Can someone explain "probate" to me please.

bikingbarney

Hi all im after some help.

Basically the story goes like this....
My father in law was left a 10% share of his best friends house in his will, this friend sadly passed away just after christmas and my FIL only found out about this 10% then.

The best friend had sold his house to one of these companies that buys your house but then lets you live in it.

Now the time has come to sell the house my FIL is having to do all the running around (sorting out and removing the rest of the best friends stuff from the house, getting a plumber to turn off water and gas etc)

he has also had to get the house to a reasonable standard to put on the market which has involved hiring various garden machinery to clear a very overgrown garden and also remove the ivy from the front of the house.

he has just had a conversation with the company that bought the house in the first place and they have said that they want the house to go to"probate" and that my FIL is liable for the fees and costs involved??

can someone explain to me iwhat probate is and if my father in law is liable as his 10% is getting smaller and smaller(he has had to pay for the best firends funeral aswell by the way)


thanks

steve

CLAPTON

Probate is undertaken by the executors of the will.


I see no reason why your friend is involved unless he is an executor. As an beneficiary of the will he should receive his share from the executors.

googler

Yup, who else is involved?

Who's the executor of the will?
Who got the other 90% of the house, and the remainder of the estate?
Are there any blood relatives of the deceased involved?

googler

Here's the government's defintition

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Death/Preparation/DG_10029799

bikingbarney

ah yes my father in law is the executor of the will, does that make a difference??

the other 90% is going to the company that own the house.

googler

OK, I'm sure there's more expert estate planners than me out there, but -

I think your FiL can justifiably hire contractors to tidy up the house for sale (rather than doing all the work himself), and pay for this out of the estate in proportion; i.e. he only pays 10% of the cost, and the company owning the house 90% - however, this may depend on what liquid funds are available.

It shouldn't all come out of his 10% of the estate just because he's the executor.

He should be keeping account of all the expenses, because these aren't HIS expenses, they're expenses of the estate - and if he has 10% of the estate, the house owners 90%, he's only personally liable for that 10%

Is there much else in the estate apart from the house?

Suzy_M

Sounds as though your father in law may have been left a 10% interest in the house as 'payment' for being the executor.

Do tell him to keep a record of all his expenses as I think he can claim these back from the total estate before getting his 10%.

googler

You might want to post this in the Silver Savers msg board - there might be folks watching there that can offer advice too.

bikingbarney

thanks for all the replies.

there is only the house in the estate.

my father in law has been told that all cost come out of his 10% (sure he was told this by his solicitor??) as i say his share is getting smaller and smaller!!

i will have a chat with him later.

thanks for all your input!

googler

Let us know how you get on...

Richard_Webster

Can we start at the beginning here?

My father in law was left a 10% share of his best friends house in his will

The best friend had sold his house to one of these companies that buys your house but then lets you live in it.

So he presumably made the will leaving the 10% of the value of the house (is that how it is worded?) and then later sold house to the company?

If that is the case then company owns house and father in law not entitled to anything because house didn't belong to friend at his death.

Now it may be that there is more to it, but we can't really answer properly without knowing exactly what the position is. Was the house sold to the company subject to a mortgage back in favour of father in law for 10%? How as it set up?