Property and End of Life Care

[Martin 1718]

My father is CHC funded with End of Life Care and in a Nursing Home.We pay nothing for his care in the nursing home. I have POA for fianaces. He has a property that is not lived in but locked up with his contents and has been for over 9 months now.
My question is what can i do with his property - apart from continue to maintain it and pay gas/electric and insurance on the property? Can i sell it or not as offically it is still in his name on the deeds soley?
Advise please.

 

[canary]

Hello @Martin 1718
As you have POA for finances, yes you can sell the property using the POA
I would agree that selling it would be in his best interest as you are spending money on utilities, insurance and maintenance when he will not be returning there. Make sure that all the money made on the house goes into a bank account in his name only (with you as POA) and watch out for the bank limits. The only time there may be a problem is if he has left the house in its entirety to one person and money to another. Legally this is not a problem, but it may cause a moral problem after he has died.

 

[Martin 1718]

Thank you. Both myself and my sister are on the POA so both are acting in his best interests. I was told that if i tried to sell the property to prosepective purchasers - they would have to await probate from when he passes away as offically his property is not mine to sell yet until he decease and both myself and sister are left it - which he has done in his will.

 

[Martin 1718]

Hello @Martin 1718
As you have POA for finances, yes you can sell the property using the POA
I would agree that selling it would be in his best interest as you are spending money on utilities, insurance and maintenance when he will not be returning there. Make sure that all the money made on the house goes into a bank account in his name only (with you as POA) and watch out for the bank limits. The only time there may be a problem is if he has left the house in its entirety to one person and money to another. Legally this is not a problem, but it may cause a moral problem after he has died.

Bank limits? Please explain - he has £23k in his bank account and the property is worth £450,00

 

[Martin 1718]

He has Dementia plus Mesothelioma from an Industrial Injury.

 

[Kevinl]

CHC (continuing health care) doesn't seem to be something the NHS shout about, basically they're sub-contraction health care to the private sector.
The financial side isn't an issue while the chc is in place, no payments are needed for care.
Quoting rules in England here if that's where they live.
K

 

[sue31]

My father is CHC funded with End of Life Care and in a Nursing Home.We pay nothing for his care in the nursing home. I have POA for fianaces. He has a property that is not lived in but locked up with his contents and has been for over 9 months now.
My question is what can i do with his property - apart from continue to maintain it and pay gas/electric and insurance on the property? Can i sell it or not as offically it is still in his name on the deeds soley?
Advise please.

It’s a bit late for us to sell mums, she’s now end of life & no way will any sale go through before she dies. So we will be having to wait for probate to be granted before we can sell it & HMRC get their grubby hands on it.
Have you checked his Will to see if the house has been mentioned? Is it part of his estate to go to his children? Has he left any part of it to anyone else?
You have POA so you can legally sell it - providing the sale proceeds go into any account in his name - most banks etc will only offer financial protection up to 85k so if he has multiple accounts maybe spread the proceeds around - if you go ahead & sell.
Had we known 3 months ago mum was never going home we would have put hers on the market.

 

[nitram]

banks etc will only offer financial protection up to 85k

The temporary high balance of £1 million for 6 months should apply.

Temporary high balances

Learn more about the protection FSCS provides for temporary high balances. Check if your money is protected and find out how FSCS can help you.

www.fscs.org.uk

 

[sue31]

The temporary high balance of £1 million for 6 months should apply.

Temporary high balances

Learn more about the protection FSCS provides for temporary high balances. Check if your money is protected and find out how FSCS can help you.

www.fscs.org.uk

Wow thanks! I didn’t know about that. 👍

 

[nitram]

Wow thanks! I didn’t know about that. 👍

Places to invest cash

Savings Champion

Savings Champion monitors over 4,000 accounts from the whole UK savings market. Our best buys are selected from the best available, not by any commercial arrangement.

savingschampion.co.uk

 

[canary]

I was told that if i tried to sell the property to prosepective purchasers - they would have to await probate from when he passes away as offically his property is not mine to sell yet until he decease and both myself and sister are left it

Whoever gave you this advice does not understand POA.
You cannot sell it on your own behalf, because you do not own it, but you are not - you are using the POA to sell the house on your fathers behalf, which is the way to do it. Many many of us on here have had to do this in order to pay care home fees. There is no problem (unless there is no POA}

Bank limits? Please explain - he has £23k in his bank account and the property is worth £450,00

I see @sue31 and @nitram has beaten me to it and already explained this!
I must say, I didnt know about the temporary limit either - I expect that is so that you can pay the whole amount into one account and then work out how to spread it around

 

[Chizz]

Thank you. Both myself and my sister are on the POA so both are acting in his best interests. I was told that if i tried to sell the property to prosepective purchasers - they would have to await probate from when he passes away as offically his property is not mine to sell yet until he decease and both myself and sister are left it - which he has done in his will.

Hi @Martin 1718
When you and your sister act as Attorneys under the PoA it is as if you are your dad. Thus the house, if you wish to sell in your dad's best interest now (to save outgoings, and responsibility of a property to which he will not return) would be for sale by your dad acting by his Attorneys. Your dad's name (as property owner) would be on the contract for sale and on the transfer document, but it would be signed by your dad's Attorneys.
However, if you proceed to put property on market now, and your dad passes away before a sale transaction is actually completed, then the PoA ceases to have legal affect and a sale would be put on hold until a Grant of Probate of your dad's Will was issued by the Probate Registry. Probates used to take about 6 to 12 weeks to be issued, but are now taking about 6 to 12 months!
[You need to check your dad's Will. If there was a specific gift of he house as a house other than to you and your sister then a sale would deprive the beneficiary or receiving the house - if you and your sister are your dad's nearest relatives then this would be highly unlikely.]