Dispute over will...

syorkshirelass

I think NAR is right. I wished that my brother and I were in a position to move on with our lives. We, according to some, cannot do anything about our situation. We have to put up with seeing our mums (now ours) house being left to rot whilst he lives there rent free. We cant sort out her clothes, photographs etc He has already thrown out some of her personal possessions. He is telling the neighbours that we are putting pressure on him to move out.
My Mum had stated in the will that he must pay all rates, taxes and other outgoings and keep it in good repair and condition. I would like to know if other outgoings included him paying rent? Wills are so hard to interpret what they actually mean. I am not in a great financial state at the moment and my mum would not have wanted things to be as they are. Basically, I just want it all sorted so I can get on with my own life and grieve for my Mum who I miss very much.

NAR

Sally1973 wrote: »

Thanks dzug x Yes, you are right, things are far from straight forward, will have to get more legal advise methinks, your time has been most appriciated, all of you, thankyou x

Could I suggest a meeting with the bank manager to ascertain the official line as to ownership of the account from the bank's perspective. He may have knowledge of some similar cases and what happened to their accounts.

This of course will only be information gathering, as it is only solicitor's advice you should use to decide your way forward. The solicitor can advise on precedents, likely costs and timescales involved if you wish to pursue through the courts.

thistledome

Sally1973 wrote: »

Morning All,



I have had legal advise and they said I could try and fight it but it could cost me thousands to find out if I'd win and I might not!

The winners here would be the lawyers, as usual. Nice fat fee in it for them regardless of who "wins".

If it was me, I'd let it lie and get on with your life. You have a clear conscience and that can't be bought at any price. The fact that the charity don't want to fight it would suggest that they know there's no value in it.

Mojisola

syorkshirelass wrote: »

I think NAR is right. I wished that my brother and I were in a position to move on with our lives. We, according to some, cannot do anything about our situation. We have to put up with seeing our mums (now ours) house being left to rot whilst he lives there rent free. We cant sort out her clothes, photographs etc He has already thrown out some of her personal possessions. He is telling the neighbours that we are putting pressure on him to move out.
My Mum had stated in the will that he must pay all rates, taxes and other outgoings and keep it in good repair and condition. I would like to know if other outgoings included him paying rent? Wills are so hard to interpret what they actually mean. I am not in a great financial state at the moment and my mum would not have wanted things to be as they are. Basically, I just want it all sorted so I can get on with my own life and grieve for my Mum who I miss very much.

If you are the owners of the house, no-one can stop you going in to sort things out.

If he is not complying with the conditions of the will, I would get legal advice.

syorkshirelass

He has stopped us really because the last time we went to sort out clothes for my mums funeral (to be cremated in) he became verbally and physically abusive threatening to get the police etc. As he is over 80, I did not want to be accused of upsetting a frail old man !!! He can turn the charm and sob story on to whoever. I just think that we must bide our time, wait for him to marry or die and then sort everything out then. It's this not knowing how long it will be process that annoys me so much. We have seriously considered looking to sell the house with him in it but I really dont know how to go about it and as usual, legal advice isn't cheap.
I am just so glad that my Mum doesnt have to see how horrible the situation is. She always thought that he would go first.

hugheskevi

I found this on Directgov which may be of help:

Money in joint accounts

The deceased person may have held money with another person in a joint bank or building society account. Normally this means that the surviving joint owner automatically owns the money. The money does not form part of the deceased person's estate for the purpose of administration and therefore does not need to be dealt with by the executor or administrator. However, a deceased's person's share in joint property is treated as part of their estate for inheritance tax purposes, both on death and on gifts made during their lifetime.

NAR

Why do they use the word "normally?" To me that indicates possible exceptions!

getmore4less

We have two threads going this is a response to the OP.

Paul_Herring wrote: »

So should the tax bill effectively come out of the estate and be suitably apportioned before the sums are eventually divided up handed out from the estate?

You cannot get probate without the tax being paid ot HMRC agreeng a plan. the will can dictate where the TAX money gets paid from and as I partialy understand it previous gifts might be resonsible for their own share of the tax due.

The son might have been a bit crafty creating this uncertainty with a joint account

Now one thing that did occur to me was that the charity might not be able to show any interest in the situation yet because they have no idea what they will get until the executors decide what they are going to include and distribute.

Conspiricy theory(pure speculation)
=============
Depending on which charity(some have good legal teams) they may have decided to wait till they get their distribution and then challange the executors for any shortfall, they are a much easer target than an absent son in a foreign country. There are a few cases around of charities being very difficult when it comes to legacies especialy with houses.


I thnk I would be taking my time to get this resolved before winding up and distributing anything.

The one other thing that did occur to me is that there may be liabilities in the country the Son is living might be worth checking.

dzug1

NAR wrote: »

Why do they use the word "normally?" To me that indicates possible exceptions!

Post 16 seems to indicate there can be exceptions, which may well apply in this case.

getmore4less

NAR wrote: »

Why do they use the word "normally?" To me that indicates possible exceptions!

Because as is likely in the OPs case it may be a "tenants in common" account see the IHT206 reference previously.

NOTE for tax the share of Joint accounts is included, which indirectly means you need to include them on the forms to get probate if required.