Inheriting property advice please?

WATTY1978

Hi

My father died a year ago, he lived with my grandparent, they were joint tenants and when he died we were told that the house automatically transfered to the living grandparent. Me and my sibling became executors of the will and were given what little savings and insurance money he had.

My father bought the house when he divorced, my grandparent has always lived in it and owned it before he bought it for her. He has lived there since his divorce. He always said the house was bought for us if anything happened to him, but this was on the assumption that my grandparent went first. Unfortunatly his death was sudden and this wasn't the case.

My Grandma echos what he said about the house and says it will become ours when anything happens her but i am not so sure.

Firstly there is nothing in writing to say this. My dads brothers and sisters know my grandmas intentions and agree thats how it is but they have lots of children who could potentially query this after death.

My questions are:

Can the other children contest this?

If my dad and grandma were joint tenants, rather than the ownership automatically move over, should it not have been me and my brother who became the other joint tenants? therefore making it easy to automaticallys transfer on my grandmas death?

Am i better off getting me and my brother signed up as joint tenants or is it better off being written in a will? (also any tips on how to approach this without looking cheeky?)

I hold the deeds and have details of what my dad paid and when, so i can prove he bought it but i don't know if this would stand up if contested further down the line.

I hope all this make sense, i just need some general advice before i decide what to do next.

Many thanks

Emmzi

1. yes
2. no see here http://www.firstrungnow.com/joint-ownership/joint-tenancy-tenants-in-common.aspx
3. will. but either option will seem cheeky.
4. no, it wouldn't stand up, see 2 above

krlyr

Ideally your dad should have bought the house as "tennants in common" if he wanted to own a share to pass down to you. I imagine your best offer would be a will, ideally ASAP while your grandma is still mentally sound, incase any relatives want to contest it in the future and try to argue that she wasn't in a mentally fit state to make such a decision.

Gingernutty

When your father died suddenly (I'm sorry for your loss, by the way), your grandmother inherited the house as she was joint tenant.

If she dies without a will, then the laws of intestacy apply. Meaning her children or their descendents inherit. So, say your Dad had two brothers and two sisters, then the house would divide into fifths with your Dad's fifth to be shared by his children (you and your sibling). So you inherit one tenth each of a property you were supposed to inherit half and half.

You grandmother needs (NEEDS - this can't be stated firmly enough) to write a proper will stating categorically what will happen to the house - there is no easy way around this, cheeky or pushy though this sounds.

Yes, her children (your aunts and uncles) may say they agree with what your Father intended and not to worry, but they inherit when you grandmother dies without a will - who'd say no to free money?

kingfisherblue

A will would definitely be the correct way to do things, and I would also advise a letter to accompany the will. This letter states why the property has been left to you and not to other relatives, and makes it much harder for others to contest the will after the death of your grandparent. I can't remember what the letter is called (might be letter of intent), but a solicitir should know what I mean.

As for not sounding cheeky, can you bring up the subject along the lines of someone dying intestate and their wishes being ignored because there was no will? It could be something that you read on the internet, and you could say that it got you thinking about your own circumstances - about how you're sure that the other relatives wouldn't want to take your half share away from you, but the state would divide the monies and the relatives wouldn't have a say in it.

WATTY1978

Thanks for the advice. Im going to tackle it this week with the help of my brother hopefully. X

Buckingham19

Taking into account that the grandparent who is left is of sound mind then it may be worth looking at a lifetime trust where the house is left in trust between the grandparent and those intended beneficiaries. The house will then be owned by the trust giving the grandparent occupation rights, the right to sell etc. The house will show a restriction at the Land Registry with reference to the trust. The house will then pass to the intended beneficiaries on death of the grandparent immediately. This will avoid probate costs on the house and may also prevent it having to be sold if the grandparent goes into care. This needs to be supported with a simple will and Lasting Powers of Attorney. IPW willwriters do these trusts all the time.

Buckingham 19

Mojisola

If your Dad bought the house, how did they come to be joint tenants? Did he only pay for half of it?

If your Gran dies without a will, her estate will divided between all her children. In your case, you and your brother will inherit your father's share. I would bet that when the time comes, those who inherit will want to keep their money. If any are receiving means-tested benefits they won't be able to refuse the money without causing themselves financial problems.

If your Gran has to go into a care home, the value of the house will be taken into account when assessing her ability to pay for her own care. The whole value of the house may get used up in care fees.

If your Dad took advice when he set things up like this, he was badly advised.

meritaten

I should imagine that the house was formerly council? my nieghbours son has bought her house for her - but as they used the fact that my nieghbour was the named tenant to get the discount and then her son paid the mortgage and they became joint owners. in nieghbours case the son is her only child so it made sense to do it that way. if there had been more children and it was only the son who paid the mortgage - I could quite see there being a problem as you describe it.
your grandmother absolutely must make a will! when you see her perhaps you could tell her that unless she does - her sons investment will be divided up in a way he never intended and presumaby she wouldnt want!

Mojisola

WATTY1978 wrote: »

My father bought the house when he divorced, my grandparent has always lived in it and owned it before he bought it for her. He has lived there since his divorce. He always said the house was bought for us if anything happened to him, but this was on the assumption that my grandparent went first.

meritaten wrote: »

I should imagine that the house was formerly council? my nieghbours son has bought her house for her - but as they used the fact that my nieghbour was the named tenant to get the discount and then her son paid the mortgage and they became joint owners.

As the grandparent owned the house before the son bought it, he must have paid her a lump sum?

meritaten

are you SURE they owned it and not rented it? it was a shock to my parents to find out that the grandparents didnt actually own their house! it was privately rented. yet they bought thier daughters house and gifted it to her!