Buying a car for use by another member of family & POA

theoretica

sheramber said:

Surely, the best answer would come form the Office of Public Guardian

https://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/guardianship-orders/following-a-guardianship-order/when-to-ask-for-consent

That is for guardianship orders - something completely different.

Brie

It sounds like you're talking about trading up the current vehicle to get something that will ultimately be cheaper to run.  I can't see how this would be any issue whatsoever if you have a history of using it for her.  No one should expect you to not use it any other time.  

Others will have more knowledge about this but would anything be available via the Motability scheme??  As I understand it it doesn't mean you mom would need to be the driver but that the car is bought is appropriate for her as a passenger.

pollypenny

I'm glad your mum is doing well in a nearby care home.  I'm sure she'd prefer to be there, having had a choice of places. 

It's sad that she 'begrudges', and possibly you, paying for a good home and care.  Many people cannot. 

Beachflyer

sheramber said:

Surely, the best answer would come form the Office of Public Guardian

It's not quite as clear cut as that (and I'm in England). Mum often does have mental capacity but simply unable to process a transaction herself. She is now in a care home and there will come a time when the money runs out, and another time when she does lose capacity to make decisions.

I handle her money, from opening bank accounts to buying chocolate for the care home staff. I'm the sole attorney and the sole beneficiary of her will. I don't want anyone in the future to be able to say I did something wrong.

Today she was very clear that she wanted to pay for a car for us. If the car is purchased, mum is unlikely to be able to have any input to it, her words literally fail her, and I will have to use the POA as evidence I am able to sign on her behalf

Beachflyer

pollypenny said:

I'm glad your mum is doing well in a nearby care home.  I'm sure she'd prefer to be there, having had a choice of places. 

It's sad that she 'begrudges', and possibly you, paying for a good home and care.  Many people cannot. 

She's not using her money for a better home, she's having to use it to pay for what someone next to her gets it paid by the council.

Spendless

Beachflyer said:

pollypenny said:

I'm glad your mum is doing well in a nearby care home.  I'm sure she'd prefer to be there, having had a choice of places. 

It's sad that she 'begrudges', and possibly you, paying for a good home and care.  Many people cannot. 

She's not using her money for a better home, she's having to use it to pay for what someone next to her gets it paid by the council.

My Nan was in the same position, in a home where they took LA residents who paid the same. However IF it had all gone pear shaped and that home had not turned out to be the correct one for her, Mum could have used Nan's money to look elsewhere, it's just that a choice exists (whether that is taken or not). 

Annisele

Beachflyer said:

Would it be a gift? Ownership would remain with mum but for us to insure & use, including taking her out.

Does she actually want to buy a car for herself? Subject to the deprivation of assets issue, if she wants to give you £9k and has capacity to make that choice she's free to do so. I can certainly see the possiblity that she's made the rational choice that she'd get more pleasure from knowing that she's provided you with £9k worth of car than she would from knowing that she has an additional £9k in the bank.

If she has capacity to make the choice but can't manage the practicalities of transferring £9k to you, then I see no problem with you helping her with that. What I don't see is you saying that she's expressed any desire to own a car herself. Having the owner and keeper of a vehicle be different people is certainly possible, but comes with all sorts of complications that don't arise with a straight gift of money.

(If she doesn't have capacity to make the choice, then I think you're on dodgy ground with the whole affair.)

Beachflyer

Thanks for all the replies, I think I know the way forward.

Tax calcs kick in on death and apply if the inheritance + gifts are over £325K. Mum had about 130K when we lost dad and I started to help. That was around 100K when she went into care and is going down quickly thanks to care costs. When the house sells, the total will be under 300K. Adding the random amounts she has gifted over the last few years and, for example, 20K for a car, it's still under 325K.

I believe the above means I won't pay tax on the gifted money.

Care home costs and deprivation are another matter I need to get my head around these but if she gifted me 20K, the balance would pay for at least 9 years in the home at today's costs so I sort of feel OK doing it.

I've just read that the £23,250 upper capital limit changes to £100,000 in October 2025 😲 That could put a spanner in the works, LA funding kicking in earlier. Gifts might be seen as deprivation of assets. Might have to delete this thread 😂

tooldle

Be careful when projecting costs. My mum’s fees went from 43K to 49K this year. I’d expected an increase but not quite that much.

elsien

Beachflyer said:

Thanks for all the replies, I think I know the way forward.

Tax calcs kick in on death and apply if the inheritance + gifts are over £325K. Mum had about 130K when we lost dad and I started to help. That was around 100K when she went into care and is going down quickly thanks to care costs. When the house sells, the total will be under 300K. Adding the random amounts she has gifted over the last few years and, for example, 20K for a car, it's still under 325K.

I believe the above means I won't pay tax on the gifted money.

Care home costs and deprivation are another matter I need to get my head around these but if she gifted me 20K, the balance would pay for at least 9 years in the home at today's costs so I sort of feel OK doing it.

I've just read that the £23,250 upper capital limit changes to £100,000 in October 2025 😲 That could put a spanner in the works, LA funding kicking in earlier. Gifts might be seen as deprivation of assets. Might have to delete this thread 😂

That’s been kicked further down the line once already. I wouldn’t hold my breath about it actually happening in 2025.
How long has your mum been in the care home for? I found that my grandmother went from wanting to go out to not feeling confident going out very quickly indeed. Everyone is different but her use of the car might be more limited than either of you expect at the moment.