Tax on money entrusted to care for parents.

Weatherwax

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Almost two years ago my father needed to go into a nursing home as the illness he was suffering from meant he was unable to move and could barely talk. He was no longer able to manage the day to day issues that arise running a family home or his care needs, without help, and was unable to sign checks or leave the nursing home to go to the bank.
I was asked to take over the management of these things and the future care of my mother who due to some brain damage was able to live alone with assistance but was unable to do anything that involved numbers or sequencing and has short term memory loss.

My father did not want to give me control of all of his money and so gave me €25,000 to put into an account in my name which I would use to pay his nursing home fees and to use for the care of his wife, my mother in the case of his death and before any money from his will came through. It can be harder than you think for someone who is ill to let go of all control and sometimes all a person has is financial control.

My father died a few weeks after that arrangement was arrived at and I have made good use of the money and was careful to be able to account for all of it, in case it was ever questioned by siblings who are not contributing at the moment because of their own issues.

Now that the money is nearly gone and the will is just dragging along, Im looking at my own financial situation and possible tax implications on this money. At the time I just did whatever was asked or suggested to keep everyone happy and comfortable. Will I be liable for tax on the €25,000, will it be treated as a gift or inheritance even when it was not given for my own use or is there any exemption for money given for care purposes.

Im also wondering what might be the best way to finance my mothers future needs. She should be getting some money from the will but that seems to be taking a lot of time and the executor seems to have just put in for probate in the last few weeks so it could take quite a bit more time. What would be the best way of getting some money to supplement her before the will comes through. Could she borrow money on her house which she now own outright or is that a bad idea financially.
 
I can't see any tax implications for you in that money.

You are simply acting as agent paying expenses for your father and mother with his money.

Don't worry about it.

I don't think that there are any equity release products on the market at the moment, so your mother won't be able to raise cash on her house.

Who is the executor? Can you hurry them along? Can you get some sort of statement from them about how much your mother will be getting and when? If so, a bank might give you an overdraft to cover the expenses.

Brendan
 
Thank you so much for that reply Brendan Burgess even a bill for a percentage of the €25,000 in tax would be too much for me right now and it would indeed seem unfair. Thats at least one worry off my mind and the overdraft is an idea I can work with. I feel a little lighter now.
 
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