Care Home fees - house sale

cooper2021

Hi all, I have POA for a relative who has gone into residential care following the death of her husband in April. She has savings of around £40k which will last a few months to cover the cost of the home. She has a house which I have put on the market (at her request) to ensure she will have sufficient funds to continue staying in the home. The house is left to a step "child" in her will and he has now contacted me to ask how much the house is selling for and how much her monthly fees are. My understanding was that the house is hers to sell (she has sole title) and that if the house was sold before she died the funds would be part of her estate - which the step child is not a beneficiary of (no love lost there!). I have no issue in telling him what he wants to know - but a bit concerned as to why he is asking.....just wanted some advice really as to what I should do.

The_Unready

Does he live in said house?

cooper2021

No - she lived there along after her husband died 

cooper2021

*alone.....

Brie

Well in my opinion he's not actually entitled to any information.  Particularly if there's no ongoing positive relationship between the two.  Of course he could google the house on RightMove or wherever and find out the selling price himself.  But her fees are none of his business. 

I wonder if he's considering paying the fees to ensure he inherits?  If this is the case there's nothing to stop your relative from changing her will - assuming she's still of sound mind (which sounds like she might be).

Maybe the polite thing to say is that no one is entitled to an inheritance so he'll have to wait until his "step mom" dies to find out if there is anything coming his way.

Keep_pedalling

I am a bit confused as you say he has been left the house but not a beneficiary of the estate. I assume by this you mean he is not a residual beneficiary so his bequest bequest will fail if the house is sold before she dies.

The only obligation you have is to act in her best interests and he has no business knowing how much her fees are, he can easily find out the asking price himself.

You have no choice other than sell the house as £40k will not last long. Are you one of the residual beneficiaries? 

elsien

He hasn’t got an inheritance until she dies. She’s not dead, it’s her estate to do with as she wishes and it’s her business who she tells about it.
I would just explain that you are not willing to breach her personal confidentiality, with regards to her finances.

an old acquaintance of mine used to call her relatives “the vultures”. She left her estate to them, but she had no time for them at all. 

Gavin83

There seems to be an aspect of this story that isn't being told here. I will assume from what you've written that your relative and the stepson don't get on. How/why has he been left the property in the will but not actually be a beneficiary of the will? I'm assuming it was originally his dads house or something along the lines and therefore some agreement was made but I'd be interested in the layout of this.

As a relative with PoA are you a beneficiary of her will?

Does your relative still have capacity?

cooper2021

Keep_pedalling said:

I am a bit confused as you say he has been left the house but not a beneficiary of the estate. I assume by this you mean he is not a residual beneficiary so his bequest bequest will fail if the house is sold before she dies.

The only obligation you have is to act in her best interests and he has no business knowing how much her fees are, he can easily find out the asking price himself.

You have no choice other than sell the house as £40k will not last long. Are you one of the residual beneficiaries? 

The house is named specifically in her will as going to him. I think this was an agreement she had with her husband (as its his son from a previous marriage). There is no mention of any sale proceeds etc. being held for him. I am a beneficiary of her will with two others on the "residual  estate". I just want to make sure I don't do anything which will cause an issue in the future but she needs to sell the house to pay for the care home she now lives in. 

cooper2021

Gavin83 said:

There seems to be an aspect of this story that isn't being told here. I will assume from what you've written that your relative and the stepson don't get on. How/why has he been left the property in the will but not actually be a beneficiary of the will? I'm assuming it was originally his dads house or something along the lines and therefore some agreement was made but I'd be interested in the layout of this.

As a relative with PoA are you a beneficiary of her will?

Does your relative still have capacity?

Gavin83 said:

There seems to be an aspect of this story that isn't being told here. I will assume from what you've written that your relative and the stepson don't get on. How/why has he been left the property in the will but not actually be a beneficiary of the will? I'm assuming it was originally his dads house or something along the lines and therefore some agreement was made but I'd be interested in the layout of this.

As a relative with PoA are you a beneficiary of her will?

Does your relative still have capacity?

They hate each other - no other way to put it. I think her will was based on her deceased husbands wish that his son got the house eventually, although her husbands will left everything to her - no mention at all of the son. Its all a bit touchy.....The house was held jointly by my relative and her husband and passed to her solely on his death. Yes, I am a beneficiary - with two others. And she most definitely has capacity....she has already been speaking to her solicitors regarding the sale of the house and the fact she wants me to deal with it for her - and I already have her POA. 

cooper2021

My issue really was what I should be telling her stepson, and the feeling I have now is that he can find the house price out himself via usual house sale sites - Rightmove etc and as far as her care home fees go, its her business and her business alone.