Can a POA and beneficiary dispose of property?

[iwishiwasafish]

A complex situation that I will try to simplify.

Elderly neighbour who we have known for donkeys years is sadly now in residential care and doesn’t have the cognitive ability to make deductions for herself. Likely she will pass away within the next year or so. She will not be coming back home.

Her relative has POA for her, and is also her beneficiary.

We would very much like to purchase part of this neighbour’s property and make a speculative offer (at considerably more than market value). There is no moral ambiguity as I am absolutely certain it would have made neighbour happy for various reasons.

The question is, can the relative consent to this? i.e. is it even worth our while making the offer? There has been a similar situation in the past with another neighbour and the son was adamant that he legally couldn’t do anything with the property until his father had passed (although not us making an offer that time).

It will depend what thd owner wants to do and how the care fees will be met. Does the property need to be sold now, or does she have savings? Yes, someone with LPA can sell the property if necessary and be a beneficiary. They have to help with the finances of the elderly person. What they might get after a death is immaterial if they are doing everything required for their relative.

I would wait and see if it comes onto the market and then negotiate. The LPA relative must make the best decision for the relative. Not you.

She's not a beneficiary. She must hold the proceeds for your neighbour and apply them in her best interests.

They are not a beneficiary because your neighbour isn't dead. As attorney they have to act in your neighbour's best interests, they can sell the whole property or part of it and may need to do that to fund the care fees. They should consider whether they would get more selling it in two parcels (one to you) than selling it as a whole. They are probably going to need to have the property valued with and without the land you want to buy to be able to demonstrate that they've acted in the donor's interest.

The neighbour's son would have been correct if he didn't have LPA in which case there would be nothing he could do until appointed as executor.

Thank you. All very helpful.

I wrote a detailed reply but MN lost it.

I probably used the wrong term. By “beneficiary” I didn’t mean that my neighbour was dead, I meant that this relative is the only person named in the neighbour’s will. Not sure if there is a better term for it. I wasn’t sure if that would automatically prevent her from being able to do something that might benefit her in the long term.

Regarding care home fees, I believe they are covered by the local council? I don’t believe there are any savings.

I would wait and see if it comes onto the market and then negotiate. The LPA relative must make the best decision for the relative. Not you.

It won’t come on the open market. Everything here goes by word of mouth. If it did come on the open market then there’s a fair chance it (the property as a whole) would sell within hours. And of course we wouldn’t expect the relative to do anything that would benefit us over our neighbour.

They should consider whether they would get more selling it in two parcels (one to you) than selling it as a whole. They are probably going to need to have the property valued with and without the land you want to buy to be able to demonstrate that they've acted in the donor's interest.

That’s an interesting POV that’s very helpful. It would undoubtedly make more to sell to us. Not to go into great detail - it’s probably obvious that it’s a small area of land - we would be prepared to pay well over the odds but it wouldn’t be of the same value to anyone else.

So, it sounds like the relative isn’t prevented from considering the offer, so we may as well go ahead. The worst that can happen is they say no, and at best it would be good both for us and for our neighbour.

If someone owns property, this will be used for home care costs. A property that might be worth £millions is not exempt from a person’s wealth when it comes to paying fees. Not saying this one is worth that but a sale might well be required.,

Not necessarily it won't. It depends on whether there is a CCP or not. If someone's condition is such that they qualify, then they do not have to pay for care home costs.

It would also depend on where the person lives, as different countries have different rules.

If you purchase the property, it's likely that the proceeds would be used to fund the neighbour's care. So it's money that the relative wouldn't then inherit.

If the house is unoccupied, it may be that it the state will reclaim some of its value from the neighbour's estate to cover care costs anyway.

The LPA might need to sell. Usually the old, frail and confused don’t get state provision in a home. Been there and got that t shirt!

So ask if you want to buy the land. Nothing ventured…..,

Yrs, the LPA holder can sell. That’s why they are appointed.