Mum has Vascular dementia. Fiercely independent but does need some help with meds ,shopping,and bits and bobs for which my brother and I share responsibility.I work part time and have childcare a few days a week plus care for my husband who also has Vascular dementia.
So mum is in her own home and manages quite well but over the last 6 months she has several falls the last one resulted in her having 2 fractured cheek bones but other than looking like a panda she’s fine.So my brother is worried that she may have to go into a home if she continues to fall and then he can say goodbye to the inheritance.So he wants us all to take mum on a cruise and her to pay . Obviously I can’t go as I have too much responsibility but if mum is agreeable I have no objections to them going if they can get insurance to take her.
Now I know mum will want to be fair and give me the money instead and she always treats us equally and she will worry about it if it’s not possible which I don’t want to happen
I believe she can only take 3k a year out of her account to gift anything else has to be accounted for but she will insist on giving me equivalent funds because my husband and I can’t go.
So this isn’t a problem as such I’m just looking for advice.I don’t want to take money from mum which will probably be about 6k if I have to pay it back should she go into a home.Can she gift it to me because we can’t join her on the cruise?
I realise its pie in the sky and she might never go into care but I don’t want to take money I would be petrified to spend in case I’ve got to pay it back
Sorry if I’m waffling but I’m a bit upset about the whole thing
Can we start at the beginning?
I know the following seem random questions but they relate to specific parts of the care regulations which relate directly to your question!
How old is mum? Does she have over £23,000 in savings (just yes/no)
Do you or your brother have Power of Attorney?
Does mum own her home?
Do you or any other relative live there?
How many hours a week do you spend doing things for mum?
Does she have over £23,000 in savings (just yes/no). Yes
Do you or your brother have Power of Attorney?..No
Does mum own her home?..yes but Equity taken out
Do you or any other relative live there? No
How many hours a week do you spend doing things for mum? Me 4-5…Bro..7-8
hi @Tango59 ,well this is where you got to be careful over money. As she got vascular dementia, I would suggest some legal advice over this and the reason for this because at any moment ,your mum can turn around and say you stole the money or your brother did. I know it sound not nice to say that but it does happen and then the stress that can in tail you don’t want. I would look up dementia uk and have a chat with them as they normally have someone to give you so advice on matters like this. here is a link to it Home - Dementia UK
Though my own mum does not have dementia but memory issues, and I have been there where is ok to give me money one min then the next say I took it with out asking. That why I suggest some legal advice before you do anything else. hope it helps.
@bowlingbun am I right in saying that the £3k gifts can be backdated 3 years, but that the £3k is the total gift allowed to everyone in a year, not per person?
@Tango59 are you on about for inheritance tax purposes . Gifts can be given for a total of £3,000 per year. Either to one person or between several.
She can gift as many £250 gifts as she wants per person. Per year .But cannot combine this with another allowance. Such as the £3,000 annual exemption to the same person in the same year.
Carried forward.if you don’t use your allowance in a tax year ,you can carry over the unused portion to the next tax year but only for one year.this means a couple could potentially gift up to £6,000 together in a single year if they have unused allowances.
Then there is the 7 year rule you can gift as much as you want provided you live 7 years after the money .if you pass within the 7 years the gift is considered a potentionally exempt transfer and may be added back to the value of your estate for inheritance tax purposes. I suggest you read gov.uk and uk government inheritance tax guide.
The above is to do with inheritance tax laws only and nothing to do with social care laws.you should also read social care laws and deprivation of assets as these are different to inheritance tax laws.Also the 7 year rule does not apply to social care laws some people think it does and it does not. I also see that you live in Wales so your care laws are different to mine as I live in England.
The question is whether the council will say she has depleted her funds and therefore deprived the council of money to pay for her care. When was the equity release done - was she already looking in need of care? (they will ask). And as for the £3,000 a year, that is just a way of keeping funds out of inheritance tax. It could still be seen as deprivation of funds. The cruise and the payment to you would also possibly be seen as deprivation of funds.
BB is right of course about power of attorney - is your mother legally able to make these decisions?
About the cruise, just guessing, but if she regularly goes on cruises it’s probably OK, but if it’s an unexpectedly expensive holiday, the council - social services - might question it.