Can someone make me sell my house?

flogget06

T HIS T R U S T DEE D is made the day of 2- - - BETWEEN mother of (property address) of the one part and myself and partner both also of (property address) of the other part
RECITALS
1. THIS Deed is supplemental to:-
1.1 A Transfer dated _____ whereby mother myself and partner purchased the freehold property situate and known as (property address) and registered at the Land Registry under Title Number ___ (lithe Property") subject to a mortgage (lithe First Mortgage") also dated ____ and made between mother myself and partner(1) and (mortgage provider) (2)
1.2 A Transfer dated _____ and made between mother myself and partner (1) and myself and partner (2)
2. THE purchase money paid for the Property in _____ namely the sum of _______was provided as to (1/3) by mother and the balance purchase money of

---

was borrowed on the First Mortgage as mentioned above and which it was intended should be repaid by myself and partner.
3. ALL expenses and Stamp Duty Land Tax on the purchase was paid by mother myself and partner equally
4. Partner and myself now wish to redeem the First Mortgage and to re- mortgage the property with first borrowing the sum of _____
NOW THIS DEED WIT N E SSE S as follows:-
(1) partner and myself shall hold the Property upon trust as to one-third of the gross proceeds of sale of the Property for mother absolutely
(2) partner and myself hereby jointly and severally covenant with mother that they will pay:-
(i) the principal monies and interest secured by the mortgage in favour of First Title;
(ii) all costs charges and expenses of or incidental to the transfer of the Property to partner and myself and the negotiation and completion of the mortgage in favour of First Title and this deed and all costs charges and expenses which may hereafter be incurred by mother in relation to the same and in execution of the trusts hereof
(3) Mother partner and myself declare that as long as they or such of them as shall continue to reside in the Property they will pay all outgoings and keep the Property in good repair and insured comprehensively to its full value equally
(4) Partner and myself hereby jointly and severally covenant with mother that they will not borrow any further sum on the security of the Property without the written consent of mother
(4) THE parties hereto consent to a restriction being entered at the Land Registry on the title of the Property as follows:-
No disposition of the registered estate by the proprietor of the registered estate is to be registered without a certificate signed by mother of (property address) or her Solicitor or Conveyancer that the provisions of the Trust Deed dated _____ have been complied with

(5) EVERY reference to any party to this deed shall include his or her successors in title and personal representative.
IN WITNESS whereof this deed has been executed by the parties hereto the day year first before written.

sonastin

By my reading:
1) You hold the property in trust. She is entitled to 1/3 of the gross proceeds when you come to sell the house.
2) You are responsible for all fees associated with i) paying off the mortgage and ii) drawing up the trust deed.
3) As long as you or she live in the property, whichever of the 3 of you as lives there will share outgoings (i.e. bills) equally and you'll keep the place insured and look after it. (so divided thirds if you all live there, between you and your partner if she doesn't, just her if you moved out and she moved back, between her and son if you left him because she moved back, etc etc).
4) You can't get another loan secured against the house.
5) You agree to a restriction on the land registry which means you can't sell it without her agreement.

I don't see anything which says that she is entitled to repayment of her money, that she can force a sale of the property or that she can in anyway dissolve the trust and force you to give the money back.

Does anyone else read it that way?

societys_child

sonastin wrote: »

Does anyone else read it that way?

Yes I agree - and also note that apparently Mother didn't pay her share whilst living there, as in part (3)

Soot2006

That's how I read it, too!

For OP's piece of mind it might be worth 30 mins of a solicitor's time to look at the actual document and confirm all this so OP can then relax and let MIL go barmy in the sidelines, knowing that s/he doesn't need to react.

meg72

sonastin wrote: »

By my reading:
1) You hold the property in trust. She is entitled to 1/3 of the gross proceeds when you come to sell the house.
2) You are responsible for all fees associated with i) paying off the mortgage and ii) drawing up the trust deed.
3) As long as you or she live in the property, whichever of the 3 of you as lives there will share outgoings (i.e. bills) equally and you'll keep the place insured and look after it. (so divided thirds if you all live there, between you and your partner if she doesn't, just her if you moved out and she moved back, between her and son if you left him because she moved back, etc etc).
4) You can't get another loan secured against the house.
5) You agree to a restriction on the land registry which means you can't sell it without her agreement.

I don't see anything which says that she is entitled to repayment of her money, that she can force a sale of the property or that she can in anyway dissolve the trust and force you to give the money back.

Does anyone else read it that way?

I do read it that way but have to admit to having no real knowledge of this kind of situation. Hope you can find a solicitor willing to help you, must be a nightmare, Wish you good luck and a happy out come.

BobQ

meg72 wrote: »

I do read it that way but have to admit to having no real knowledge of this kind of situation. Hope you can find a solicitor willing to help you, must be a nightmare, Wish you good luck and a happy out come.

I too agree this interpretation of the document. In the circumstances it seems like a reasonably sensible document to protect everyone'e interests. I am rather bemused why the OP is finding it difficult to get a solicitor to read this and provide advice on what they should do.

Its evident that the mother has some reason (probably financial) for sending the letter. I think doing nothing is a possible option for the OP. Alternatively they should try and discuss the matter with the MIL. Someone with financial problems is not going to want to incur a lot of legal costs trying to justify an enforced sale of the property based on this document andymore than the OP would wish to contest such a case. The only winners would be the legal profession and everyone would have less out of the proceeds of the sale.

Has the OP considered asking a trusted third party to speak to her MIL, a family member that knows MIL and son maybe? There has to be another solution to this problem that would involve a legal method of repaying the MIL's share by an agreed means.

GDB2222

I am afraid that I disagree with the above, and whilst I am not a lawyer I have taken paid legal advice in a similar situation.

"(1) partner and myself shall hold the Property upon trust as to one-third of the gross proceeds of sale of the Property for mother absolutely "

you need to distinguish between legal ownership and beneficial ownership. Legal ownership is as registered at the land Registry. You and your partner have legal ownership. On the other hand, what actually counts is beneficial ownership, which the paragraph I have just quoted above says is one third owned by mother.

The general rule that I understand (having paid quite a lot of money for legal advice) is that where a number of people own the property any one of them can insist on a sale so that they can get their share of the money tied up in the property. So, mother is quite entitled to insist on the sale of the property straightaway. However, if you do not just go ahead and do what she wants, she would need to obtain a court order in order to force you. The advice I received in a similar case was that mother would succeed in her case, and you and your partner would have to pay her costs. However, the case would take a while to come to court, and you might by then be in work , so you might just possibly be in a position to raise further funds by the way of mortgage to buy out her 1/3rd interest.

Having, I hope, adequately explained my understanding of the legal position, I can only suggest that for you to get into a legal battle with your partner's mother is simply madness! It would be a ruinously expensive case for all concerned, and you would be bound to lose. Apart from that, what sort of the family settles its differences in court? You need to enter into a dialogue with her to find out what she really wants and to agree a timescale for selling the house, if that is what she really wants – once you have got to the bottom of what is really going on here.

In the end, you are going to have to to bow to mother's wishes, for 2 reasons: 1st, I think that she is right in law, and 2nd you have no money to fight in court. Apart from that, battling this outing court is complete madness, as I said above.

WhiteHorse

GDB2222 wrote: »

"(1) partner and myself shall hold the Property upon trust as to one-third of the gross proceeds of sale of the Property for mother absolutely "

... you need to distinguish between legal ownership and beneficial ownership. Legal ownership is as registered at the land Registry. You and your partner have legal ownership.

Yes, exactly.

On the other hand, what actually counts is beneficial ownership, which the paragraph I have just quoted above says is one third owned by mother.

No, not to that degree. 1/3 of the gross proceeds of sale is 'owned' (ie is the beneficial interest)... not the Land.

The general rule that I understand (having paid quite a lot of money for legal advice) is that where a number of people own the property any one of them can insist on a sale so that they can get their share of the money tied up in the property.

Only if they own the Land. There is nothing in the agreement to impose further conditions in this respect. 'Repayable on demand', for instance is not a term. No timescale is mentioned, either.

So, mother is quite entitled to insist on the sale of the property straightaway.

No, disagree.

It seems that the MIL is in debt up to her neck and has engaged lawyers-for-hire to write threatening letters.

The OP should engage another lawyer to write a sharp letter back. It shouldn't cost too much and might well save a great deal in the future.

xylophone

As far as I can see, Mother does not own any part of the house? She is entitled only to one third of the proceeds of sale in recognition of the fact that originally she put up one third of the purchase price?
Nowhere in the Deed of Trust does it say that Mother can force a sale and all the restriction at the Land Registry does is to ensure that the house cannot be sold without her signing a document to the effect that the terms of the deed (ie that she receives her one third) have been complied with?

I am astonished that a local solicitor cannot advise?

BitterAndTwisted

Local solicitors would be able to advise. Everything depends on what was explained to the sols on the phone and how it was phrased. "I need someone to read this simple trust deed for me and explain what it really means in plain English, please" would get an affirmative answer and the probable cost could be £50