My father has had to go into a care home and is no longer capable of dealing with his financial affairs. I need to sell his house in order to pay for his nursing fees. What do I do?
Presuming that your father is the sole owner of the property, and is no longer capable of putting in place a Lasting Power of Attorney, to personally appoint someone to deal with his affairs, then you can apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as his Deputy. Generally speaking you will be asking the Court to allow you to deal with your father’s property and affairs and more specifically on this occasion, to give you permission to sell his property. It will be necessary to complete a number of forms regarding your father’s circumstances (both personal and financial) and your own personal circumstances. In addition, it will be necessary to have a medical assessment carried out by a doctor to confirm that he is indeed no longer capable of dealing with his financial affairs. You must also give notice of your application to your father and anyone who you reasonably believe has an interest in your father’s affairs, his nearest living relatives who still take an interest in his affairs and possibly other people who are close to him. Any of the people who are given notice have the right to object to your application on certain grounds. When the application is made a court fee (presently £400.00) is payable, unless an exemption or remission applies in which case the fee will be reduced, possibly to nil. The Court will usually make an order to appoint you as the Deputy without a hearing, unless there are any objections or the Court has any other concerns as to your appointment. The Deputyship order will then enable you to act on your father’s behalf to sell the property.
It may of course be that there are other alternatives to cover the fees other than selling the property. For example, it may be possible to agree with the local authority that they will pay the fees and place an interest free charge (a mortgage) against the property to be repaid following your father’s death or earlier sale of the property. This is something that you should look into.
For more information please contact Jacobs & Reeves http://www.jacobsreeves.co.uk
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