If you have anyone living in your property who is over the age of 17 then it is a requirement of the contract into which you are entering, that the occupier takes independent legal advice so that they are aware of their legal position should anything happen to you which leads to the Lender taking ownership of your property with a view to selling the same to recover the sums owing to them. Should this happen then your occupier will become homeless and it is therefore essential that they are fully informed as to their rights in this situation.
Many people will say that such a requirement is ridiculous and that the occupier is only there for the short term before they move out. This may well be the case but what if the equity release completes, the occupier is completely unaware of the transaction you have entered and something happens to you eg. An accident? If you lost your life or were injured to such an extent that you required full-time care, then your equity release contract would be terminated and your Lender would seek possession of your property to enable it to be sold and your equity release repaid. If your occupier was unaware of the transaction then this would come as a massive shock to them as they find themselves having to move out of the property, which may be their family home and which they were potentially expecting to inherit.
The only time an occupiers waiver form may not be required is if the occupier is a child with special needs. In this case, if the child does not have the capacity to take advice, then this requirement will be waived but your Lender will need to see a care plan which will fall into place should anything happen to you to ensure that your child is properly cared for.
Should you have any questions in this regard, then please do not hesitate to contact our team to discuss.
