brothers money

[sammmo]

I have a brother that has been institutionalised for over 40 yrs he is registered under the mental health act..we have recently found out that he has enough money to pay for his funeral arrangements in a barclays bank account his money that pays for his keep etc at his home is in another halifax account.. my mother who is his next of kin has said she'd like to make his funeral arrangement wth this money. but when she went to barclays to explain this they said my brother would have to sign for the money which he's not capable of doing.. if we left this money in his account and my mother who is 85 dies before him.. would the money automaticaly go to the government or would it come to his brothers and sisters after his death who could arrange his funeral arrangements..we are talking a total of less than �10k or does anyone know how to go about getting this money so my mother could arrange the funeral which would give her piece of mind..

[bednobs]

hi, is your brother dead? If not, why does your mum want to arange his funeral now?

[CheekyChops]

I don't mean to be rude but is your brother likely to die anytime soon? I don't understand how you can arrange somebody's funeral when you don't know when they are going to die!!

See it from the Bank's point of view - anyone could walk into a Bank and say "Can I have my son's money out please, he is mentally incapable". Even if the Bank are aware of that fact, he may have made a will leaving his dosh to someone else so they still won't give it to your mum.

If your mum dies before your mother then no the money wouldn't go automatically to the government (I'm not sure why you think it would) it will form part of your brothers estate and assuming he has no children, would go to his brothers and sisters.

[Barmaid]

I suspect you are wanting to do a prepaid funeral plan which is extremely common these days.

If your brother is mentally incapacitated is there a power of attorney? Or is the Public Guardianship office acting on his behalf? If the former, the attorney can withdraw the money on production of the PoA to the bank. if the latter, inform the guardian what you are trying to do. However, what I say next may make this a waste of time.

If there are no parents who survive the deceased, the money will go to the brothers and sisters of the whole bloody first. HOWEVER, the funeral account has to be settled before the brothers and sisters get any of the money and they only get what is left after all debts and the funeral account has been settled.

[sammmo]

sorry i did'nt make it clearer..barmaid was right in assuming that my mother would like to arrange one of these prepaid funeral deals.. also the money is'nt earning any interest at all in the account its in so would like it moved to where its would be earning more.. apparently according to my elderly mother a social worker said when he died the money would go to the government.. i hav'nt had chance to speak to this social worker as she's on holiday until next week but is this possible?

[Barmaid]

Think the social worker is wrong. If he total estate is only around �10k, the estate will pass under intestacy. It will go to his parents first (assuming there is no spouse or children). If there are no parents surviving it goes to siblings of the whole blood first.

Not sure what the social worker has based their advice on. Maybe you ought to ask them. The only thing I think it could be is some sort of contribution to fees, but that should have really been dealt with whilst he is alive seeing as he has the funds in cash.

[sammmo]

thanks barmaid.. one other thing you may help with.. he is'nt our whole blood ..he's only half brother as he has a different father to the rest of us..his father was killed in WW2
does it make a difference?

[Ethel]

No difference at all.

:)

[UkPagan54]

Having had a similar problem some years ago. You should see a solicitor to try to see if you can gain Power of Atourney. ( sorry if I spelt that wrong ). Dont take any advice unless it`s from somebody who know the reality of the matter. I might cost you money but shouldnt be too much. It`s a hell of a lot safer. You might be surprised at the people who come out of the woodwork on the death of somebody.