will; myself and my neice ( my deseaced brother's daughter). I am not in a position to keep and maintain the house so I would like to sell it and put the money from the sale into a holding account until she passes. I need to hold on to the money in case I lose my case and have to cough up for the deferred payments. If I win the case and my mother receives NHS funding, am I in a position to give my niece her share of the house whilst my mother is still alive?

That post is doing nothing BUT asking about making a very substantial gift from your mother to your niece.

I know you went on to clarify it as "hypothetical", but the fact is that the thread started with you asking about making a substantial gift.

And the answer to that question is simple - it is not in your mother's interests for half of her assets to be given away while she is still alive. It wouldn't be in her best interests if she did it, and the fact that you would be doing it in her place under PoA doesn't change that.

The question of whether you CAN sell the house is similarly simple - yes, but the charge needs to be lifted, and that'll require the debt to be settled from the completion funds.

BTW, I presume the PoA is the Property & Finance one, registered with the OPG? I hope you also have the Health & Welfare one similarly registered... Good luck, and I'm going to make the same book recommendation as I always do in dementia threads... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0091901812

[Deleted User]

AdrianC said:

Beatboy said:

DairyQueen said:

OPG takes a dim view of any attorney who 'gifts' anything inconsistent with the vulnerable person's pre-POA pattern. I know of one attorney who gifted themselves £15k from their mother's assets after she moved into care. That didn't end well for the attorney.

Acting as attorney for a vulnerable person requires the same level of professionalism and integrity as a solicitor or accountant. Suggest that OP reads the government guidelines in order to avoid the consequences suffered in the above example. Rule 1: you must always act in the interests, and only in the interests, of the person for whom you are the attorney.

If you read my other posts you will see that I have no intention of gifting anybody and I am acting in my mother's best interests as I've done all my adult life.

You say you have no intention of making a gift to anybody, but let's look back at the original post with which you started the thread...

Beatboy said:

My mother is currently in care and paying for it. A  deferred payment agreement on the property is currently in place but I am fighting to get her Continuous Healthcare Funding. I have power of atourney over her financial affairs. There are two beneficiaries in her will; myself and my neice ( my deseaced brother's daughter). I am not in a position to keep and maintain the house so I would like to sell it and put the money from the sale into a holding account until she passes. I need to hold on to the money in case I lose my case and have to cough up for the deferred payments. If I win the case and my mother receives NHS funding, am I in a position to give my niece her share of the house whilst my mother is still alive?

That post is doing nothing BUT asking about making a very substantial gift from your mother to your niece.

I know you went on to clarify it as "hypothetical", but the fact is that the thread started with you asking about making a substantial gift.

And the answer to that question is simple - it is not in your mother's interests for half of her assets to be given away while she is still alive. It wouldn't be in her best interests if she did it, and the fact that you would be doing it in her place under PoA doesn't change that.

The question of whether you CAN sell the house is similarly simple - yes, but the charge needs to be lifted, and that'll require the debt to be settled from the completion funds.

BTW, I presume the PoA is the Property & Finance one, registered with the OPG? I hope you also have the Health & Welfare one similarly registered... Good luck, and I'm going to make the same book recommendation as I always do in dementia threads... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0091901812

I know what I wrote and the gifting was one of several points.  I opened with advice on selling the house not the gift. If all you want to do is twist my words, then your comments are not wanted. I posted here for advice only, not judgment.

Stubod

..I have re read your post, and the ONLY question you asked is whether you could gift your niece some money??

[Deleted User]

Stubod said:

..I have re read your post, and the ONLY question you asked is whether you could gift your niece some money??

Prior to that I wrote this "I am not in a position to keep and maintain the house so I would like to sell it and put the money from the sale into a holding account until she passes. I need to hold on to the money in case I lose my case and have to cough up for the deferred payments" I later clarified by stating the other question was hyperthetical, My first time on this forum and people are twisting my words. I'll seek legal advice, that I can trust without judgment. Thank you very much.

[Deleted User]

I have edited my original post so the correct question can be addressed.

wilfred30

As far as I can tell, the change you've made to your original post makes no difference to the answers you have already received.