Tenants in Common where 2 owners are not related and care may be needed

[cworswick]

Hi.
My dad and a long standing family friend co own a property under the clause 'tenants in Common' My dad has documents to prove that he owns 2 thirds of the property and the family friend owns 1 third. Unfortunately the family friend has been taken ill (aged 92) and has been admitted to hospital. He is suffering from bleeding on the brain and the doctors have said it would be 'unwise' to operate on him to stop the bleeding. He is still in hospital and has now caught the flu so he is very unwell. The doctors has asked my dad and I to attend a meeting next week to discuss a discharge plan. They haven't gone into detail over the phone but we can only assume that they will be recommending some sort of care as the person lost mental awareness just before being admitted to hospital and hasn't regained it yet, and they have already said they aren't going to treat the bleeding on the brain.

As the house is set up with Tenants in Common my dad is fairly certain that his interest in the house is safe and had he have been related to our family friend then probably their share would have been protected from being taken into account for a financial care cost assessment too but because they aren't related do you know if our friends share would more than likely still be disregarded or not. I understand that it is very difficult for the local authority to put an actual value on the 1 third share of the property but will they go ahead a put a charge on the house anyway. it seems to be a very grey area that is further complicated by my dad and the family friend not be related.

Many thanks for any advice that can be given.

 

[jenniferpa]

Does either your father or the friend currently live in the house? Does the friend have savings above the upper limit?

 

[Havemercy]

Does either your father or the friend currently live in the house? Does the friend have savings above the upper limit?

Your father's friend sounds very unwell
Depending on how he recovers and what the prognosis is .... he may be referred for Fast Track funding under Continuing Healthcare Care where care is fully funded by NHS and no personal assets are taken into account.

 

[Havemercy]

Your father's friend sounds very unwell
Depending on how he recovers and what the prognosis is .... he may be referred for Fast Track funding under Continuing Healthcare Care where care is fully funded by NHS and no personal assets are taken into account.

Sorry that should have quoted the original poster not jenniferpa.

 

[jenniferpa]

No problem @Havemercy and I agree with you.

 

[cworswick]

Yes my father lives in the house. The friend has approx £500 over the personal allowance in his bank account and no other saving that we are aware of.

 

[Pete R]

I believe that as long as your Dad continues to live in the property then the LA cannot put a value on it. If he moves out or it is sold then that will change.They certainly cannot put a "charge" on it without his permission.

 

[cworswick]

I believe that as long as your Dad continues to live in the property then the LA cannot put a value on it. If he moves out or it is sold then that will change.They certainly cannot put a "charge" on it without his permission.

ok thank you Pete. Does that mean that eventually when my dad either sells the house or passes away I (as the beneficiary) of both wills will be liable to pay the care costs out of the 1 third of the property value

 

[Beate]

If your father sells the house he'll still be alive so wills don't come into it - 2 thirds of the money would go to him and one third to the friend who then presumably would become self-funding and might have to use it to pay for his care unless he receives CHC funding or passes away before it has been sold.

If your father died then if you are the beneficiary his two third of the property would pass to you. The difference now would be if neither your father nor the friend occupy the house anymore, the local authority could try to put a charge on the friend's one third.

 

[Pete R]

ok thank you Pete. Does that mean that eventually when my dad either sells the house or passes away I (as the beneficiary) of both wills will be liable to pay the care costs out of the 1 third of the property value

If your Dad leaves the house for whatever reason and the "friend" is still alive the LA will then include his share as an asset for on going care costs. They cannot back date those costs. IF your dad dies and his Will leaves it all to the friend then all will become available.

 

[nita]

I think there might be difficulty in selling the house where there are tenants in common as both have to agree to the sale. If your father's friend has lost capacity, someone would have to be appointed on his behalf.

That assumes that the friend doesn't pass away (he sounds to be seriously ill). If that happens and his share of the house is bequeathed to someone in his will, I am not sure what position your father would be in but I imagine he would have rights to stay in the property.