can my father just give me the house

C

cathylou

Guest
hi,

my father retired a few months ago and is just drawing the state pension. after discussions with him and the rest of the family it was suggested that he give the house to me (as i'm the only one still living there and have been maintaining the house and paying the bills for several years in anyway) and re-mortgage the the house for a sum of money that he could use in his retirement (approx 100k). does anyone know if he can just sign the house over to me and if so are there any tax implications to doing this. the rest of the family has assured me that they would not dispute his wishes if he choses to go through with it. i know there are 'gift' issues but the house would only be valued at about 320,000 and from what i've read the threshold is greater than this and i've never received any other gifts. it has always been his house of residence so there shouldn't be any CGT issues either. i'm just wondering if there is anything else i should be aware of.
 
If he is going to live in the house, and you want to mortgage it, he will have to postpone any right of residence in the property. If you subsequently cannot pay the mortgage and the house is repossessed, he will lose the house also. You will have stamp duty liabilities unless you are a first time buyer.

A word of advice to your father : do not divest yourself of your assets ever. You may need to sell them for long term care. What happens if you all fall out? This has happened to some of my clients who now bitterly regret being on either side of the equation some years after the event.

mf
 
Also there may be implications for him having 100k depending on the type of state pension he is in receipt of.
 
Also there may be implications for him having 100k depending on the type of state pension he is in receipt of.
If he is getting any means tested benefits your could jeprodise them by allowing him to stay in the house!
 
A word of advice to your father : do not divest yourself of your assets ever. You may need to sell them for long term care. What happens if you all fall out? This has happened to some of my clients who now bitterly regret being on either side of the equation some years after the event.

This is good advice, what seems like a good idea now can be very different in 5 or 10 years time.
 
thanks a million for your replies. it's just something that is being discussed at the moment and i need people playing devils advocate!
 
i suggest that you contact citizens advice as they have alot of good info...or maybe anonymous call to dept of social welfare as regards father's means test

madilla and corkgal are correct... i recall similar situation last year and i think there is a 20k limit for a single retired person.. if above this limit then father could be means tested for medical card and for pension. I do not know if this limit has chnaged or not in last budget so worth ringing them
 
A friend's parents signed the home over to her about 3 years ago. She was single late 20's and showed no signs of getting married. Within 12 months she had met a man and 3 months later they got engaged and he moved in with them. Within another six months they married. BTW he had no assets and no job. By then she had started putting pressure on her parents to move out and now they are in sheltered accomodation. We used to joke with her parents that they better watch out now that they were tenants!! How true it turned out and in a very short time!! Never sign away the roof over your head as you will undoubtedly live to regret it!! Know of many other stories too some closer to home.
 
hi,

my father retired a few months ago and is just drawing the state pension. after discussions with him and the rest of the family it was suggested that he give the house to me (as i'm the only one still living there and have been maintaining the house and paying the bills for several years in anyway) and re-mortgage the the house for a sum of money that he could use in his retirement (approx 100k). does anyone know if he can just sign the house over to me and if so are there any tax implications to doing this. the rest of the family has assured me that they would not dispute his wishes if he choses to go through with it. i know there are 'gift' issues but the house would only be valued at about 320,000 and from what i've read the threshold is greater than this and i've never received any other gifts. it has always been his house of residence so there shouldn't be any CGT issues either. i'm just wondering if there is anything else i should be aware of.
No stamp duty if you are a FTB - otherwise pay half the normal rate (consanguinity relief)
No Gift Tax because the house is worth less than €434,000 (unless you previously received other cash from your father)
No Capital Gains Tax for your father - so long as the house qualifies as his Principal Private Residence (PPR) (check with revenue as you say that you have been living alone).
If you give him 100K later there is no gift tax on this as you can say it is in consideration for the house he gave you.
 
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