Deputies and property disposal

Looking for confirmation.

Looking at S18 & Schedule 2 of the Mental Capacity Act property, shares etc can either continue to vest with the person, P or if the Court declares it they can be entrusted to the deputy M?

So for housing benefit it might be capital, or if it’s in trust then any income from that capital would be income for the purposes of MTBs.

Am I right?

Dan Manville - 03 July 2017 10:19 AM

Looking for confirmation.

Looking at S18 & Schedule 2 of the Mental Capacity Act property, shares etc can either continue to vest with the person, P or if the Court declares it they can be entrusted to the deputy M?

So for housing benefit it might be capital, or if it’s in trust then any income from that capital would be income for the purposes of MTBs.

Am I right?

?

if it helps, i might be able to assist from my own experience as my mother’s deputy.

Any property remains that of the incapacitated person, but the deputy can deal as deputy.  So, for example, in the case of stocks and shares, i have written to the various places with a copy of my appointment and they now write to me as deputy, rather than to my mother

however, any income from the same goes into her account (or rather, the deputy account i opened for the purpose, so it’s still mother’s money but i have control of it).  (in my case, mother’s bank treated her then current account as deputy’s account, which i didn’t realise they would do until after i’d opened a formal “deputys account” with HSBC…..)

any “real property” e.g. house, still belongs to the incapacitous person, but if it is to be sold then an order allowing sale has to be obtained from the CoP and the deputy signs the transfer AS DEPUTY - and proceeds belong to the incapacitious person, being paid into the deputy account.  I am not sure if that applies to stocks and shares, but assume so (haven’t tried to find out as i find the whole thing about stocks and shares mudlike….)

So where, if i’ve read your question right, your incapacitous person has income & capital and a deputy, and is applying for housing benefit, the housing benefit will still be means tested on the incapacitous person’s means following the usual rules.

unless, of course, there’s a PI trust…..

Thanks Claire

and any property still owned by the incapacitous person when they die falls into their estate to be dealt with in accordance with the will (if any) or the intestacy rules.  on death, the deputy’s appointment comes to an immediate end and authority transfers to the executors/administrators.  the deputy hands everything over to the executor/administrator.

as you probably know, deputies have to file accounts every year, and every now and again the OPG sends someone to visit (usually just as a matter of routine)