Probate not started - Care home fees

Noneforit999

Hi

Unsure if this is the wrong section but figured I would ask anyway.

Wife’s Grandad died 15 months ago, house was changed to ‘tenants in common’ a number of years before this and he left his half to my Wife and her sister so 25% each in a Will. 

Probate has not been started yet for various reasons and looks like it will take 6-9 months possibly.

Her Gran may need to now go into a care home and they are likely to use her 50% of the house and her savings as assets and decide she has to fully fund the care home.

Does probate need to be done before this? What happens when they find out probate in in process on the 50% of the house her Gran doesn’t ‘own’ ?

They are not looking to hide assets and know full well her savings + 50% of the house will need to fund her care but my Wife and I need somewhere to live for 6-9 months due to completing on our house soon and buying a new build off plan and with her Grans going to be empty, if its likely to take that long to get probate and work out money for care home fees etc, it would save us renting. 

We don’t want to reserve the plot with a view to complete and move into her Nans house if they need to sell it to fund the care and we find ourselves looking for somewhere to live for a short time if we can help it. 

They know the house needs to be sold but if they can delay it as long as possible, it would be handy. 

Thanks

SeniorSam

The Will of your Wife's Grandad can be changed but only within 2 years of death. Such a change may be able to save up to the nil rate band allowance of £325,000 for future generations. Possibly more with the addition of the Residential allowance also available.  It is therefore essential that you take immediate steps to consult with a solicitor to seek his advice on this. Not doing so may result in a great deal of your family's wealth being lost, so do take action quickly.

Noneforit999

SeniorSam said:

The Will of your Wife's Grandad can be changed but only within 2 years of death. Such a change may be able to save up to the nil rate band allowance of £325,000 for future generations. Possibly more with the addition of the Residential allowance also available.  It is therefore essential that you take immediate steps to consult with a solicitor to seek his advice on this. Not doing so may result in a great deal of your family's wealth being lost, so do take action quickly.

Hi

They don’t want to change the will, it’s the fact they haven’t started probate yet. My understanding is they need probate first in order to change the deeds of the house to ensure my Wife and her Sister are 25% owner each as per the will leaving the remainder for her Gran to use towards the care home fees.

They don’t want to sell the house quickly, we want to delay it as long as possible.

Thanks

Keep_pedalling

I also done see how a DoV helps in this case, and as GF has left his share of the house to his GC his RNRB is available.

SeniorSam

A new Will can still comply with the wishes of your Wife's Grandad, so the beneficiaries will not change, neither will their share. However, a change may protect a good part of the estate so that the beneficiaries will get something, rather than almost nothing. It could be mainly lost in care charges if you leave it as it is. Speak with a solicitor so that you do understand it clearly.

Keep_pedalling

SeniorSam said:

A new Will can still comply with the wishes of your Wife's Grandad, so the beneficiaries will not change, neither will their share. However, a change may protect a good part of the estate so that the beneficiaries will get something, rather than almost nothing. It could be mainly lost in care charges if you leave it as it is. Speak with a solicitor so that you do understand it clearly.

Why would GFs half of the house be used for his wife’s care fees he has not left it to her?

Thrugelmir

Worth dealing with probate and getting the property into the correct ownership %'s ASAP.  Deal with one one thing at a time. Due process takes time. Over time what you can and cannot do will naturally become clearer. 

Noneforit999

Thanks for the replies.

To clarify, her Grandads half has been left to my wife and her sister in his will, 25% each. They were also tenants in common, I assume they had a good IFA some years back who advised this so not all the funds would need to pay care home fees etc.

The next step is probate and I would assume once this is granted the title deeds of the house are changed so her Grandad is removed and her and her sister added?

As this will take a long time to do, we are unsure what the council will do if she needs to have a care home before probate is granted as technically 50% of the house is still in Grandads name so unsure how that works. 

Mojisola

Noneforit999 said:

As this will take a long time to do, we are unsure what the council will do if she needs to have a care home before probate is granted as technically 50% of the house is still in Grandads name so unsure how that works. 

You can make a deferred payment arrangement with the council - the council puts a charge on the house and the debt is paid when the house is sold.

They will only pay up to their local limit so the rest of the bill will need to be paid from her savings. 

Don't sign a top-up fee agreement with the home - she will be a self-funder and is allowed to pay the difference from her own savings. 

elsien

SeniorSam said:

A new Will can still comply with the wishes of your Wife's Grandad, so the beneficiaries will not change, neither will their share. However, a change may protect a good part of the estate so that the beneficiaries will get something, rather than almost nothing. It could be mainly lost in care charges if you leave it as it is. Speak with a solicitor so that you do understand it clearly.

You mean prioritising the beneficiaries over Grandmother's potential standard of care? 
That's not what the OP is looking to do. 
As another poster says, deferred payment arrangement. And have a look at the 12 week disregard as well. 
Deferred payment agreements - Which?
Is there a power of attorney in place for Gran, as that will save a lot of strife if she loses capacity without one. 

Noneforit999

Ok so we’re not looking to avoid Care home fees, fully aware 50% of the house plus her savings will fund the care.

What we are hoping to do is delay having to sell the house for 9 months or so We can use it while waiting for our new build to be built. Sounds like a deferred payment play might be the best idea if the council will go for it.

She has enough in savings to pay for around 6 months of care anyway.

cheers