Fight or Flight? - friend despised daughter but didn't update old will.

tandraig

errata - why should they move into a caravan? its february, its freezing and if they have the right to stay in thier lodgings - why shouldnt they? it may also give them some satisfaction if they can thwart this persons plans for a while.
If the elderly gent was clued up enough to go to phillipines, find himself a wife (not difficult - can be done over internet) see solicitors about buying land - I ask myself - why not make a will at same time? see where I am coming from? the OP and the other lodger Mark, would prob know more about this and if they dont know everything then they can find out cant they?
but in the meantime I am more concerned that this woman thinks she can order them out of the house on two weeks notice!
to my mind - she cant - it isnt her house yet! she is beneficiary according to old will - but that doesnt give her any rights until probate is granted. until then i believe its called abeyance - its the excutor who makes decisions.
oh and they can always squat and as they have lived there for over what twenty years - isnt there squatters rights?
they need to talk to specialists - shelter for one and a probate solicitor for another.

Errata

Certainly there's no reason why they shouldn't stay there until given notice to quit by the exeuctor(s), but they won't have squatters rights as they've been lodging not squatting.
It's certainly seems a curious and complex state of affairs.

absolutelybrassic

Thanks to all the posters for all the kind messages of support on here. I'm almost resigned to the fact that another will is now unlikely to turn up 'on site'. I've learned a lot from speaking to his friends about the somewhat haphazard manner in which he carried out his affairs, often trusting in handshakes and verbal agreements it seems. I bit the bullet and went to see a solicitor who said I was unlikely to succeed in challenging the will without any documentary evidence.


However the solicitor said the tenancy agreement he did for me is an assured shorthold tenancy meaning that provided I keep paying my rent to the estate I cannot be evicted until probate is granted which could take months, and once granted I'd need to be served with a section 21 notice giving me a further two months notice. Unfortunately Mark does not have a similar agreement.


I have heard of buyout payments being made to tenants who had the older assured tenancy agreements in which they could stay indefinitely, but given that it appears that I can continue to reside here for many more months until probate and section 21 are sorted, which will be a considerable hinderance to the daughter who wants to sell or rent it asap, I was wondering what would be considered a reasonable buyout for my early exit so that Mark and I can get a good start somewhere else?

Ladyhawk

Why would she want to evict Mark if you can stay? Surely she would want to get more money into the estate by having him pay rent as well?

ceridwen

Ladyhawk wrote: »

Why would she want to evict Mark if you can stay? Surely she would want to get more money into the estate by having him pay rent as well?

At one level - I understand what you are saying. Some people would think "darn it - bite the bullet - and maximise the income I can get" and (with that way of looking at things) then they would let Mark stay and get rent from him too.

However - looked at another way:
- if they let Mark stay they might be at risk of thereby creating a more "secure" form of tenancy or something for him
(so it might even be worth their while "turning a blind eye" to him staying for free as a "guest" of OP - as they wouldnt have actually agreed to him staying there - so he would have no rights).

Personally - I think Brat Daughter will now conduct a persistent campaign of harrassment against OP (sorry to say that OP - but I think its only fair to warn you, so that you can prepare accordingly).

I dont think she will be bothered in the slightest about rent she may or may not get from tenants - she will want them both out soonest and wont care too much how she achieves her objective.

I think it is a valid point to ask for a payout to "leave quietly".

Not sure what a suitable figure to lay on that would be.

I guess, for starters, you need to look at the local rental market and how much you would need to cover a deposit and rent for a reasonable period of time on alternative property AND your removal costs. The $64,000 question is as to how long exactly would be deemed a "reasonable period of time". Hmm....well in trying to work this out...I guess there are a lot of factors to be taken into consideration, eg:
- length of time the current tenancy has existed (ie how settled you are into your home - six weeks/six months/six years etc?)
- that deposit I mentioned
- those removal costs I mentioned
- an element to allow for the disruption you are being caused by all this (I dont think you can phrase it as "compensation for loss of expected inheritance" somehow - I doubt that would be possible/wise). Phrase it as "disruption" - that might be a better way to go - and make that element as hefty as possible.

I suspect the main reason why Brat Daughter will want Mark out as soon as possible is to put emotional pressure on OP (ie "You're on your own here buddy.......").

Good luck.

ninky_2

sorry for your loss.

however it does rather sound as if you are using grief to excuse your rather moneygrabbing attempts to get your hands on a share of the deceased's estate.

on face value you come across as an innocent party who has done everything to help a poor innocent old man. however, if he really wanted to change his will he would most likely have done so. in addition, if he really hated his daughter so much why did he let her have a key to come and change his bedsheets?

this 'daughter' grew up with her father and so there are many things between them you can't even begin to understand. if i took some plates from my sick mum's house i wouldn't expect some live-in lodger to get involved in any argument over it.

you describe your relationship as 'father/son' but unless this man formally adopted you it was not father/son at all.

go and get on with your life. it was not this man's responsibility to ensure you were housed after his death.

absolutelybrassic

Mark is going on a long holiday for several weeks this weekend and doesn't expect to return so has already put all of his possessions into storage so he's out of the house. So the income from rent will be almost negligible.

I am fully aware, as is Mark who want's me to just walk away, of the divide and conquer argument and that I am wide open to possible harassment being in the house on my own.

However as my solicitor says I have the full weight of the law on my side it seems silly not to maximize the benefit from this situation.

Just trying to gauge what would be an appropriate figure given that it looks like I can continue 'being in the way' for probably another three months or however long the probate issue takes to resolve.

System

[QUOTE=absolutelybrassic;29860459.

However as my solicitor says I have the full weight of the law on my side it seems silly not to maximize the benefit from this situation.

Just trying to gauge what would be an appropriate figure given that it looks like I can continue 'being in the way' for probably another three months or however long the probate issue takes to resolve.[/QUOTE]

sorry but you do come across as a money grabber from these statments ! whatever their relationship was she has lost her father and its not for ANY outsider to judge how she should behave. as there is no change in his will clearly the father wanted his estate to go to his next of kin.

ninky_2

absolutelybrassic wrote: »

Mark is going on a long holiday for several weeks this weekend and doesn't expect to return so has already put all of his possessions into storage so he's out of the house. So the income from rent will be almost negligible.

I am fully aware, as is Mark who want's me to just walk away, of the divide and conquer argument and that I am wide open to possible harassment being in the house on my own.

However as my solicitor says I have the full weight of the law on my side it seems silly not to maximize the benefit from this situation.

Just trying to gauge what would be an appropriate figure given that it looks like I can continue 'being in the way' for probably another three months or however long the probate issue takes to resolve.

an appropriate figure for what?! am i right in thinking you are planning on asking for a sum of money to stop 'getting in the way' of the sale of the house? hmmmmm

Running_Horse

If he had wanted to disinherit his daughter, he would have done so with a copy of the will at the solicitors. Time to move on and get over your loss. Good luck with your life.