Gift Applications
A deputy has the right to manage the money of a disabled person and spend it on their behalf, as long as what they are spending the money on is for the benefit of the disabled person. However, they do not have the right to make gifts of the disabled person’s money, other than small gifts for birthdays and Christmas etc.
So for example a deputy could not decide to give away £15,000 of the money belonging to a grandparent who has Alzheimer’s to their grandchild, to help pay for a university education.
Sometimes, gifts like this can be a good idea, either because it would help the person with a disability to do some Inheritance Tax planning, or because it would be right to help look after their family and friends in that situation.
Before such a gift can be made, the Court of Protection must give its permission. This involves making an application to Court setting out the financial position of the person with the disability, what their current state of health is and whether their financial needs might change substantially in the future.
The application would also need to set out what the gift is that is being suggested, to whom it will be made and why. The Court will then decide whether the gift is approved or not.
Although you do not have to have a Solicitor to make the application for you, it can be very useful to do so. A Solicitor will make sure that your case is presented properly and all the arguments as to why it should happen are put forward in order to persuade the Court that the gift is a good idea.
We have dealt with making many gift applications in the past, such as the gift from a mother to her children of her rental properties, in order to minimise the Inheritance Tax that would be payable in the event of her death. If someone you know might be in a situation where a gift application would be appropriate.
If you would like to have a chat about your options or how we may be able to help you please contact a member of the team, complete our call back form or contact us directly at your local office.
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