Loan to dying parent

lisyloo

my mother is dying (she’s been given 12 weeks and that was 6 weeks ago). She’s currently privately pays for care (24/7 plus 3 daily visits for pad change as she’s bed bound).

She has qualified for CHC and is on the fast track awaiting personal health budget to be signed off (she wants her own private female carers known to her not local authority carers given her care involves washing/changing pads). Meanwhile she’s running out of cash. She is tenant in common for 50% of a bungalow with my step brother who inherited the other 50% when his father died.

She refuses a nursing home and also equity release (which would take more time than she has).

I have offered a loan and would appreciate thoughts.

1. what is the best instrument? Promissory note? Codicil? Charge on property? I’ve called the solicitors but the will people said they don’t know about loans so this would be helpful to at least navigate me to the right department ! I’m a 25% beneficiary with my siblings and joint executor. My aim is for this to be a loan and to be paid prior to the 25% distribution and for that to be done legally.

2. Is the charge on the house complicated by the fact that she’s tenant in common? I.e. does the other party need to agree?

3. Ideally I’d like to get paid back first if there is remaining cash because if it’s after 6/4/27 e.g. house sale, I’ll lose the 2026/2027 ISA allowance forever. Is there a way to specify that?

Thanks in advance. I am trying to engage with solicitors and have told them it’s relatively urgent, but any thoughts would help put me in the right direction.

Brie

can't help but just wanted to say I wish you fortitude at this difficult time.

Brie

Oh! is she getting attendance allowance? there's a fast track for that if she isn't.

lisyloo

she gets disability living allowance and has a car (obviously she can’t drive now being bed bound but my sister does a lot of errands for her). Perhaps she should get rid of the car but she’s compos mentis and makes her own decisions.

You cannot get DLA and AA but thanks anyway.

Albermarle

Clearly a very distressing time.

I can not really comment on the loan situation, except to say it sounds like it will be difficult to setup satisfactorily.

She has qualified for CHC and is on the fast track awaiting personal health budget to be signed off (she wants her own private female carers known to her not local authority carers given her care involves washing/changing pads)

Although the funding from CHC is normally very helpful, they do put some restrictions on how you spend the money and some limits. Have a look at this thread, although it will unfortunately not be very comforting reading.

Personal Health Budget (PHB) and Continuing Healthcare (CHC)  — MoneySavingExpert Forum

AFAIK nowadays the local authority do not employ any carers directly. They just use private agencies themselves. In any case as she will have CHC funding the LA will not be involved anyway .

poseidon1

From a practical standpoint trying to register a charge on the property subject to the terms of an IPDI trust in the time span prior to your mother's expected demise maybe optimistic.

At the very least you need to advise the step son of your intentions, to preempt him raising any objections to such a charge assuming he has a Form A restriction on title in his favour.

Seems to me that assuming your immediate sibling is aware of your intention to make this loan and agree it will have first call on your mother's estate prior to all other beneficial entitlements, then a simple loan agreement 'facility' repayable on demand or death would seem the expedient approach.

I say loan facility, on the basis you make the loan on a periodic drawdown ( weekly?) basis, rather than provide the entire £40k up front. If your mother is ailing rapidly, it would seem to make more sense to restrict loan advances to what is required by her to pay for weekly care, thereby minimising the actual loan outstanding on her eventual demise assuming the facility has not been entirely drawn down by then.

As for eventual repayment of your outstanding loan, if this is ultimately dependant on the property sale, maybe ambitious to expect this to be completed in time to beat the end of the 2026/27 ISA season, given it will be a joint sale by estate executors and IPDI trustee.

Daniel54

I’m very sorry for your situation - I had similar a few years ago for my late mother,who had live in carers.It took quite some time to obtain CHC funding,and when it came through it was paid directly to the agency employing the carers.But still needed topping up.I did have a discussion with the carers agency and they agreed to reduce their fees to assist .

As there was no will trust and just my sister as co- beneficiary,I kept her informed of my contributions and we simply deducted those from the immediate cash left in the estate

I had also made a loan to my mother earlier on,which was evidenced by a loan document drafted by solicitors and appropriately witnessed .

.I would suggest that could well be the best way for you to go ( the loan document/letter was not complicated,but meant the loan could be immediately repaid and therefore deducted from the value of the estate.

Keep_pedalling

Who has she appointed as executor of her estate? Will you the sole beneficiary of her estate?

lisyloo

my sister and I are executors. There are also 2 brothers so 4 children in total.

we did some caring ourselves initially but it got past what we could manage with our jobs

lisyloo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82099550#Comment_82099550

that looks like it’s going to be an issue. They are professional carers but I think it’s a private arrangement.

lisyloo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82099635#Comment_82099635

So one issue is that there is no agency. It’s a private arrangement.

I believe my mum was assuming a PHB was a pot of cash.