Help! Is my mum still eligible for inheritance?

DairyQueen

Mob1985 said:

My mum has been told she was eligible for carer’s allowance but has never taken money out. 

Afraid not. Nan is already being cared for 24/7 by the care home and Carer's Allowance can't be claimed for running errands, shopping, managing finances, etc. for someone who is in residential care. 

Nan is entitled to Attendance Allowance if she is paying her own fees (self-funding)  but if she is funded by the Local Authority then this benefit will be foregone.

As others have said, if your gt grandparents legally adopted mum then, in law, mum is now nan's sister and not nan's daughter. If nan has other (non-adopted) children, and if she dies intestate, then mum will not inherit. Nan must make a will in order to include mum as an heir.

It is also wise for anyone in residential care to create a PoA. If nan loses capacity then the LA may manage her affairs until/unless someone is appointed deputy by the Court of Protection. Mum would need to apply and it can be a lengthy and costly process. 

elsien

Malthusian said:

Torry_Quine said:

Unless specifically mentioned in a will then she wouldn't inherit as a child.
Also she shouldn't be accessing the bank account

She may have a third party mandate. I'm erring on the side of being charitable, but "goes to the bank and withdraws money" suggests to me that the bank are fully aware. If she went to an ATM with her mother's card and her PIN, that would be different.

It may have been put in place before Nan went into the care home, but if she’s since lost capacity the bank may be none the wiser. There’s a fair few people drawing money out of relative’s accounts with cards and PIN, or third party mandate  and keeping quiet about it when capacity changes (with the best of motives) either from ignorance or because it’s the easy option and not realising how it could potentially come back and bite them on the bum.  My nieces did it, even though we told them the third party mandate was no longer lawful.