My mum sold the house, but my dad stipulated that I be entitled to half the profit?

Ashleydawn0402

Hi there, in a bit of a situation. Through unusual circumstances it has been brought to my attention that when my mother sold a house, I should have received half the profit of the sale as stipulated by my father.


My parents had a joint mortgage on the property, however when they separated and divorced, my mother pestered my father for outright ownership of the property. He agreed but on the basis that if it were to be sold I would receive half the profit. This was written down in a document which both parties signed.
This would have happened in 1996/7 and the property was sold in 2004. At the time of my dad signing over the house to my mum I was 8/9 and when sold about 16. During this time I wasn't in contact with my father and my mother kept this part of the contract a secret. It has now come to light and am wondering if I can take further action against my mother for going against the agreement that was in place

The house was purchased for 26k and sold in the region of 82/85k, so we arent talking a few thousand here!

( * JUST IN CASE...for those of you reading this thinking shame on you for trying to grass up your mother and being a money grabber, this isn't the first type of stunt she has pulled, in fact it's the last straw!)

Any help or further advice would be really appreciated

whitewing

Perhaps it was put in trust for you as you were only 16.

Do you have a copy of the agreement? Was it drawn up by a solicitor?

Ashleydawn0402

By my mother? I doubt it. There was nothing written regarding my age. I believe It was, my dad is going to find the document so I can have it. I know the court location too. What should I do next?


Ps- the bit that's really sticking the knife in is that my mother threw me out when I was 16 through no wrong doing of my own. I had no where to live, only an employers offer of a sofa which came with its own terms and conditions in itself! To think back to then and realise now that whilst I suffered she received ££££ and never said anything is sickening and a disgrace.

whitewing

Take the document to a solicitor?

Do you have legal cover as part of your home insurance? If so, you could try calling them to see if they have any advice.

Why hasn't your dad kept tabs on whether or not your mum owned the house still? Surely he would have been interested?

HappyMJ

The property was sold more than 6 years ago so the statute of limitations applies. You would not be able to take the matter to court now. Sorry....

whitewing

HappyMJ wrote: »

The property was sold more than 6 years ago so the statute of limitations applies. You would not be able to take the matter to court now. Sorry....

Is there no leeway in the fact that the OP was 16, not 18, and also has only found out about it recently?

Ashleydawn0402

My mother has thrown knives in here there and everywhere. My dad had no interest once he signed it over, but put in specifically about me receiving a share of profit.

So, even though she went against a legally binding document she gets away with it??!!

Ashleydawn0402

I found out today! It has come into discussion surrounding my mothers greed, her mother just died and has been crafty around property and money left in her will too.

whitewing

You really need to take the document to a solicitor for a definite answer.

Any

Definitely go and see a solicitor!

zzzLazyDaisy

HappyMJ wrote: »

The property was sold more than 6 years ago so the statute of limitations applies. You would not be able to take the matter to court now. Sorry....

The statute of limitations does not apply to fraud, or to breach of duty by a trustee.

OP your problem is that the house was put into your mother's sole name, which made her the legal owner. So for your father's wishes to be legally binding on her, the document would have to comply with certain requirements. For example a simple letter drawn up and signed between the two of them, would have no legal significance.

When a trust deed is drawn up giving beneficial interest in a share of a property, there will normally be a caution on the land registry deeds to prevent the legal owner selling without notifying the beneficial owner. That obviously didn't happen in your case. So you need to take the document to a solicitor and seek legal advice as to whether it is legally enforceable, and if so what needs to be done about it.