A leading expert on wills and estate planning has shared his advice on the precautions you need to take before selling a home of a person who has appointed you as their attorney.
Estate planning expert Steve Bish explained that the need to sell a home often happens when a person is no longer able to care for themselves by a friend or relative who has been appointed as an attorney to act on their behalf.
He said: “An agreement, called a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), gives powers to make decisions on behalf of someone, but putting a loved one’s home on the market is not easy.
You have to ensure you get the best price and have the responsibility of clearing the house, and taking care of all the admin.
The move could be made to provide a more suitable home for the person, usually a parent or relative, or to enable them to move into a care home.”
Steve says there are a number of potential pitfalls and chief among them is to check to make sure you really do have the legal authority to sell.
He continued: “It’s important to note that there are two types of LPA, one that covers health and welfare and another that covers property and financial affairs, and it is the latter that is needed to sell a home.
You would not have the legal authority to sell if you were an attorney under a health and welfare LPA so it is important to check which type you have – check with a solicitor if in doubt.
LPAs must be registered and approved by the Office of the Public Guardian and, if you are one of a number of appointed attorneys, you may need the agreement of others to proceed.
Insurance is one consideration you need to check before proceeding, one you have confirmed that you have the necessary authority and you are required to act in the best interests of the donor.
This includes looking after their home and insuring it in the correct way: be sure to check if you have to notify an insurance company if the home is unoccupied, otherwise you could be left liable for damage caused by a burst water pipe, for example.
To prove that you have taken steps to ensure that you get the best price for the property, you should obtain valuations from three different agents and consider using the average as a realistic asking price.
You can ask an agent for a written recommendation if they believe that an offer is a good price for the property.
Don’t forget that you will also be responsible for all of the issues related to selling a house, such as notifying utility companies, paying bills, redirecting mail and clearing the house.”
Steve said it was also important, as an attorney, to be mindful that you have specific legal requirements to fulfil.
The five main principles are:
- You must assume that the donor is able to make their own decisions until you have evidence that they do not
- You should assist them to make decisions themselves as far as possible
- The donor has the right to make an unwise decision
- Any decision you make on their behalf must be in their best interests
- Any decision must be the one that least limits their rights and freedoms
For further information, please see: www.sbishestateplanning.co.uk
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