Property - add son as a joint owner/put in trust/ other options?

[JustAnonymous]

Hi. I'm a single parent to an 18yo son who has high functioning autism. Recently found out an acquaintance has suddenly died, younger than me, and left children behind, and it's really made me realise I need to get my ducks in a row, so I'm making a folder with all important information in etc.

With regards to my house (owned outright in my name only), obviously I want this to go to my son, but, in the spirit of making things as easy as possible for him should anything happen to me, I've been wondering if I can put the house in joint names now he's 18? Or in some kind of trust so as he doesn't have to do too much to get it in his name? Anyone know what I can legally do and what tax implications there are for doing something like this, if any? He's a very sensible, capable kid, but not great at speaking to people and would get extremely bogged down with paperwork, so just trying to make things as easy as possible should anything happen (obviously I'd prefer that nothing did!).

Many thanks in advance :)

Just write a Will. Leaving him the house.

If something happened to you if he is still living with you he can stay while probate goes through and the deeds are updated. Probate would be needed irrespective of the house so the house adds no extra complications to the tying up of your affairs. A solicitor can sort it all out for him.

There would be tax implications of putting him on the deeds now. If the house is not his main residence he would be responsible for Capital Gains Tax on his share when sold. If he bought his own place he would be liable for hefty second home SDLT.

if you’re worried about him coping with the paperwork then just nominate a friend / family member who is good with that sort of thing as executor. Alternatively, you can nominate a solicitor to be executor and they will sort all the paperwork (for a price)

If you put his name on the house, would he lose out on things like First time buyer discounts, help to buy and so on?

Is the plan for him to live in your house for the rest of his life ( if he is not independent enough to get a job or his own place) or is the plan for him to go yo university/ get a job / move out? If the latter, then as everyone says, just make a will and leave him the house. Nominate a sensible relative as executor if possible and add a letter asking that person to support your son.

nominate a solicitor to be executor and they will sort all the paperwork (for a price)

This really would be a last resort if you don't have anyone you can ask to do this on your behalf. They can always use solicitors to do the work and pay for that out of your estate

If you nominate the solicitors it's really really difficult to get rid of them if they don't do a good job and drag their heels. No way to know what any firm will be like by the time this comes into force.

Hope you find a friend or relative

My husband was named in his parents house, as generous as it may seem, it stopped us being able to buy our own family home.

Despite good wages, lenders considered we were paying for two house and put our affordability really low and most wouldnt lend to us, plus also a lot more stamp duty for the second home rules.

I believe you also pay stamp duty when you would add his name.

If he is able to live independently then I wouldn't be doing anything permanent just yet as hell lose any ability to be a First Time Buyer and any incentives and discounts like the LISA bonuses.

As others have said about the house, the best thing to do is just nominate somebody else as the executor. They will do all the paperwork.

I am sure that your solicitor will likely mention this but, if you will also be leaving a sizeable amount of cash or investments in addition to the house and you are concerned that he might blow it all on inappropriate things then your will can leave this to him in a discretionary trust. What this means is that the trustee looks after the money for him and can pay out money as and when they think fit.

This would probably only be worth doing if you were leaving six figures in terms of cash/investments in addition to the house.

If your son qualifies for eg DLA, PIP, attendance allowance etc then the trust will pay less in tax than otherwise.

Thanks everyone. I hadn't thought about the effect on buying a house of his own etc. Not sure if he'll ever work or live independently - I really hope so - as at the minute, it's difficult to see past this little ball of anxiety that doesn't want to leave the house, but I hope that changes in time.

I have made a will and my cousin is executor, but she's older than me, so, excluding nasty accidents and illnesses, I would assume she'd go before me, although, if that happens, I'd have to reevaluate! Not really got much in the way of other family anymore unfortunately.

I was just remembering how much there was to do after my dad died (including not knowing where the house deeds were, not knowing which solicitor had his will and having to sift through 50 years worth of paperwork that he'd kept "just in case"!) and trying to make things easier for my son, as I know he wouldn't cope with all that, but I'm just trying to make sure everything is written down clearly and all kept together in one place, so it's as easy as it can be to work out who needs notifying etc. I'm also going to look into doing a pre-paid funeral plan at some point.

I mean, I'm hoping I live to be a cantankerous old lady, but my family aren't known for their longevity and hearing of the sudden unexpected death of someone younger than me has really brought it home that it can happen anytime and my ducks need to far more lined up than they currently are!

I have a file with all the house and bill information in, copy of the Will and details of the solicitors it is held with. DD knows where it is as do my parents.

My parents and DD knows my wishes and I know theirs. My parents and I have paid for our direct cremation with Co-op, we have no interest in anyone spending ££££ to bury us and would all rather DD had the money, raised a glass on holiday etc.

If I die it should all be as easy and simple to deal with as possible. DD has already said she'd rather stay at home and one of my parents moved in than live with her dad and she's late teens so hopefully her view would count. If me and my parents go then it would be left to DD, diagnosed autistic and my DBro (highly likely autistic) to sort and out of the two if them I think she'd deal with people better than he would.