Will states wife to move out of property after husband death

NAR

OP In the first instance I would get the parents, as executors of the estate, to write to her and ask her to state in writing within 14 days of her intentions to vacate the property, in line with the conditions of the will. Her reply will determine what the next steps will be.

sleepless_saver

NAR wrote: »

OP In the first instance I would get the parents, as executors of the estate, to write to her and ask her to state in writing within 14 days of her intentions to vacate the property, in line with the conditions of the will. Her reply will determine what the next steps will be.

If the parents are in a bad state and not feeling up to dealing with this, it might be a lot less stressful for them to pay a solicitor to act on their behalf.

paddy's_mum

I think the executors are going to have an uphill struggle.

The will made in contemplation of marriage really isn't that relevant to the current situation.

What is highly relevant is that this couple were lawfully married - with all my worldly goods, and all that! - and the widow has certain rights enshrined in law, regardless of what the will decrees.

It may be that she will sit tight until the executors take court action to settle the matter.

Did her late husband have the will drawn up by a solicitor? If so, it seems very strange to me that a leave-my-house-in-six-months clause so open to challenge was even inserted in the first place.

zzzLazyDaisy

In English law there is no automatic right for a wife to inherit the husbands wordly goods.

This is a short marriage (six months) which will make it very difficult for the wife to challenge the will under the family and dependents act.

Provided the will states that the husband has considered the wife's position and has decided to make this bequest, it is likely to be upheld. After all it is common for this type of bequest to me made where there is a substantial family estate amassed from a previous longer marriage and children of that earlier marriage who inherit.

The very fact that the will was made in contemplation of marriage, suggests that the husband had carefully considered the effect of the marriage on the distribution of the estate and wanted to ensure that his wishes were carried out.

getmore4less

Newtos wrote: »

My brother in law died in July 2012. He owned his own house, which was paid off in full by his life insurance as he was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

He lived in the house with his wife, but the house was 100% in his name as he bought it himself. In his will he specified that his wife could only live in the house for 6 months after his death (which he had very good reason for doing), at which point she would have to move out and the house go up for sale.

The 6 months are now up and his wife hasn't moved out or gotten in touch to let his parents (the executors) know her plans.

My question really is are his wishes for her to move out after 6 months legally binding and therefore is there anything the solicitor can do?

I know his will was specifically written in a way that meant it was not affected by marriage so his wife is not automatically entitled to any more than the percentage of his estate he specified in his will.

I know the obvious thing to do is to contact the solicitor, but his parents are executors and keep putting it off because they are all over the place since his death. Myself and his brother feel strongly that he stated his wishes in his will and therefore we want to do what we can to help make sure that his wishes are carried out now he's gone, kind of the last favour we can do for him I suppose. I know we're not executors so can't do anything as such, but we're trying to support his parents through it so knowing the process re his wife moving out of the property would be a helpful starting point.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Are they doing anything to administer the estate, have they obtained probate and paid any IHT due yet.

What is going to happen to the house? left empty, rented out, sold, occupied by another member of the family...

I think this is key and getting cooperation from the wife will only happen if someone talks to her.

I think it is upto the benificiaries to take a lead since the executors seem to be failing in their duty to protect their interests.

Is anyone talking to the wife?

AMILLIONDOLLARS

I am assuming that he talked to the wife before he drew up the Will, so there is nothing in it that should shock her. Obviously, she is still grieving, so do bare this in mind when you speak with her.

AMD

hawk30

paddy's_mum wrote: »

I think the executors are going to have an uphill struggle.

The will made in contemplation of marriage really isn't that relevant to the current situation.

What is highly relevant is that this couple were lawfully married - with all my worldly goods, and all that! - and the widow has certain rights enshrined in law, regardless of what the will decrees.

It may be that she will sit tight until the executors take court action to settle the matter.

Did her late husband have the will drawn up by a solicitor? If so, it seems very strange to me that a leave-my-house-in-six-months clause so open to challenge was even inserted in the first place.

In England, wife or not, she has no automatic rights that override the will. She may possibly have a claim under inheritance (provision for family and dependants) act 1975, but being a wife gives her no automatic special status.

jackyann

OP - there are very knowledgeable people on this board, and plenty of barrack-room lawyers as well. These posts indicate all the reasons that the executors should seek legal advice. Your job is really to support them in doing that, as I can't help but think that the longer this goes on, the worse the fall-out is likely to be.
My sympathies to you all, you are in a very difficult position.

madbadrob

Does the length of marriage have any bearing on whether she can apply under the provision for family and dependents act? If she worked before marrying then gave up after marrying and he became the sole earner then surely she would have a claim under that. I do think that she could contest the will under the "against the public good" clauses within contract law.

zzzLazyDaisy

madbadrob wrote: »

Does the length of marriage have any bearing on whether she can apply under the provision for family and dependents act? If she worked before marrying then gave up after marrying and he became the sole earner then surely she would have a claim under that. I do think that she could contest the will under the "against the public good" clauses within contract law.

Contract law doesn't apply to wills.

Any challenge would lie under the provisions of the family and dependents act. Whether she has a valid claim would depend on all the circumstances, but a short 6 month marriage doesn't help her. Even if she did stop work when she married, and even if that was at his request, or perhaps even to become his carer - six months is not enough time for her to lose her skills or her place in the job market, and she is young enough to find another job. The situation might well be different if it was a 30 year marriage and the wife had never worked for example, or if a husband failed to make provision for a wife and his young dependent children.

But also, there is the possibility that they discussed the new will before the marriage and that she married him in the knowledge that he had made this provision. We don't know whether this was the case.

But in any case, OP has said that she isn't contesting the will, but is failing to move out of the house.