Help to buy ISA as an (eventual) beneficiary

AllTheAls · 4 November 2019 at 8:01PM

Hi, I was wondering if people can help. I've had a read on related posts, and government documentation but I'm not really sure still.

I'm interested in opening a help to buy ISA before they stop being offered. I do not own a home and I have never bought one. However, I do note that if you are beneficiary of a trust you aren't eligible. What I'm not sure about is whether this applies in my case or not. My dad passed away last year. His property (including house) was put into trust, ultimately for me and my siblings, but only on the death of my mum (who is, touch wood(!) fit and well, thankfully). None of us are trustees - it is currently being managed by somebody else entirely. The situation is very complex at the moment and there is in fact a possibility that the trust will be dissolved and the property will simply pass to my mum directly. There are also significant debts attached to the estate which need to be settled, further complicating matters.

I assume that technically, I am therefore a beneficiary of a house? However in practice, I'm no more a beneficiary than anybody whose living parents own property and thus have the *potential* to one day inherit (I stress potential, because the financial situation is such that it is a significant possibility that there won't be an estate to inherit, in the case of my mums eventual passing). Therefore, am I technically still ineligible for such an ISA, or not?

Thoughts appreciated, thanks.

masonic · 4 November 2019 at 8:37PM

From what you've written, you are not an ongoing beneficiary of the trust as you are not currently entitled to the income or assets of the trust, nor have you been in the past. So it seems to me that you are currently eligible for a HTB ISA.