Gifting money to myself and siblings with a deputyship order

[Notright77]

I am a deputy for my Fathers estate. Unfortunately he is now in care for life. He is very happy and settled in a wonderful, private care home. We are selling his house and using the funds to pay for his care. However, he only needs a certain amount to secure his care in the home for life. He will have more than enough money to live on, for the rest of his life, with pensions and other savings. Once the house is sold there would effectively be around £70k left which should technically go straight into his bank but I think it’s a shame me and my siblings can’t have it. It won’t make any difference at all to him and will just go on more care home fees. Has anyone been in the situation and had the money? I know there are strict rules around deputyship but I know he would rather we had the money than it go towards more care home fees.

If it’s considered theft then I wouldn’t do it. I swear people can’t think critically anymore and just love to judge others.

If you have used your own money to pay for your father's care whilst the deputyship was being put in place, are you able to at least reclaim those funds from the proceeds of sale?

@Notright77

If someone meets the financial criteria, local authority social services will indeed take over the responsibility of paying for their care home fees after a certain period, typically two years,
IF the individual's assets fall below a certain threshold.

They will do a financial assessment, forensically!

Thanks - I really appreciate this response. It’s what I expected if I’m honest.

I was trying to think how to word this but you did it so well. It's not like councils are dripping with cash so it's basically stealing from the council.

Given my current situation where my dsis has been stealing from my dm had me removed as joint poa taken an equity release mortgage out on dm house to get some early inheritance and had her change her will as well as isolating her from me and her adult children and opg adult social services and police are all saying it's someone else's responsibility so you will probably get away with it like dsis has

I believe dm is now in a local care home i heard for dh friends wife sister no idea if she is in there for respite care or permanently as the care home refused to even confirm she was a resident after taking my details. I hope a financial assessment is done and everything I warned dsis about depreciation of assets etc comes out

Yes I am projecting but it's wrong op and potentially you could end up it trouble

I completely understand and yes, as with most of us who end up in care (unless you have millions), at some point I want SS to take over his care

Sorry to hear you’ve gone through this. I won’t be doing anything illegal or anything my Dad wouldn’t agree to. I keep meticulous records and if anything, I’m owed money. Thanks for your post

Yes, I have been told I can do this. The priority for me is that he retains enough money to stay. So long as the housing market stays as expected and we sell for what we expect then I’ll reclaim the top up fees.

Yep- meticulous accounts always

I genuinely don’t care who he leaves his money too. He always did well with the ladies and he’s not that old so yeah- me! I hope he cops off with a bloody gorgeous carer- he has the time of his life and leaves anything he’s got left to her (and maybe my little brother)

You say that but you are trying to take his money off him while he is still alive! If you had your way he wouldn't have a penny left.

Oh my god - there’s some bonkers people on here 🤣🤣. Look how angry you get over something you don’t even know is true. I’m a higher rate tax payer and to be honest, pay a shit load of tax. I hope that brightens your day a little?

Why are you paying top up fees if he is currently self funding his care?

That's not how it works

Wrong! What is it with people not being able to think in grey areas? Honestly

@Notright77 check OPG gifting guidance. your deputyship order doesn’t let you do stuff like this (but you wouldn’t be able to do it as an attorney either). You would get investigated, ordered to repay the money and potentially removed as a deputy. Plus local authority would take action over deprivation of assets. So no, not a good idea

To clarify- I paid them for the first 12 weeks. Because SS do fund the first 12 weeks of care and I didn’t want him ending up in the cheapest home. I had to make the top up if he wanted to be placed in the home I know he liked best, I didn’t then want him to have the trauma of moving yet again and this was the home I trusted most for his care.

I think you need to educate yourself on how care home fees actually work, deprivation of assets etc.

But first and foremost the money from the sale of the property belongs to your father. It legally goes into his bank account and you would be stealing his money if you siphoned it off to you and your sibling.

I suggest you speak to a solicitor to fully understand the legality surrounding everything as you seem very naive to say the least. What you are proposing is illegal on various fronts.

No- I’m not willing to go to prison for the money

Thank you- you’ve confirmed what I already thought

I wouldn’t say naive- as what you’ve explained is pretty much how I understand it. Hence the question. I will consult my solicitor but I was interested in others peoples similar experiences or suggestions. Thank you

I presume your post was directed at me and i apologise again for projecting
Is ddads estate likely to go to probate? as there may be tax to pay on hmrc on gifts of money prior to his death possibly inheritance tax which has recently gone up

It’s not! People are just hyper critical and can’t think rationally 🤦🏻‍♀️. It’s a hypothetical question, with a particular set of circumstances. No money has been taken, the only person out of pocket is me and Mumsnetters want me strung up. Bonkers!

Okay. Let’s try and explain it this way. The money is your Dad’s money. Even if he’s not presently using it, it belongs to him.

He has to pay all his own bills until he has less than £16,000 in savings (IIRC).

The 2 year limit you refer to is a red herring.

Your Dad has to pay his own way until he’s used up his funds. Then the state picks up the bill.

Costs will go up. He may need nursing care, this is more expensive.

Your Dad must pay his own way. The money is his, not yours. He will need to use it.

It was! Sorry not great at directing these posts. No problem with the projecting as I find it really helpful hearing from people who can relate to the circumstances whether they agree with me or not. I don’t know whether we’re being unrealistic given that he’s just had 2 heart attacks but we are planning for Dad to live a long and fulfilling life. If we were able to have the 70k, which by all accounts it looks like we can’t, then we would have to take inheritance tax into consideration if it falls within the remit. None of us have received financial gifts from him til this point, we’re all very self sufficient to be honest and have been since we were teens.