Potential separation what should I be looking at

[havebeensostupid]

Can't believe I'm asking this really but my DH has had a complete mental breakdown. Currently in hospital but not doing well. The last 18 months has been terrible and I'm not sure I can continue to live with him unless he drastically improves.
I feel sad because he's been a great partner but I need to know what I should be looking at while he is out of the house.
I retired a couple of years ago small pension not enough to live on plus my lump sum. No state pension for another 3 years
He is still working high earner but no real savings.
We jointly own our house plus a rental flat .
He has a pension he already takes monthly plus two other pensions that he hasn't claimed yet.
I've been so stupid and left all financial stuff to him but now I need to know what I should be thinking about if the worst comes to the worst

Do you have a joint account plus an account of your own?
Can you get screen shots of all his pensions and anything else financial while he’s gone?

I feel so terrible even thinking this way but I think I have to have some kind of escape plan if possible
Yes we have a joint account so I can easily access that
I also have my own account and my pension lump sum is in various savings all in my name.
Yes I can probably find all the details of his pension s.
He's been giving away/ spending huge amounts of cash so he has no savings that I know of
As i said I've been very naive .

Do you have access to all his paperwork? His laptop etc? Will he give you the log ins? Ideally you get a full picture of where everything is economically and ensure it’s what you think it is, get on top of everything then you are in a position of knowledge. Depending on the exact nature of his breakdown he could get better, it’s possible, but otherwise he could need to go into care of some kind, you need to ensure that as much of his money is in joint names rather just his ideally so they can’t use it as an asset for residential care. That said if you file for divorce you should get at least50% potentially more as the lower income partner but he would need someone to protect his interests as he’s currently vulnerable

Generally try to learn as much as you can about everything and gather everything into a spreadsheet or document in one place eg account /
plan numbers:
Pensions: providers, current amounts, payout dates etc
flat: mortgage? Agent? Monthly income, annual expenses, service charge - is it making a profit once tax paid?
house: mortgage provider, term, payments, interest rate
Any ISAs? If not open one and start feeding your lump sum into it 20k tax free per year

Thankyou all so much . Yes I'll take this opportunity to assess everything as v difficult when he's here .
Hopefully he will recover but I need to sharpen up in any case.

Do you know if the deeds to the homes are as tenants in common? If they are it means you own half, and that half can’t be touched if he needs to pay for care.

As the OP is over 60, it doesn’t matter how the house is owned - it will not be used in any financial assessment. The other property they own will be though.

No I don't know that.
Perhaps when I search through all the paperwork which is just stuffed in a drawer I'll find out more. I'll start looking today

Is the rental flat jointly owned? If so you would be well advised to give Notice to your tenant as soon as possible prior to it becoming more difficult in May this year. This is an asset you will need to either live in or sell for the equity. It will count as an asset which would deny you any means tested benefits helping
in your old age so better to release the cash now

Yes Thankyou it's not worth a lot it's in the cheapest most unfashionable bit of London but I could live there if I needed to . At least I'd feel safe .

My FIL was in his 90’s and his home was sold to pay for care, so not sure what you mean

Depending on the exact nature of his breakdown he could get better, it’s possible, but otherwise he could need to go into care of some kind, you need to ensure that as much of his money is in joint names rather just his ideally so they can’t use it as an asset for residential care.

@hahagogomomo If you're suggesting that OP changes ownership to reflect joint ownership of certain assets / savings, then that is really irresponsible. Local authorities are wise to all the things people do to deprive themselves or their partners of their assets and they go through all paperwork going back any amount of years.

OP - sorry you're in this horrible situation. As others have said, get a full picture best you can of his finances but I'm no legal expert and no doctor, but I think that he isn't currently of sound mind or doesn't have capacity to give you log-ins, sign over assets, co-evict your tenant and things like that? Personally I would invest in an hour with a solicitor to talk it through and keep on top of all monthly payments.

Thankyou I'm hoping for the best but the last 1-2 years have been so dreadful the thought of living like that again is terrifying and this has been my only bit of breathing space.
I have looked at everything now. He never kept things secret from me I just trusted him to manage everything so didn't watch or plan .
I'll see how things go this week I'm just enjoying being at home . Next week I'll see a solicitor
Thankyou all for your input
It just goes to show life is very unpredictable and we should all be aware that things and people can change suddenly

Not sure what's wrong with him, but it sounds like you need a power of attorney so you manage his finances?