Joint inheritance moral and logistical dilemma.

Geriatricmum

itsthelittlethings said:

Maybe you should sell all the properties if and when you inherit them, your sister can buy a place to live in (I guess she may need some help with that depending how severe her learning difficulty is) and then you use the money to set yourself up as a landlord to finance your little self build project?

My parents bought the house outright that she lives in now with them and put it in her name so she will always have somewhere to live - as long as she keeps up with the financial management of it. 

I have though of this but I don't want to sell the flat in London it's a brilliant asset to have. The flats in Spain generate enough rental income that my sister could live off for the rest of her life in luxury ( if she spends it correctly). 

I don't think my sister would agree to sell the flats. We've been told not to by my parents and she's not going to go against them even after they are gone. 

Flugelhorn

Geriatricmum said:

itsthelittlethings said:

Maybe you should sell all the properties if and when you inherit them, your sister can buy a place to live in (I guess she may need some help with that depending how severe her learning difficulty is) and then you use the money to set yourself up as a landlord to finance your little self build project?

My parents bought the house outright that she lives in now with them and put it in her name so she will always have somewhere to live - as long as she keeps up with the financial management of it. 

I have though of this but I don't want to sell the flat in London it's a brilliant asset to have. The flats in Spain generate enough rental income that my sister could live off for the rest of her life in luxury ( if she spends it correctly). 

I don't think my sister would agree to sell the flats. We've been told not to by my parents and she's not going to go against them even after they are gone. 

guess the problem may be the maintenance of the flats etc 

Geriatricmum

p00hsticks said:

Geriatricmum said:

I will look up power of attorney. I take it this is something that can be applied to the flat in London so I essentially take control over her half of the property? Can I borrow against the flat without her having to be on any remortgage? 

Power of Attorney doesn't sound appropriate here - it gives you the authority to handle someone's financial or welfare needs on their behalf, but you must always act in their (not your) best interests and (unless they have lost their mental capacity) follow their wishes. It would create more ties to your sister and additional responsibilities for you and it doesn't seem as if that's what you want. 
 

It is not at all. I don't want her to squander her money and end up destitute but if she does it's not my fault as I'm not responsible for her.

I would be prepared to manage the properties and give my sister her half of any income from them but they would all have to be under my name 100% so I am not financially tied to her. I also suggested this... It didn't go down well. 

Geriatricmum

Flugelhorn said:

I think underneath this the real problem is what is to happen to the sister - suspect your parents are just assuming that you will carry on as they have done - sorting her finances etc etc - and understandably you don't want to & definitely don't want your finances entangled . It can be a big burden if you are not emotionally close to someone  and while she may accept her parents doing all this - would she be happy with you doing it anyway?

My sister is used to having everything done for her. She's coasting through life and happy to have no responsibility. She would not protest to me being her life manager after they die and probably expects it.

I also have the added problem of unscrupulous extended family in Spain. Both my parents have been financially taken advantage of by their siblings and my uncle recently transferred all of my aunts assets to him (she has dementia) luckily my dad found out and they are reversing this.

My sister being isolated after their deaths puts her in a vulnerable position with extended family considering her learning difficulties.

I have alot on my mind just now. 

Keep_pedalling

Geriatricmum said:

p00hsticks said:

Geriatricmum said:

I will look up power of attorney. I take it this is something that can be applied to the flat in London so I essentially take control over her half of the property? Can I borrow against the flat without her having to be on any remortgage? 

Power of Attorney doesn't sound appropriate here - it gives you the authority to handle someone's financial or welfare needs on their behalf, but you must always act in their (not your) best interests and (unless they have lost their mental capacity) follow their wishes. It would create more ties to your sister and additional responsibilities for you and it doesn't seem as if that's what you want. 
 

It is not at all. I don't want her to squander her money and end up destitute but if she does it's not my fault as I'm not responsible for her.

I would be prepared to manage the properties and give my sister her half of any income from them but they would all have to be under my name 100% so I am not financially tied to her. I also suggested this... It didn't go down well. 

That is an absolute non starter, I am not surprised it did not go down well. Your sister would be totally dependant on you and you could withdraw paying her any time. Your death could leave her with no income. It would also be a mess for both income tax and IHT. 

Sarahspangles

What are the arrangements in Spain for someone who lacks capacity, if there is nobody in the family able/willing to act for them? Is there a scenario where you hand your sister’s care to whatever that authority is? Even if you got on with your sister, you’re in another country with a family of your own.

Mands

Geriatricmum said:

p00hsticks said:

Geriatricmum said:

I will look up power of attorney. I take it this is something that can be applied to the flat in London so I essentially take control over her half of the property? Can I borrow against the flat without her having to be on any remortgage? 

Power of Attorney doesn't sound appropriate here - it gives you the authority to handle someone's financial or welfare needs on their behalf, but you must always act in their (not your) best interests and (unless they have lost their mental capacity) follow their wishes. It would create more ties to your sister and additional responsibilities for you and it doesn't seem as if that's what you want. 
 

It is not at all. I don't want her to squander her money and end up destitute but if she does it's not my fault as I'm not responsible for her.

I would be prepared to manage the properties and give my sister her half of any income from them but they would all have to be under my name 100% so I am not financially tied to her. I also suggested this... It didn't go down well. 

Why would your sister's assets need to be in your name? 

You mentioned asking your parents to put property in your name now to avoid UK inheritance tax. How do you think that would work? If they are still taking the rental income then surely it's a PET? 

It seems you have two aims: to keep yours and your sisters finances entirely separate AND retain the London property. Those two aims seem at odds to me. You can achieve one or the other, not both. So which is more important to you?

Geriatricmum

Mands said:

Geriatricmum said:

p00hsticks said:

Geriatricmum said:

I will look up power of attorney. I take it this is something that can be applied to the flat in London so I essentially take control over her half of the property? Can I borrow against the flat without her having to be on any remortgage? 

Power of Attorney doesn't sound appropriate here - it gives you the authority to handle someone's financial or welfare needs on their behalf, but you must always act in their (not your) best interests and (unless they have lost their mental capacity) follow their wishes. It would create more ties to your sister and additional responsibilities for you and it doesn't seem as if that's what you want. 
 

It is not at all. I don't want her to squander her money and end up destitute but if she does it's not my fault as I'm not responsible for her.

I would be prepared to manage the properties and give my sister her half of any income from them but they would all have to be under my name 100% so I am not financially tied to her. I also suggested this... It didn't go down well. 

Why would your sister's assets need to be in your name? 

You mentioned asking your parents to put property in your name now to avoid UK inheritance tax. How do you think that would work? If they are still taking the rental income then surely it's a PET? 

It seems you have two aims: to keep yours and your sisters finances entirely separate AND retain the London property. Those two aims seem at odds to me. You can achieve one or the other, not both. So which is more important to you?

I want the London property to be solely in my name and for the Spanish properties to be solely in my sisters name. This way we are not tied financially and can live our lives independently once my parents are gone. 

Geriatricmum

Keep_pedalling said:

Geriatricmum said:

p00hsticks said:

Geriatricmum said:

I will look up power of attorney. I take it this is something that can be applied to the flat in London so I essentially take control over her half of the property? Can I borrow against the flat without her having to be on any remortgage? 

Power of Attorney doesn't sound appropriate here - it gives you the authority to handle someone's financial or welfare needs on their behalf, but you must always act in their (not your) best interests and (unless they have lost their mental capacity) follow their wishes. It would create more ties to your sister and additional responsibilities for you and it doesn't seem as if that's what you want. 
 

It is not at all. I don't want her to squander her money and end up destitute but if she does it's not my fault as I'm not responsible for her.

I would be prepared to manage the properties and give my sister her half of any income from them but they would all have to be under my name 100% so I am not financially tied to her. I also suggested this... It didn't go down well. 

That is an absolute non starter, I am not surprised it did not go down well. Your sister would be totally dependant on you and you could withdraw paying her any time. Your death could leave her with no income. It would also be a mess for both income tax and IHT. 

I'm just having a brain dump. If they expect me to continue to financially manage my sister I will only do it on my terms. 

I don't want to leave my sister with no income but I dont want to have to go to her for approval everytime I want to do something with the properties. It'll be a power trip for her. 

Geriatricmum

Sarahspangles said:

What are the arrangements in Spain for someone who lacks capacity, if there is nobody in the family able/willing to act for them? Is there a scenario where you hand your sister’s care to whatever that authority is? Even if you got on with your sister, you’re in another country with a family of your own.

I don't know. I'd need to do a bit of research. I don't want to suggest my sister undergoes some sort of analysis to determine her capacity my parents won't allow it and will insist she is capable and she'll be OK as they have been doing.

The thing is I believe my sister could be capable of managing her own life, she just hasn't been for the last 44 years. She won't be able to just pick it up once they are gone. They should be handing over financial management of the home to her now so they can guide her through her mistakes whilst they are still here... But they won't.