Information on simple Transfer of Title Deeds

[IslandLad]

Hello,
My mother died in 1995 and my Step-Father whom is showing early signs of Dementia has expressed bis wish to "simply" transfer the title deeds of his house to my name before/in case the government try to get their hands on it as part of his estate if he needs to go into care. He has quite a healthy income from various investments....Can anyone please advise of the easiest way to do this and what the implications are?..I heard of a person in a similar position that she purchased her Step-Mums house for a £1.00 and I don't know what the money significance is...I appreciate that there may be no way to avoid inheritance tax if the estate is valued above £300.000 but at least the house would be safe from a grab?..It's value is around £250.000
Do I need a solicitor to do this? the property does not have a mortgage cos' I paid it off for them back in the 70's but I have no written evidence of this as it was by way of a cheque into my Step-Dads account and he took it from there. Thanks.

 

[jenniferpa]

Hi - welcome to Talking Point.

While you may find a way to do this legally, there is no way to protect an asset such as a home from being liable to be clawed back under the "deprivation of assets" rule. No loop holes, no evasions. Sorry.

 

[IslandLad]

Hi - welcome to Talking Point.

While you may find a way to do this legally, there is no way to protect an asset such as a home from being liable to be clawed back under the "deprivation of assets" rule. No loop holes, no evasions. Sorry.

Thanks Jennifer,

Shame there is no way around this. It was Dad's idea because years ago I paid off the remainder of their mortgage which worked out to well over 80 percent. As mentioned he has a healthy income from investments. It's ironical my generosity should be rewarded this way. Of course with hindsight I should have simply bought the house in my name and allow them to live in it as long as they wanted..Ces't l Vie..

 

[Lynne]

Hello Lad

You might find this thread of interest:-

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/talkingpoint/discuss/showthread.php?t=12024

 

[connie]

Thank you for the link Lynne.

Just what a friend had been looking for. Thank goodness for TP.

 

[blueroses]

regarding signing over of house

There is a way around this your dad can simply transfer the house into yr name and it is claimed as a gift from yr dad to you...and then no one can take the house away from you...u need to check it out with a solicitor but i think thats how it works.my stepfather signed the house over to me when my mother died,to avoid money grabbers from getting there hands on it later on...altho he has to remain alive for at least 6 years or something like that, after that no one can try to make a claim on it..but go see a solicitor he may suggest a way round it.good luck

 

[jenniferpa]

Blueroses - you're talking about inheritance tax (it's the 6 years that is a give away). Definitely a transfer could be made (assuming competence on the part of the giver) but the LA can (and almost certainly will if it happens close to the time that a residential placement is needed) decide the giver has intentional deprived themselves of assets and act accordingly. If you are interested in this subject I suggest you study CRAG - charging for residential accomodation guidelines - carefully.

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publication...tions/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_086008

Oh, and welcome to Talking Point.

 

[BeckyJan]

I suggest you work out whether the 'healthy income from investments' is likely to pay for care quite independently of Social S. assessment. IF it is, and this self funding could last for say 7 years, then it may be worth asking a solicitor/financial adviser about putting the house into a 'trust' fund for your benefit and that of your step father. This helps avoid some Inherit.Tax and may keep SS off your backs for the years of self funding!

Not knowing what figures we are talking about, I do advise a financial adviser and then solicitor. It could well be worth the expense.

(PS it is 7 yrs for IHT purposes, not 6, as far as I understand it).

Good luck Jan

 

[jenniferpa]

I think Becky Jan's right about the 7 years o). Inheritance tax was never going to be an issue for us. Still it's important to remember that while there are defined time periods for inheritance tax, there are no such time periods when it comes to LA claw backs. Now personally, I think after several years PARTICULARLY if at the time the transfer was made there no indication of ill health, then the LA would find it difficult to prove deprivation, but they do, on the whole, have deeper pockets than most people so it they want to take issue they might.