Inheritance and the disabled

[MickDublin]

A number of year ago my parents decided that they wanted to leave the family home to my brother who is disabled since birth. In his teens he was involved in a car accident and received compensation for injuries. With this compensation he bought the house from my parents on the basis that they could live in the house until their deaths. Myself and my 3 other siblings agreed to this at the time and we each received a share of the sale price of the house. Both my parents have sinced passed away. A friend with a child with Downes Syndrome has recently being looking into providing a will for her child and has been advised that she should not will more than €50,000 to her child as if he is taking into care the state will claim anything over €50,000. My brother is currently living in sheltered accomadation is there a chance that he could loose both the compensation from his accident, the family home if he stays in this situation.

Thanks

Mick

 

[path]

Am the parent of a child with Down Syndrome and we are in the process of doing a will. AFAIK there is a Trust Will which is being investigated and we have contacted a solicitor who has worked with families in which a family member has a disability.

We were also told, not by our solicitor, that thse HSE would take property/funds to cover costs of care.

PM if you want any information

 

[Complainer]

With this compensation he bought the house from my parents on the basis that they could live in the house until their deaths. Myself and my 3 other siblings agreed to this at the time and we each received a share of the sale price of the house.

Were there independent trustees (other than the family members recieving the money) involved in deciding that this was the best use of his compensation funds?

A friend with a child with Downes Syndrome has recently being looking into providing a will for her child and has been advised that she should not will more than €50,000 to her child as if he is taking into care the state will claim anything over €50,000. My brother is currently living in sheltered accomadation is there a chance that he could loose both the compensation from his accident, the family home if he stays in this situation.

Is it unreasonable that his assets should be used to pay for his care?

I guess that groups like Down Syndrome Ireland http://www.downsyndrome.ie/ might be of help here.

 

[Mommah]

I have experience of working with someone with a profound disability who was a ward of state. This man had significant compensation from the time he incurred his injuries as a young child.

He had to live in a private nursing home, whereas his penniless peers lived in specialised accommadation for people with learning disabilities, group homes and such...which were much more suitable for this individual, but which he was not allowed access to as he had means to pay his own care costs. In summary he would be better off if he had no money.

I have family with disability and would advise their parents to think carefully about leaving them any money. It's a very thorny question.
Certainly I would think leaving it to a sibling to care for that person might be a better option, requiring of course significant trust in that sibling.

 

[MickDublin]

First of all thank you all for taking the time to reply.

Mommah, my brothers situation is so similar to the situation you describe. My brother has lived in a group home since before my parents died. And it is exactly that, his home and in effect his second family. He has thrived personally since living here. My big fear is that he is at risk of loosing this because he is reasonably financially secure.

Path, thanks for the offer, if its ok, ill pm over the next few days.

Hi Complainer,
thanks for your reply and to answer your questions, A trust was set up after the accident including my father, a cousin, my eldest brother and a solicitor. My father and the solicitor have since passed away and my sister has stepped in as a trustee. We only found out recetly that the solicitor had passed away, but at the time he was involved in signing the house over to my brother.

We are happy to use the assets in whatever way to care for my brother, at the end of the day that had always been the intention of my parents. But as I mentioned earlier in this post (i know not in my initial question) my brother is now established in what is really his new family and home, in a group home, and my concern is that this security is threatened by his financial security. One option we had thought about looking into further would be to sign the house over to the organisation who run the home he lives in.

 

[Complainer]

Hi Complainer,
thanks for your reply and to answer your questions, A trust was set up after the accident including my father, a cousin, my eldest brother and a solicitor. My father and the solicitor have since passed away and my sister has stepped in as a trustee. We only found out recetly that the solicitor had passed away, but at the time he was involved in signing the house over to my brother.

Thanks for the clarifications. I wasn't being nosey. It was just that as you described the transaction, it looked as if it was a way to get your brother's compo money to other members of the family. Please don't take any offence. I'm not accusing you of anything - just letting you know that this is how it might look to an outsider.

We are happy to use the assets in whatever way to care for my brother, at the end of the day that had always been the intention of my parents. But as I mentioned earlier in this post (i know not in my initial question) my brother is now established in what is really his new family and home, in a group home, and my concern is that this security is threatened by his financial security. One option we had thought about looking into further would be to sign the house over to the organisation who run the home he lives in.

I would tread very, very carefully about signing over the house. Even with the best of intentions, it may be impossible for the directors of the organisation to give priority to your brother over their other clients.

You may well need professional advise on this. Consider engaging a solicitor with experience in these matters and family trusts. Downs Syndrome Ireland may be able to refer you to an advisor.