Parent with dementia ( possible) can the house be transferred onto child's name

[Tigersonvaseline]

This isn't me it's a friend.

Her dad's getting assessment at memory clinics etc And today forgot his name and where he was.
Friend Said she's visiting solicitor this week to see if the house can be put into her name.

I'm sure on here

Her df has in the past worked with her to protect their assets for themselves but now she's loosing him she's loosing the buffer that keeps himself And her mum stable And safe.she can't stand up to her brother , everyone is bullied by him

Has he got a will ?

@Tigersonvaseline

Charlotte rosé and knitting addict I think your post's are incredibly bitchy, unkind and pointless.why on earth post if you have no patience?

My friend is absolutely devoted to her df and is absolutely heart broken.
There was a third sinking who suddenly passed away only a few months ago.
Not that I should be explaining anything to you but this is a family on crisis and I'm trying too see what options are open to them and how to protect themselves going forward because if the house was taken and her mum also made homeless I don't think any of them could cope.
I'm already extremely worried about my friend .

I'm all for having opposing views and debates but it's not relevant here and I don't think MN should allow such post's.

I don't think my post was bitchy or pointless. It will be deprivation of assets and there are many posts on forums like Money Saving Expert asking how to avoid losing an inheritance to care home fees.

I appreciate that there may be added complications in your friend's case, but if people don't use assets to pay for care then the money has to come from somewhere.

And I posted because I have elderly sick parents who will need a care home, a mil who did need a care home and a pretty good grasp on financial matters. I was answering your question and some of the other advice was incorrect.

Yes it is pointless and nasty and your but adding anything of value here.

We are casting around generally trying to work out what she can do now so going forward into this horrible process as he declines they can focus on him without nasty surprises.

Yeah yeah and your a Saint and my friend is disgusting money grabber yeah yeah.

@Tigersonvaseline

He was having an in depth discussion about Russia/ Putin/ NATO/ on Monday. I'm no expert but I think there are different kind's of dementia and it's a spikey profile? So whilst low key stuff happens... enough for memory clinics , nothing major has occured till today but later on today he could be fine.

He may know his name for week's..but decline again

This means he does not have capacity.

His lack of capacity will be on record, via the referral to memory clinic

No it won't. That's absolute BS.

Capacity fluctuates. It's time and decision specific. He may not have had capacity to consent to the memory assessment referral. He may still have capacity to grant LPA. He may lose capacity for all but the most basic decisions this afternoon and regain it in the morning. Capacity is not a one assessment thing. Someone does not lose capacity to make all decisions in a blanket way.

Her first thought was his house, not the care he may need, nice.

Re deprivation of assets, one aspect that is frequently overlooked, is that if the local authority will need to pay for residential care, it’s not a simple case of telling them you think it’s time, and they sort it.

Understandably, because of the cost, social services are all too apt to leave it after until family doing their best to care are on their knees with stress and exhaustion. (I’m talking cases of dementia here.)

I know it’s not usual to think of being able to self-fund as a ‘luxury’ but having been through all this twice (dementia) I was profoundly glad that we were able to choose the time and place, and not be dependent on the hard-pressed tender mercies of social services.

OP, I would suggest that your friend contact the Alzheimer's Society on their Dementia Connect number. They can give her information, even at the stage before diagnosis, and can direct her to the services she needs in her local area.

It will be a very false economy not to get legal advice, this area is extremely complex.

There is no risk at all of the house being taken and your friends mother being homeless! This cannot happen with a resident partner in a jointly owned house. As a former solicitor who now runs a care service for a charity I will confirm what others have said. Mental Capacity is assessed in relation to a specific decision at a particular time. You start from an assumption that the person has capacity. If the father has dementia and is asked to consider a complex issue he would need to be able to retain the information needed to make the decision and then make it, so issues such as the best way to invest money might be problematic whereas a decision about what form of care to have might be well within his mental powers.
They need to look NOW at whether he has capacity to make an LPA as this still seems a possibility on a good day, the friends mother and another family member could be joint attorneys with power to act either jointly or on an individual basis.
Most people will tell you that getting a court of protection Guardianship order is difficult but my husband and BiL got one for their mother who had dementia and a serious mental illness quite easily, and the legal fees were not that great, so don't worry if that becomes necessary.

If the persons wife is still living in the house at thd point of him needing a care home then the house would be disregarded anyway, local authorities don't turn evict the partners!

LPA is far safer bet than gifting the house.

Firstly, the brother could contest the gift and that will be an expensive and painful legal process.
Secondly, as discussed it could be viewed as deprivation of assets should he or both need care.
LPA is a tidier solution if her DF is still deemed competent but is a big responsibility and her mother still being alive needs to be in total agreement as they have joint assets . I would suggest looking at as many info sites as possible and seeking legal advice very soon. With dementia you haven’t got the luxury of time.

The good thing is, whilst her Mum is still alive, the house is safe, it’s not taken into account for care funding.
Only half his pension would be taken into account as well if she has less in terms of income than he does.
If he hasn’t got capacity then his wife will have to apply to the court of protection to get Power of attorney for financial and health matters.

Your friend needs to do a LPA and look in to these www.ukcareguide.co.uk/life-interest-trust before her father is deemed not to have capacity

@PermanentTemporary

Why?

Sounds more like she needs lasting power of attorney for finance, and perhaps health.

This.

It’s also going to be very difficult to find a solicitor who will authorise that change if it’s deemed dad doesn’t have capacity.

Also if he needs to enter council care it will be seen as deprivation of assets. She needs to move in if she wants a claim on the house.

When my extended family had this with one of their parents. They were advised by solicitor to transfer the house instead into tenants in common so each parent owned 50% separately. The party who went into care his mother (after deteriorated in health a couple of years after the transfer) then had their value of the house (50%) assessed against their care and it funded it until his mother was left with the minimum income allowed by local authority. Don’t know the fuller financial details So can’t say whether this was the correct thing to do.

Your friend will need very specialised advice, but no, transferring the house to her name, even a percentage won't help.

In the case of care being needed councils can, and do, go back much further than 7 years and it is considered deprivation of assets.

In MIL and BIL's case BIL had to prove he had paid for their home out of his own pocket despite being joint tenants. They had always lived together.

He was only able to do this because he'd kept his cheque books from the 1980s- banks do not keep records that long.

It was extremely stressful for him, and the case went on for almost 4 years before he was totally exonerated.

Sorry, tenants in common.

The wife won't be turned out of her home assuming it's in joint names. She will be protected for her lifetime as the spouse. The cost of care will be taken into consideration when she dies. and probably the house would have to be sold at that stage. The nasty brother isn't in a position to have any say in the matter, unless of course his mother lets him. No need for an LPA.

OP, I think you are panicking. I understand why but I'm not sure it's helpful.

I also think (as a layman!) that he may still be able to get a LPA. Just because he has had an episode and has memory problems doesn't mean he has lacked capacity. If he can understand what he is doing and what the ramifications of it are and you can find witnesses who would confirm this then you can go ahead. It would be advisable to get something from his doctor or another medical person to confirm that it's ok.

You do not need to use a solicitor. It's really straightforward to do yourself.

Nah, your friend won't be able to blag that one.

Sorry

Don't know whose name's are on the deeds yet.