Dual ownership property

acwill

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

My wife has inherited seven eighths of a property that we now wish to move into and renovate. Unfortunately, the person owning the remaining one eighth does not wish to sell it to us despite being offered well over the current market valuation. Does anyone know of anything they can do to legally stop us taking possession of the property or what their would be entitled to after the house is renovated and its value increased.

mwahaha

Who are the executors? What does the other beneficiary propose?
If the will has already been dealt with leaving you with a 7/8ths beneficial interest and the other party 1/8th and no trust deed, then I believe they can't stop you taking possession. Ultimately if you can't agree the courts can grant possession or order sales, obviously it is *far* better to come to an agreement.

acwill

many thanks mwahaha. The owner of the the remaining 1/8 was in possession of this prior to the estate being divided and is not as such a beneficiary in the will. She proposes to buy out my wifes 7/8 of the property. Our concern is that if we were to renovate the property would she then be entitled to 1/8 of the higher valued property or could she be 'locked in' to accept the pre-renovation valuation if it had to go to court. But as you rightly say, out of court settlement would be hugely preferrable.