Who Should Have Mum’s Sports Car?

A lottery type type decision sounds wise, but the person who ‘wins’ the car should pay the value into mum’s estate. The car belongs to your mum after all.

Why not ask her who she would like to have it, I think she should decide.

Your POA obligates you to act in her best interests - including financially. Therefore, it would be wrong to hand over her property to another family member. The car should be valued, then a 'lottery' arrangement would be acceptable - providing it's full value is paid into her account.

This sort of question arose when my late F-I-L went into care. We had the item valued and it was up to family members who wanted it, to pay up.
The money would have been paid into
F-I L’s bank account and thus become part of the estate.
In the event, my F-i-L died before anything other than the valuation was done, so the person who wanted it most accepted it plus their share of the estate less the value of the object.

I would check the value of the car, my MIL had an SLK cabriolet it was older and sold for 10k.
Get it valued and give family first refusal, you hold POA so you have to act in your mothers best interests.

Oh Musky17 - what an uplifting story 😍- your Mum has been driving her sportscar till the age of 91 - wow wow wow !!!
I’m quite a few years younger and am already thinking of giving up driving, after a minor accident (forgot sunglasses and blinded by bright sunshine).
Regarding the car, I think there should be so e sort of a ‘lottery’ or sell the car and divide between her children (ie you and your siblings).

The fairest way is to agree a value and for those who are interested to put their names in the hat.

Check out the price, it could be a classic.

What are your mother's views on the subject? Does she mind who has it? She sounds like a strong-minded woman, she must have a view 🙂

I like her style! 😁

Hetty58

Your POA obligates you to act in her best interests - including financially. Therefore, it would be wrong to hand over her property to another family member. The car should be valued, then a 'lottery' arrangement would be acceptable - providing it's full value is paid into her account.

This sounds sensible. Except grandson not in the will, if it's going to Mum's children?

providing it's full value is paid into her account.

Yes, when I re-read my post I realised I'd meant to add that.

My husband and his brothers did this sort of arrangement when my MiL died some eighteen months ago. She had quite a bit of jewellery, some of it averagely valuable, most of it not so much. Anyway she had no daughters but several granddaughters and great granddaughters as well as grandson and great grandsons. It was decided to get the jewellery valued and then every piece had a price put on it. Every member of the family was free to ‘buy’ any piece they wanted and then the rest was sold second hand to a business. The money raised was put into her surviving husband’s account.
We bought a pretty little heart shaped locket set with tiny diamonds for our daughter. We didn’t get any other pieces. It was nice to get a memento for our daughter from her grandma.

We shared MIL's jewellery amicably many years ago but I believe that now everything of value has to be listed.

It was an impossible task to share MiL’s jewellery with so many females in the family and the values being so varied. The boys would have missed out too. Her sons decided the way to go and it worked.

My own mother left a letter of intent with her will, with most of her jewellery listed and going to a named recipient. I ensured that this is what happened. There were a couple of pieces left out because I had bought them for my mum later in her life, and so I decided who to give them to. Nothing was left to sell on so that didn’t arise.

A 17yr old Mercedes SLK is not a classic, decide on a value, probably around £5k. Draw lots who gets it but it’s value is deducted from their other inheritance, it is sentimental value after all, it will be sold quickly if you don’t deduct the value.

Katie59, the problem with that arrangement is it complicates matters if the mother outlives potential beneficiaries. It's amazing how families can squabble and really fall out over wills - even intent on grabbing or selling stuff when we're still alive. My lot have 'bagsied' certain items for when I fall off my perch - nice!

The first thing you need to do is get a valuation for the car. Speak to your local Mercedes dealer. You may get a shock to discover just how much it is worth.

The other thing to then remember is that, as your mother is still alive she owns the car and is among her assets and, as others have noted, as POA, you must act in her best financial interests.

From the sound of it your mother does not have dementia, so ask her what she would like to happen to her beloved car. her wishes should be pre-eminent and what she says goes, but discuss with her the alternatives available, but in the end she should make the decision.

My family fights over the NatWest Pigs.
But what style to drive a car like that!

If your mother still has capacity to make her own decisions (which it sounds as if she does), can't she just decide now who gets the car and gift it to them?

I’m assuming that you are selling your Mums assets to fund her care? In which case you have to achieve the best possible amount for her car, a couple of valuations and then whoever wants to buy it can.
If your Mum wants to gift the car it might be an idea to get her to write a letter to the person she wants to have it, explaining that it’s a gift and keep a copy of the letter in your files.

This happened with my father-in-law's car too. It was the love of his life and also about the same age. It had pale ecru leather seats and was pristine. We had it valued and let everyone know.

In the end the four children (my generation) didn't want it - nor did the grandchildren (at that point 6 drivers). One looked at it more seriously than the others but eventually it was sold in that perfect condition for, I think, £1200.

If you ask them with the understanding that this is a sale and cash will go into the estate you may find there is no scramble for it.

I think the gas-guzzling engine with excruciating insurance were certainly part of the decision.

Either draw lots (and have the unsuccessful ones sulk) or else sell it and add the money to the eventual ‘pot’ after she’s gone.

If you have P of A, though, shouldn’t you be conserving all her assets for care home fees? You can’t tell how long she’s going to last - my Dm was in her CH for 8 years, until she died at 97 - none of us had ever expected her to go on for so long.

Though of course if you know there’s going to be plenty anyway, this may not apply.

Good point Witzend -disposing of assets could put you in a tricky position. It sounds as if anybody who wants it would have to pay the going price and the proceeds banked on your Mothers behalf.

Get it valued.
Ask your mother her thoughts; she may have left instructions in her will.
If not, sell it to the family member who offers the most. or sell it independently and either way pay the money into the estate.

If you have PoA you must act in your mother’s best interests. That means getting a proper valuation for the car (it’s most certainly not worth as little as you think) and selling it. A family member can buy it for full market value. It must not just be given to anyone. Remember also that the value (on a sliding scale) of any gifts within 7 years of death remains in your mother’s estate.

Hetty58

Katie59, the problem with that arrangement is it complicates matters if the mother outlives potential beneficiaries. It's amazing how families can squabble and really fall out over wills - even intent on grabbing or selling stuff when we're still alive. My lot have 'bagsied' certain items for when I fall off my perch - nice!

Sorry I didn’t pick up that mum was still going, everyone was talking about inheritance.
If it is garaged it’s ok to leave it unused, if it’s in the open it will deteriorate quickly if unused. If nobody wants it at trade price sell it
We have a similar BMW, lovely on a fine weekend with the top down, not economical, not practical for everyday use, just a toy.