Fair Deal/Nursing Homes Fair Deal - Farmer, No Will

T

TheJackal

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Looking for some advice please on Fair Deal Scheme.

Father-in-Law died 2 years ago with no will. Mother-in-law inherited house, farm but has Alzheimer's and will need nursing home care in the near future.

1. There is no Enduring Power of Attorney in place so I believe our options are either seeking

a) Ward of Court
We'd need to go to Circuit Court

b) Care Representative
We'd need to go to Circuit Court
Only allows you sort Nursing Home Loan and charge against assets.

2. Children have own families and income so have no need to have access to MIL's bank accounts, etc. (So option 1b above seems preferable route) But need to ensure MIL has money for day-to-day items.
Can she still collect her pension each week (with assistance to get to/from post office by nursing home staff or family)?

3. Family Farm is leased to cousin. So 3-year cap wouldn't count.

4. For the Finanacial Assessment, do you include both the annual rental income from the farm lease and the value of farm land, or just one? To include both seems like double taxation @ 7.5% each per annum and no cap per 3 above?
 
Re the POA, how far along in Alzheimer's progression is she and is she still capable of making a decision?. In the case of my own mother a few years ago in the very early stages, her solicitor was of the view that she was and we were able to put one in place

Powers of Attorney

Power of Attorney is a legal device in Ireland that can be set up by a person (the Donor) to allow another specially appointed person (the Attorney) to act on their behalf. An enduring power of attorney only takes effect when the donor becomes mentally incapacitated and no longer able to...
www.citizensinformation.ie www.citizensinformation.ie

Pension can be paid directly to a bank account if she can sign the relevant form

How to get a social welfare payment into your bank

You can get payment at any bank or post office. If you have a verified MyGovId account, you can change your details online. Alternatively, you can change your bank details by sending a completed form.
www.gov.ie www.gov.ie

Alternatively, a temporary agent can be set up to collect it on her behalf, again a form she would need to sign
 
Thanks for the replies.

We tried to get POA 2 years ago, about 6 months after diagnosis (her husband had been a bit in denial and delayed applying for POA). She was early stage but even then GP refused to sign off. Husband died shortly after.
So we'll likely go the Care Representative route.

Good to know re direct payment to bank account or temporary agent. Might stick to in-person at first, it'd give her a chance to have a guaranteed weekly visit and chance to leave nursing home, but that may quickly prove too tricky.

Thanks for the heads up that Wards of Court will be gone from April. I see here

The 2022 Amendment Act makes changes to the 2015 Act, allowing for that Act to come into full force.
Instead of being made wards of court, people will be able to avail of a tiered range of decision support options:
  • decision making assistants
  • co-decision makers
  • decision making representatives
and a good website here
The first two options wouldn't work with Alzheimer's patients I'd say. The final one requires a court order and seems closest to being a Ward of Court under the old model.

The main question I have left is the farm land and lease income, as it could lead to a very high bill. A charge of 7.5% per year on the land would likely mean having to sell some fields to pay the bill but as it's leased out they couldn't sell it!
 
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