EPA and need to spend if possible

[mickeyblue]

I have EPA (sole) over my widowed father's affairs. My father is in a nursing home which is funded by the LA due to his level of dementia.

My father is now in the final stages of vascular dementia and I am visiting him in his nursing home or frequent admissions to hospital, on a more-or-less daily basis.

If my father were able he would tell me to buy a car to make life easier for me. I need £2000 (a relatively small amount of his savings) to buy a second hand car and wondered if this expenditure is allowable. My daily visits to the nursing home are recorded, as are the visits to hospital (I depend on taxis when the hospital admission calls come in the early hours of the morning and public transport is not running).

Any guidance or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Jessbow]

My guess would be , is that it depends on various factors,
Do you have siblings? Would they want the same?
Is there any history of your father being so generous?

 

[Saffie]

I would think that to spend that amount of money and on something which is not directly for your father, you would need to check with the OPG.

 

[LYN T]

I would also check with the LA as they are helping with CH fees. I'm not quite sure of your circumstances as you write ' My father is in a nursing home which is funded by the LA due to his level of dementia.'

Take care

Lyn T

 

[Katrine]

Do you claim your taxi fares as expenses? If so, then it might be best just to go on using taxis rather than buying a car. However, if you can prove that the cost of the car will soon pay for itself as compared to taxi fares then it would seem a reasonable expense.

You say it is the LA funding your Dad's nursing care? I wonder if he has been awarded CHC funding? This is paid by NHS and is not means tested. If this is the case then the LA will not need to know how you spend money on your Dad's behalf. If, however, the LA is paying your Dad's fees then he must be down below the £23,250 savings threshold? In that case, £2k is a large chunk of his remaining money.

Even if your Dad is NOT LA funded, you as Attorney are accountable to the OPG. It is probably worth ringing them to discuss it, since you want to release the funds quickly and don't want the issue to come back to bite you later. You also need clarification about whether the car should be purchased in your Dad's name with you as registered keeper. I would have thought this would have to be the case: that it would remain as his property.

After your Dad's death, when your Dad's estate is wound up, if you intend to keep this proposed second-hand vehicle you may then have to purchase it (at its then value) from your share of Dad's estate.