Will when one of a couple in care home
Discussion
My dad mentioned in passing that he had been talking to someone in the week about writing a will. Apparently he didnt already have one.
My mum is in a care home with dementia. He was concerned that if something happened to him his part of the estate would pass to mum and then disappear in care home fees.
He was advised that he needed to change his tenancy to “jointly and severally “ to ring fence his half of house and his savings.
Does this sound reasonable?
I am not sure how he started this process but he has form recently for buying things from people who knock on the door
My mum is in a care home with dementia. He was concerned that if something happened to him his part of the estate would pass to mum and then disappear in care home fees.
He was advised that he needed to change his tenancy to “jointly and severally “ to ring fence his half of house and his savings.
Does this sound reasonable?
I am not sure how he started this process but he has form recently for buying things from people who knock on the door
Yes it is reasonably, i had to do exactly the same when my wife was in care with Dementia, also make sure he has an LPA (Lasting Power of Attourney) for your mum, or you get one for the both of them so that you can check on ther financial arrangements and everything is correctly going out of their accounts to the correct places/people.
If you or your father do not have an existing power of attorney ( note this cannot be done now ) for your mother , how exactly would the property ownesrship be changed ?
What I am hinting at , a person not having capacity CANNOT act on thier own behalf in such matters and without POA , another person cannot.
A power of attorney cannot be created in the normal fashion for a person who does not still have capacity.
Further edit : Under The Mental Capacity Act 2005, a court appointed deputy can be created for both personal and financial matters for a person witthout capacity. This is NOT a trivial process and in any case the PROPERTY provisions even withing that once granted are special and require a court order to buy/sell/ transfer a "property" In such case also, it has to be "in the best interest" of the protected person ( not the interests of others ) Such matters are measured these days in YEARS to do
I am not a lawyer, but I have considerable experience in the matter ( in England&Wales ) I would not wish on my worst enemy ( unless they were a lawyer)
In Scotland it is quite different law involved
What I am hinting at , a person not having capacity CANNOT act on thier own behalf in such matters and without POA , another person cannot.
A power of attorney cannot be created in the normal fashion for a person who does not still have capacity.
Further edit : Under The Mental Capacity Act 2005, a court appointed deputy can be created for both personal and financial matters for a person witthout capacity. This is NOT a trivial process and in any case the PROPERTY provisions even withing that once granted are special and require a court order to buy/sell/ transfer a "property" In such case also, it has to be "in the best interest" of the protected person ( not the interests of others ) Such matters are measured these days in YEARS to do
I am not a lawyer, but I have considerable experience in the matter ( in England&Wales ) I would not wish on my worst enemy ( unless they were a lawyer)
In Scotland it is quite different law involved
Edited by PM3 on Tuesday 31st March 09:04
PM3 said:
If you or your father do not have an existing power of attorney ( note this cannot be done now ) for your mother , how exactly would the property ownesrship be changed ?
The government website suggests that as long as written notice is served to the other joint tenant(s) the tenancy can be servered without consent.https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership/change...
I can see it would be complicated if the husband has POA so has a duty to act in the best interests of the wife, which reducing the amount of assets available to fund care would not be.
Might be time for paid legal advice.
Thanks both,
My brother and I have LPA for him. Unfortunately mums dementia accelerated quickly after a stroke, dad refused to acknowledge her initial decline and they lived at the other end if the country. By the time we had them living locally her capacity was marginal. So no lpa inplace for her.
My brother and I have LPA for him. Unfortunately mums dementia accelerated quickly after a stroke, dad refused to acknowledge her initial decline and they lived at the other end if the country. By the time we had them living locally her capacity was marginal. So no lpa inplace for her.
sawman said:
Thanks both,
My brother and I have LPA for him. Unfortunately mums dementia accelerated quickly after a stroke, dad refused to acknowledge her initial decline and they lived at the other end if the country. By the time we had them living locally her capacity was marginal. So no lpa inplace for her.
The POA needs to be for her . If you father still has capacity, POA not needed for him (yet ? )My brother and I have LPA for him. Unfortunately mums dementia accelerated quickly after a stroke, dad refused to acknowledge her initial decline and they lived at the other end if the country. By the time we had them living locally her capacity was marginal. So no lpa inplace for her.
PM3 said:
The POA needs to be for her . If you father still has capacity, POA not needed for him (yet ? )
Sadly too late to get the LPA for his Mum though. Worth restating generally though that getting LPA’s done is arguably more important than sorting wills and they can be organised way before ever needed - which hopefully they won’t.
Better to have and not need than the other way round.
The Leaper said:
FYI, wife and I already have LPAs (finance) in place. We have recently started to get in place the LPAs (H&W) and we are seeing our solicitor today to sign them off and get the process completed. It will be a bIt of a relief once registered etc and all done.
R.
LPA's both medical and financial can be done in minutes via the government website for ~£95 each. No solicitor needed. R.
modeller said:
The Leaper said:
FYI, wife and I already have LPAs (finance) in place. We have recently started to get in place the LPAs (H&W) and we are seeing our solicitor today to sign them off and get the process completed. It will be a bIt of a relief once registered etc and all done.
R.
LPA's both medical and financial can be done in minutes via the government website for ~£95 each. No solicitor needed. R.
R.
modeller said:
The Leaper said:
FYI, wife and I already have LPAs (finance) in place. We have recently started to get in place the LPAs (H&W) and we are seeing our solicitor today to sign them off and get the process completed. It will be a bIt of a relief once registered etc and all done.
R.
LPA's both medical and financial can be done in minutes via the government website for ~£95 each. No solicitor needed. R.
The Leaper said:
modeller said:
The Leaper said:
FYI, wife and I already have LPAs (finance) in place. We have recently started to get in place the LPAs (H&W) and we are seeing our solicitor today to sign them off and get the process completed. It will be a bIt of a relief once registered etc and all done.
R.
LPA's both medical and financial can be done in minutes via the government website for ~£95 each. No solicitor needed. R.
R.
A common error is when the multiple attorneys ( if chosen ) cannot act joint and severally on every decision.
Friend of mine did his Parents one and only realised the issue with this when he and his brother had to make decision's when one was in the UK and one was in Australia travelling.
Obviously perhaps an obscure example but....
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