Imminent passing of my father but all of his money is in my bank account - I’m not sure what to do

BillieBoy

Thank you in advance for all of your assistance. My father is in a nursing home and asked me to sell his home on his behalf and distribute the funds as I see fit. Obviously due to rules around the disposal of assets I told him that the money would go in to his account and it would pay all of his fees should he live forever as hoped 😀 The sale went through two weeks ago but the money is still in my account due to a query around the solicitors costs that should have been covered by the EA, not by my father.

in the meantime my father has been taken very ill and the prognosis is extremely poor. 

Am I meant to transfer the funds to his bank account now, with the outstanding query, so that it would be included in his estate for probate purposes? It is over the tax threshold. Can I transfer it after he passes? 

I have it in writing from him, albeit a text saying that he wants me to keep the money and distribute it as I see fit to my brother and sister and charities (whilst he is alive) but this didn’t feel right.

What should I do?

Keep_pedalling

Really you should have opened a separate account in his name to hold the money from the house sale. You are quite right not to give his money away. 

Does he have a will, and if so are your the executor?

BillieBoy

I couldn’t open a separate account in his name as he doesn’t have any current ID. I could have possibly opened one with his own bank however a close family member stole a large sum of money from my father 18 months ago and would potentially have gained access through my father’s phone (long story but suffice to stay the money was much safer in my account)

yes, I am one of two executors. 

Brie

Ultimately the thing to do is to keep meticulous records of what you have and why.  Let the other executor know.  The last thing you want on top of anything else is someone to accuse of being underhanded - which doesn't sound the case but people are very strange in stressful times.

Sorry about your father - I hope that you have the strength for the all the things to come.

BillieBoy

I have I have very detailed records of everything with the other executor having full disclosure. We are also joint POA, with the third sibling having been removed following theft. 

Should I transfer the funds now or can it still be taken in to consideration for probate purposes where it is?

bobster2

Even if you don't transfer the money prior to his passing - when the time comes the money can form part of his estate - even if it's in your account at that point. The Executors for his estate can just list it as a debt owed to the estate when valuing the estate - and you can just pay it back into the estate at that point.

Teapot55

I would have thought that the money would be safer in your account if there’s a risk of unauthorised access to your father’s account. 

getmore4less

The disadvantage of transferring the funds is they will get frozen, less of an issue with no house.

You have documentation that you were trustee for the money.

This assumes he still had capacity.

Where it currently it  is largely irrelevant as the IHT capital return is a paper exercise on assets at DOD.

Any gifting this late just changes where it  goes on the forms.

Once father passed you can't gift any more his will or intestate rules kick in


Confused by the solicitors fees  paid by EA, normally the solicitors pay the estate agents and themselves from the proceeds of the sale.

BillieBoy

As part of the EA offer they agreed to include the solicitor’s fees in their 1% but when the funds were transferred the solicitor’s costs were much higher than what could reasonably be expected to just be disbursements. They took their time providing their breakdown which showed that I had indeed been charged for their services so I am waiting for it to be recalculated. 

Marcon

BillieBoy said:

I have I have very detailed records of everything with the other executor having full disclosure. We are also joint POA, with the third sibling having been removed following theft. 

Should I transfer the funds now or can it still be taken in to consideration for probate purposes where it is?

You don't need to transfer the funds at all. They still belong to your father and are simply being held by you on his behalf. They need to be declared on the probate application.