Potential Problems with being 'left some cash'

[54isanopendoor]

If a person is given / left some money in cash, with an instruction to 'put it towards property', how could they do so?

presumably it's a problem as they cannot prove where the money came from?

would it have to be in a UK bank account for a certain period of time?

even if the person who gave it was able to sign to say that that is what they were doing, do they have to prove where they got it from?

I'm thinking of a scenario where an older person had saved up small amounts of cash at home for many years then gave it to a friend at the end of their life.
All perfectly legal / morally ok, just a very old fashioned approach.

But, would there be all sorts of issues re modern money laundering rules?

This is the point I have been trying to make. @Thisbastardcomputer knows a distant relative has cash in her house. How would @Thisbastardcomputer feel if the relative died, her family started to plan the funeral and gather information for probate and found all the cash had gone?

If then a friend says oh your relative gave me £50k, how would ThisBastardcomputers family feel? If the friend produces a letter stating why they gifted them the £50k there is evidence it was a gift. Without a letter there is no evidence it was a gift.

I accept the OPs friend was honestly gifted the money but without a letter or something similar it is going to be harder to prove it was a gift. If the OPs friend is honest and declares the gift there is a chance the family will demand it back. If the OPs friend keeps quiet they need to find a way to bank the money and then their benefits are likely to be impacted. They also have to prove the source of the money if they want to purchase property.

in both scenarios a letter proving the money was a gift would make a difference.

It depends whether it was intended as a lifetime gift or a gift after death.

If the deceased said "I'm going to die soon, so I'd like you to have my cash now" then that's a legitimate gift and the friend owns it (though may have trouble proving it).

If they actually said "I'd like you to have the money after my death" but didn't make a legal will, then that's not applicable and the money actually belongs to cousins if any or the treasury if not.

Nightmare. Make a will, people.

@Honestgov I'm surprised she hasn't been burgled yet, she tells everyone everything. She's a spinster and never had children. I'm no longer in touch, due to before mentioned big mouth.

Ah yes I see now, I think my eyes glazed over and I fell into reverie thinking about being given a box of cash...

😂there are so many people in a similar position it’s frightening. There was a post on another thread where the family went carefully round the house and found cash everywhere ncluding in cushions, fridge etc.

If the cash was saved up over many years, some of the bank notes might not even be legal tender any more!