Protecting Your Park Home

Working closely with our Parks Home Department our Private Client Department has been advising Park Home Owners with regard to their Park Home ensuring that our clients receive the best legal advice in this complex legal area.

Areas of work covered by the Private Client Department include, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Family Trusts, Office of the Public Guardian and Court of Protection Work, Wills and Probate.

You should be aware that

• Legally, your Park Home is a chattel and as such is not considered to be land unlike a house or flat.
• Leaving your share of the Park Home to your children may not guarantee that they will inherit the full value of the Park Home.
• If you co-own your Park Home, or another person occupies the Park Home with you during your lifetime, the occupier can claim the right reside at the Park Home.
• A declaration of Trust can protect your interest in a jointly owned Park Home
• In the unfortunate event that you become physically or mentally unable to manage your affairs, unless you have made a Lasting Power of Attorney, the Court of Protection will decide who is to look after your affairs.

Making A Will 
A will is the only way to ensure that you prescribe how your loved ones will benefit from your estate including not only your Park Home but any other assets that you own such as, for example, your bank accounts and other investments. By making a will you appoint the people who will manage your estate, however this with regards to your Park Home this might be subject to the matters set out below.

Passing on your Park Home
Although you can leave your share of the Park Home to your loved ones, this will only be the physical building and not the right to reside in the Park Home. If you share your Park Home with another person, or another person moves into the home at any time during your lifetime, that person will have the right to live in your Park Home even though you have stated in your Will that that the Park Home is to be inherited by someone else. Only careful planning in your lifetime can alleviate this situation.

Declaration of Trust (joint park home owners)
If you own your Park Home jointly with another person, by making a declaration of trust and gifting the benefit of the declaration of trust to your loved ones in your Will, you can ensure that the full value of your Park Home (including the site pitch value and not just the value of the building) is passed on to your loved ones.

Lasting Powers of Attorney
These are documents that make sure that your finances and personal welfare are looked after by persons you appoint and trust, in the unfortunate event that you become physically or mentally unable to do so. For example, by making a power of attorney you can ensure that the pitch fees are paid on time and your Park Home is maintained to a high standard. The attorney can aslo make sure that the surrounding area that you own is kept in accordance with the agreement you signed with the park home site owner and that you are complying with the terms of the agreement, in the event that you cannot do so.

Contact our park homes experts today

For more information or to discuss your matter please contact our residential parks team today on 03456 381381 or email parks@ibblaw.co.uk.