Understanding Dad's Will

msb1234

I wonder why the LA didn't take the house into consideration when carrying out your dad’s financial assessment. Your mum wasn’t living in it and I assume you're not over 60? 
However, what could happen in the future if your mum ends up needing residential care is that the house may have to be sold to pay for her care. Even if she signs the house over to you now, it would be deemed deprivation of assets. Does she have significant savings or income?

elsien

msb1234 said:

I wonder why the LA didn't take the house into consideration when carrying out your dad’s financial assessment. Your mum wasn’t living in it and I assume you're not over 60? 
However, what could happen in the future if your mum ends up needing residential care is that the house may have to be sold to pay for her care. Even if she signs the house over to you now, it would be deemed deprivation of assets. Does she have significant savings or income?

They wouldn’t  have needed to take the house into consideration if as a self-funder his pensions were sufficient to cover the cost.

And I’d change the “would” be DDA to “could” be DDA.

msb1234

elsien said:

msb1234 said:

I wonder why the LA didn't take the house into consideration when carrying out your dad’s financial assessment. Your mum wasn’t living in it and I assume you're not over 60? 
However, what could happen in the future if your mum ends up needing residential care is that the house may have to be sold to pay for her care. Even if she signs the house over to you now, it would be deemed deprivation of assets. Does she have significant savings or income?

They wouldn’t  have needed to take the house into consideration if as a self-funder his pensions were sufficient to cover the cost.

And I’d change the “would” be DDA to “could” be DDA.

He must have had some pension to afford care home fees - were talking over 3K a month.

elsien

Depends on the care home. The cheap ones by me are half that. 

stuhse

And with many people having private pensions he could have been in drawdown, ie you can withdraw as much as is needed.  The daughter has laid out quite clearly what the financial arrangements for paying the care home fees were. They self funded.

TBagpuss

miss_saski said:

stuhse said:

Does the will not leave her anything specifically ?

"If my said wife should survive me for thirty days I give all my real and personal property not  otherwise specifically disposed  of by this my Will or any Codicil hereto to my said wife absolutely or if for any reason my said wife shall fail to attain a vested interest therein the following provisions with regard thereto will apply"

Also, how were the care home fees paid for ?

No, nothing specific at all.

We - my mum, my full sisters and I - paid for dads care home fees until he hit pension age, which his pensions then covered.

Rob5342 said:

You don't need to get involved really, as executors your mum and sister are the ones to deal with it all. It was your Dad's decision so he is the only person your half sister can be unhappy with.

I am not trying to get involved in the process. My mum asked me to go through the house to see if I can find his Will as all his stuff was left here when he moved into the nursing home. I found it, she asked me to read it to find who was named as Executors and to get an idea of what was in it.

That is the worst thing she could have asked me to do, as that seed of doubt about the was then planted in my head, which has grown and spread. I have literally bitten all my nails off with worry. You may shrug it off because it is the norm to leave it to the wife, but I have many many "what ifs" pop into my head and I struggle to contain them.

Yes, I am already receiving therapy, and one of the coping mechanisms I have been taught is to seek reassurance and clarity where I can to stop the thought process. Hence, why I am here - I needed clarity on that statement, and reassurance that we are not going to lose the house. This is the only place I could think of to ask without paying.

You should be fine. If he didn't leave anything specific to his daughter elsewhere in the will then everything goes to your mum.

It would be sensible to talk to her to make sure that she has an up to date will - if she wants you to have the housethen she needs to ensure that her will says that.

If she wants to gift it (or part of it) to you then she can, but it would need the mortgage to be paid off. Equally, she could do a deed of variation to say the 50% your dad owns goes straight to you .

If your mum doesn't have / make a will then if she dies (provided that she survived at least 30 days after your dad's death) then her estate would pass in equal shares to you and your 2 siblings, but your stepsister wouldn't be entitled to anything as she isn't your mum's child (I assume she wasn't adopted?)