Alcoholic brother, due to receive inheritance. How to keep money safe?

volchitsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124007522#Comment_124007522

Just on passport application: my son (perfectly competent, now in permanent employment) had his application returned/misdelivered etc three times now. Luckily he's entitled to a UK one and has been using that - but when something goes wrong the passport office are TERRIBLE about telling you. His first application was during lockdown when he was a student: they refused the application because the referee hadn't signed properly (yes my son should have known but he was 19 at the time), then they returned the original documents to an address he had by then moved on from, and by the time he knew the originals had been lost or destroyed. So he had to do the whole thing all over again.

I'm honestly not surprised someone suffering from alcoholism can't manage to get a passport.

Round tower

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124007522#Comment_124007522

Does he need a drivers licence, u can get a new drivers licence online using a PSC, if it's not out of date, then he can get a ne PSC online.

Are u paying all the household bills, electricity, property tax, water bills, is he paying any utility bills,

pooch90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124008446#Comment_124008446

He had been paying the esb before he moved out of the family home (not competently though!) But no bills in his name atm. The last bill would still be in date for the application though. New owners would forward any mail.

Drivers licence is long gone by now.

I've been paying everything on the family home as executor since he left. The one off expenses (lpt, insurance etc) were split between all kids.

Escapees

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124008446#Comment_124008446

Not trying to be funny, but he might be better off not getting a driver's licence given his vice...

Victor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124008421#Comment_124008421

Small town. The solicitor who was executor lived on same road. Whether it was the deceased told the solicitor or the solicitor knew anyway about the brother-in-law's shenanigans I don't know.

My sister was a passive player in this. The only thing she thought odd was that the contract had a confidentiality clause prohibiting her from discussing the sale or the sale price. It was only years later that she knew the full picture.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124008421#Comment_124008421

Not difficult at all. The husband didn't own any share in the house, so the sale did not required his consent, approval or invovlement, and he was not entitled to any share of the sale proceeds. The wife, who sold the house, was entitled to the entire sale proceeds and could do whatever she liked with them. She chose to invest them in an annuity contract with an insurance company. Again, the husband was not involved in any way in the purchase of that contract, and didn't need to know about it.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124008404#Comment_124008404

Yeah, if the house was purchased with the alcoholic brother's inheritance, this looks like a gift of a half-share in a house to the OP, which would have various unpleasant tax consequences. So it's important to document that the OP holds his share of the house as trustee for the alcoholic brother.

(Different if the OP was also receiving an inheritance and the two of them agreed to pool their inheritances to buy a house which they would own jointly.)

pooch90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124011160#Comment_124011160

Any rental income from the house will be solely his. I believe the solicitors intention was that, if he dies, I will only be receiving "half a property " in inheritance as the other half is mine already. Would that make sense?

Quitelife

if it’s any consolation your lucky he’s not a cocaine addict as the money would be gone ten times quicker .
Neighbours son was left parents house in County Limerick 3 years ago and sold it for 250K and started renting a flat , had dabbled in drugs and and off over the years but once his windfall became local knowledge local traveller drug gang made it their business to snare him as one of their clients and before long he was chronically addicted and for a finish up he was snorting huge amounts of cocaine every day Until all the money was gone , he’s now homeless in Limericky city . All within 3 years . Totally fcuked now , looks about twice his age and will die a young man penniless . Drug gang are laughing though paying for expensive headstones and extravagant weddings with his and other misfortunes money

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124011408#Comment_124011408

That would not make sense as it implies that your solicitor believes you are half-owner of the property from the outset implying you have received it as a gift from your brother if only his part of the inheritance was used. Peregrinus’s approach is the more sensible one. Otherwise you would have an immediate “dry” tax charge; ie have to pay tax without the underlying cash or asset to discharge it.

However, I’d question the sense of acquiring an investment property if he has a housing need. Assuming no other assets or sources of income, that housing cost would have to be borne out if the after-tax rent.

pooch90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124011583#Comment_124011583

Where he is at the moment is fine for the next few years. He's safe and I have someone nearby keeping an eye on his welfare. The rental income more than covers this plus bills.

Yeah I'm not sure about the best way to go about everything. Need proper advice before doing anything. And quickly too as the investment property agent wants to move quickly.

Its all a headache I could do without and the easy thing to do would just be let him get the money and drink himself to death, or lose it to a drug gang like said above. But I know my mother died worried sick about him and I just don't have it in me to let the above scenarios play out. If he ends up homeless, I'd have to take him in I have 4 kids in a 3 bed house atm.

Just need to get us to a solicitor and probably an accountant. I think I probably need my own separate advice too.

JVince

Ordinary power of attorney is an option as is a discretionary trust (but this can be costly - but may be worth it)

You need an independent solicitor to act on behalf of your brother. The current solicitor may be able to send fund to this new solicitor to hold in trust until things are sorted.

Should be easy enough to get some form of acceptable ID to open a bank or credit union account assuming a birth cert is available.

csirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124011583#Comment_124011583

Id agree with the final paragraph. Someone who cannot look after their own affairs, hold down a job etc etc is at high risk of becoming homeless. Furthermore, he wont be housed by a local authority if he owns a house.

Surely the no. 1 priority is that your brother has a rioof over his head for life - it might make more sense to buy him somewhere to live.

Also, Id questiion how someone who doesnt have the wherewithall to do simple tasks such as renewing a passport or drivers license will be able to keep on top of the admin burden that comes with owning an investment property i.e. RTB, tax returns, insurance, issuing leases etc. etc. Yes, the op may be able to do some tasks, but if they guy cant take a photo for a paszport he wont be doing his tax returns.

pooch90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124011882#Comment_124011882

I can do the insurance etc. The tax is another matter.

It's just this one property that I'd even look at investment wise and purely because it has a council lease in place already.

Other than that, the next option is buying him somewhere near us that he could potentially do Rent-a-Room scheme with.

Where he is at the moment is ideal for the support network he needs and no maintenance etc.

Victor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124007425#Comment_124007425

You need your solicitor to see the contract with the tenant / council.

While the Rent-a-Room scheme might be tax-efficient and for the moment shouldn't affect any welfare entitlements, I'm not sure how many people who want to live with him. A property with a granny flat might be an option.

pooch90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124012451#Comment_124012451

That's the other part of why he's better where he is. He's not an aggressive drunk, he's actually very nice all round. But he's a scruffy, dirty maggot and I wouldn't want to share with him, so that's why I'm thinking the investment property and him stay put is the least hassle option for now.

Budget only really covers an apartment or small/old house.

csirl

What sort of accommodatiion is he in right now? How secure is it?

From.a financial perspective:

Rental income - rental expenses/taxes < Rent

Makes no financial sense!

pooch90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124012677#Comment_124012677

It's a self contained flat in a building owned by people we both know and trust. There's a good gap between what he's paying and what the potential rental income is.

Peregrinus

Ordinary power of attorney is an option

No, it won't do what's needed here. An ordinary power of attorney would allow OP to make decisions in relation to his brother's affairs, but it won't stop brother making decisions about his own affairs — the attorney's powers exist in parallel with, not in place of, the person's own powers. Plus, the brother could revoke an ordinary power of attorney at any time.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124011408#Comment_124011408

No, not really.

• If you're getting a gift of half a property now, with the rest to come by way of inheritance, you have a tax liability now on half the value of the property.
• Plus, if you're getting a gift of half a property now, how come all the rent will go to the brother? You're entitled to half of it (and liable to tax on half of it, even if you allow it to be paid to the brother).

Escapees

Crazy simplistic idea, but why not lock away a good bit of the savings in state bonds, e.g. 10 year ones, or something to this effect with a modest degree of interest. There might even be offerings with annual interest paid, I'm not sure. But there's probably some options to lock away money as an investment with NO option to break the contract and access the sum during the term. Then you just need to get involved at the next renewal to guide what amount to reinvest etc. when the time comes... As a by the way, I wouldn't worry about losing some of the inheritance to tax etc, so long as the bulk of it is safe and secure.