Managing a parents lump sump

[Mr MXT]

Looking for some advice. Long story short, my mum (75) is terrible with money and has always struggled financially. After my dad passed away she remained in their 2 bed house, paying interest only mortgage with a balance of £36k and very little left to live on after bills. We support financially where we can.

Over the last 18 months, both the boiler and roof have needed replacing and its clear Mum doesn't have enough income to keep the house maintained.

My wife and I have helped out with the above but with a young family it isnt a long term solution, Mum has now agreed with the conclusion that downsizing is the best option which will improve her quality of life and give her a lump sump to live a much better quality of life.

When the house has sold fees paid etc etc I expect a remaining cash balance of around £80k. The intention is that Mum can draw down on this over the next 10 years then at 85 revert back to her current level of income - with reduced bills, likely reduced mobility and everything that comes along with old age. As she will no longer be paying the mortgage she'll be about £800 a month better off over the next 10 years. This would be life changing for her tbh.

I do not have POA over her finances, however she agrees giving her a lump sump to manage on her own wouldn't be the best idea.

In an ideal world, the money would sit somewhere that she cant get at easily, with a monthly direct debit into her current account. It would be good to make the investment actually do some work rather than losing value over time.

Any ideas from the floor about how best to manage this?

Two sisters for reference and they are happy for me to manage.

[OutInTheShed]

Firstly, I'd suggest getting POA sorted while your Mum is able to understand it all. For the future.

I would consider putting some of the money in 3 or 5 year bonds to get the best interest rate.
Probably not appropriate to consider anything complex, risky or adventurous

[T6 vanman]

Pay off your mortgage by the tune of £80k & promise to pay your mum back at the rate of £500 per month for the next 15 years,

Watch your two sisters explode with incandescing rage

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

I know this is not what you asked but I mention it because it worked really well for my friend's family.

Sell your house and your mums house, then buy somewhere together. You get a much bigger house, and you can keep an eye on your Mum.

One day when the time comes you pay your sisters out for their share of your mum's portion of the house.

It enabled my mate's family to live in a lovely house that they otherwise couldn't afford, and by the time the grandparents passed on, they had the money to keep the house.

[HustleRussell]

I believe the expression you're looking for is 'lump sum'? I would've put it down to a simple typo were it not that 'lump sump' has been repeated three or more times!

I'm not being a smartarse I'm just checking that OP isn't going around talking to people about 'lump sumps' when they mean 'lump sum'.

[Mr MXT]

Autocorrect.

[Slyjoe]

Maybe - whack the 80k into Tesco fixed term saver for two years, it will pump £300 odd pcm into her current account. No risk, and the lump sum will always be there later.