Fair Deal Scheme and divorce

Immaculata

My younger sister got married fifteen years ago. She and her husband, both of whom are now in their early forties, were happy enough together for a while and had two sons together. She inherited our grandmother's house and five acres of land down in Waterford, so she and her husband and sons moved there when the kids were toddlers. The kids are settled there and in good primary schools. My sister and her husband renovated the house and outbuildings, which had been nearly derelict, and made an attempt at living off the land but this didn't really work out for them. They did look for work but couldn't find anything suitable, considering how remote their place is and having childcare to consider too. So they have been relying on social welfare for a while.

Over time, unfortunately, they didn't get along so well, so my sister asked her husband to move out. He got a flat in Waterford town and they went through most of the legal separation mediation process. The gist of the agreement was that he would take his name off the house and land deeds, so my sister and the boys could live there from now on, and on his side, he wouldn't have to pay my sister any maintenance. They were fighting a lot when they were married but as is often the case, were getting divorced quite amicably. They were on the point of signing the legal separation documents and had been living apart for nearly four years when he collapsed in the street one day.

The good news is that he has made a reasonable recovery but the very bad news is that he's been diagnosed with vascular dementia. He was born in Dublin and that's where his brothers and sisters live, so he spent a long time in hospital in Dublin. He's now been moved to a nursing home that specialises in looking after people who have dementia. He will never be able to live independently again, and effectively is terminally ill. This is very hard to deal with, especially for my nephews, as you can imagine.

My sister now wants to sell up and move back to Dublin to be closer to me and her other sisters and to be closer to our parents, who are in their eighties. She would have a better chance of finding work closer to Dublin too. It would also be easier for her sons to visit their dad if they lived nearer. So she'd like to sign the Fair Deal paperwork, get divorced, sell up and move house, and get on with her life as an independent person. She has no plans to remarry.

She's talked to a legal aid solicitor but the solicitor doesn't seem to be in a position to advise her, or at least says that if she proceeds with the divorce, anything can happen in court, from being awarded 100% of the property to being ordered to give him (or at least, his family representatives) 50% of the property's value.

If my sister signs the Fair Deal scheme paperwork, is there a way to go on and sell the house and land with his name still on the deeds, such as power of attorney or wardship of court? Or does she have to go through with the divorce to be able to sell the house, and risk losing half the value of the property to a court order?

What would be the effect of staying married to her husband be - apart from signing the Fair Deal paperwork, which would commit a percentage of the market value of the property for his long term care? Would she have any further responsibilities to him after that, (apart from bringing their kids to visit him, which of course she's going to continue to do), and would he (or his family) have any further claim on her?

nuac

Mod
Sorry to hear of your difficulties, but legal advice is not allowed on this forum
Further you have given a lot of facts here which may identify the case to somebody
Propose leaving this open for now for general discussion on the topics in the post

Kristopherus

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/olderpeople/nhss/

The link above will explain what the Fair Deal Scheme is all about. IMO the divorce will not affect the financial assessment, as any financial arrangements made within the last 5 yrs is taken into account.