Help-How to sell mums house now she has passed away

loubel

Without a Will your mum's estate will be dealt with under the rules of intestacy. These are very specific about who is entitled to apply for a grant of representation to deal with the assets and who then inherits these. It sounds like you would benefit from having a solicitor assist you with this and the sooner the better.

BitterAndTwisted

There's a formula for establishing who gets what when someone dies intestate. This could incude your mother's siblings or your father if he's still alive.

Go and see a solicitor. Perhaps all three or four of you could share the expense until you understand what needs to be done and how you can move forward.

Gogled

If I am right and this property is in Cyldebank Scotland, then your mother's estate will be administered under Scots law. The Rules for succession/administration can be/are different in Scotland than in England & Wales. Bare that in mind when reading comments left here. You really do need to see a solicitor, as even leaving aside the issue with your sister; I believe that in Scotland a grant of representation (probate) cannot be taken out in person - you need a solicitor to do it.

As far as the grant goes, this will be needed in order to obtain title to your mother's property and therefore sell it.

If the rules were the same as in England, as there is no Will you would need to apply for letter of administration, rather than probate. Each of your siblings (and you) would be able to take it out. In some cases it can end up being a race... (I am assuming your mother was not married when she died)

To be honest, I would get the four of you together to chat this one through as there are some fiduciary breaches going on here with your sister living there rent free and you do not want to leave yourself upon to claim against you from another beneficiary.

With regards your sister, the courts do not like throwing jobless women with kids out on the streets. In addition the property is only worth 40K. It will be cheaper if she agrees to leave rather than pursuing her through the courts.

In short see a Scottish solicitor.

RAS

Here is the basic info on intestacy in Scotland http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/12/05115128/51285

You really need a family conversation which ensures that your sister knows she has to move out ASAP. In order for her to gain any priority with housing, you will have to issue her with notice to quit and start eviction proceeding, with or without her consent.

G_M

Even if your sister leaves, how do you think you are going to sell if the property is in your mother's name? The property is not yours! You'll need probate.

Sort out the inheritance. There are books at the library on how to do it. There are websites (see RAS's link above).

Get legal advice.

googler

No will. Ignore all references to probate and grant of representation - they apply to England and Wales.


Has anyone been appointed Executor Dative? If not, that's the first thing you need to do. You need a solicitor to draft a request to the court to have you or one of the other family members solely or jointly appointed Executor Dative.

Armed with this, you need to get 'confirmation' of the estate from the local court. If it's a small estate, you can merely complete the paperwork and have the sheriff's office issue confirmation.

If it's a large estate, you need a 'Bond of Caution' before the court will grant you confirmation. If you need this, ask here again and I'll write more.

You CANNOT distribute any part of the estate (money, shares, proceeds of life policies, goods, personal effects) to any beneficiary without confirmation of the estate.

googler

Have you registered the death with the local registrar?

Usually, when you do, they give you a copy of this booklet -

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/213661/0056769.pdf

Either go get a copy or read it online, but this is the best place to start.

googler

OP, I see you reckon the house is 'worth' £40,000. If the threshold for small/large estates is still £30,000, then it is a large estate, as your Mum's possessions plus the house add up to over £40,000.

For the purposes of confirmation, I recommend you get a local RICS surveyor to value the house.

Also, in addition to the Govt booklet, see my post #6 in this thread

And, dare I say it; you should have been doing this around May or June last year.

G_M

googler wrote: »

No will. Ignore all references to probate and grant of representation - they apply to England and Wales.


Has anyone been appointed Executor Dative? If not, that's the first thing you need to do. You need a solicitor to draft a request to the court to have you or one of the other family members solely or jointly appointed Executor Dative.

Armed with this, you need to get 'confirmation' of the estate from the local court. If it's a small estate, you can merely complete the paperwork and have the sheriff's office issue confirmation.

If it's a large estate, you need a 'Bond of Caution' before the court will grant you confirmation. If you need this, ask here again and I'll write more.

You CANNOT distribute any part of the estate (money, shares, proceeds of life policies, goods, personal effects) to any beneficiary without confirmation of the estate.

Scotland is a mystery.... to me. But take note of Googler's post.

You CANNOT distribute any part of the estate ...

I imagine permitting someone to move in and live rent free in a property which is part of the estate would amount to 'distributing'.

PasturesNew

RabbitMad wrote: »

Well that could add to the value but I think the OP isn't considering selling to Paul Gadd and meant Higher education college which means it would have good rental potential to the students.

Don't higher education students still live at home and go each day by bus?

They'd have to be rich to be able to [a] buy a flat afford to run it.