gifting our home

[Scally]

Unfortunately in life you have to think of your self and family first.
Social Services could not care less about me. They did not know how much money I had. They just wanted the house sold and me to be homeless if necessary.

I agree: the State is totally focused on getting as much money as possible to pay for care and to hell with the surviving relatives, who may well have been carers for years and have lost all their resources.

There is no substitute for good advance planning, if possible decades beforehand. I have a son with Downs, a daughter and step-daughter to think about: this is very complicated because the last thing I want to do is leave any of them feeling hard-done by or destitute because of my wife and my potential care needs:, and yet obviously my son's future needs are greater and are paramount. But if I leave him too much capital then the State will simply reduce his benefits.

[b.r.wade]

Hi,
Many thanks everyone I have taken notes of all your advice and will now spend somtime researching the various things mentioned. Why is nothing just easy and in black and white terms these days without the but's and if's.

Wishing you all a spring like march

[Brian Roberts]

Hi B.R.Wade

These days families do not always consist of Mum / Dad and 2 children.
Complications set in due to divorces, offspring being widowed, second marriages etc and all interests have to be taken in to account.

People are always after money.
When my in laws died after my wife a few people on her side of the family thought they should have benefited from their estate.
They said that blood relatives should come first. They did think that their granddaughters were blood relatives.

Also when my father died my father's ex lady friend thought she should have the house in spite of the fact I was left half of it by my mother and the other half was willed to me.
This lady left my father nearly 3 years before his death and they had only been together for a few weeks.

Brian

[Busymiss]

We too looked into this when my dad took ill... our case is straightforward even though it is wrong....My parents worked hard and saved hard...( They aren't millionaires or anything, far from it) but it all went pear shaped 5 years ago...2009 my dad cardiac arrested at home and survived, he got mended from that. He was 61 at the time... April 2010...My mum passed away, She was 61....Oct 2010 My dad had his stroke...My sis looked into it about getting my dad to switch his assests into our names...apparently it is illegal to do this if you knowingly avert assets 5 years into the likelihood of the possibility they may need to go into care. It is one of the reasons I look after my dad myself. The state will take all our money....In the event I do get to reach a ripe old age, I am going to make sure I am skint!

[Anne001]

Mmmm, this is my worry at the moment. When my dad died 14 years ago, ownership of house was transferred to mum and me jointly, with the provision that neither could sell it without the consent of the other. Mum lives alone in the house and I have my own property.

Now I am confused. Mum has no savings of any level but if she requires residential care, what would the council do? Can they force the sale?

[bowlingbun]

Anne, the council have to abide by the CRAG regulations - Charging for Residential Accommodation Guide. It's online, makes interesting reading.

[Busymiss]

Look into it! difficult situation. xx

[Busymiss]

move back into the house? swines!