Apologies - I think this has appeared on other threads, but I couldn't find a definitive answer to my question and I wondered if anyone has been in this situation and can tell me how they dealt with it? I need to downsize as my husband is in hospital and will shortly be moving to a care home. The house is much too big and expensive for me to stay in. We own the property jointly and I have PoA for finance and property for my husband. I understand that the new property will also be jointly owned and any equity will be split equally.
I have read (on this site I think) that I cannot sign the property contracts on behalf of my husband. I am his only attorney. To clarify the situation I emailed the OPG and asked if someone else e.g. the certificate provider on the PoA could sign on behalf of my husband, or would I need to pay a solicitor to do it. The reply was ambiguous:
"Regarding the sale, if you as attorney are also a part owner of the same property then there may be a conflict of interests (you cannot represent yourself and your husband). It maybe necessary to have a trustee appointed to represent your husband in these transactions.
Unfortunately, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) cannot provide legal advice and you may wish to seek independent legal advice regarding how this can be setup."
I wasn't really looking for legal advice, I wanted to know what is the correct way to deal with this and I thought the OPG would be able to tell me, but their use of the word "maybe" has confused me. Then I rang the OPG to ask again and they suggested that I should sign the contracts on behalf of my husband and appoint a trustee to sign for me. I don't know how to do this and I'm concerned that having someone else sign for me could create problems. Although, to be honest, I don't know what I'm talking about. Should I just approach a solicitor and ask them to act as a trustee for my husband? Thank you for reading this and I'd be very grateful for any information / experiences you can share.
I have read (on this site I think) that I cannot sign the property contracts on behalf of my husband. I am his only attorney. To clarify the situation I emailed the OPG and asked if someone else e.g. the certificate provider on the PoA could sign on behalf of my husband, or would I need to pay a solicitor to do it. The reply was ambiguous:
"Regarding the sale, if you as attorney are also a part owner of the same property then there may be a conflict of interests (you cannot represent yourself and your husband). It maybe necessary to have a trustee appointed to represent your husband in these transactions.
Unfortunately, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) cannot provide legal advice and you may wish to seek independent legal advice regarding how this can be setup."
I wasn't really looking for legal advice, I wanted to know what is the correct way to deal with this and I thought the OPG would be able to tell me, but their use of the word "maybe" has confused me. Then I rang the OPG to ask again and they suggested that I should sign the contracts on behalf of my husband and appoint a trustee to sign for me. I don't know how to do this and I'm concerned that having someone else sign for me could create problems. Although, to be honest, I don't know what I'm talking about. Should I just approach a solicitor and ask them to act as a trustee for my husband? Thank you for reading this and I'd be very grateful for any information / experiences you can share.