Mum passed intestate, need to change name on house

skizz_b

Hi there, thought I’d stop by for a bit of advice.

My beloved Mum passed intestate in January. Her only asset is the house, which is valued at circa £450k. She didn’t leave a written will, and she passed married to her husband of 5 and a half years.

I believe the house by default will go into his name, but Mum’s wish was for the house to go into the name of myself and my brother. I’m really not sure what to do next about this. Her husband has hired a solicitor who I haven’t had contact with in the past 3 months and I’m not sure what steps will now be taken. I just want to make sure her wishes were respected. I’ll say now that I don’t currently think there is no reason to believe this won’t happen, but I have to make sure I have the bases covered.

Mum passed these wishes on to many different people including her husband – my brother, my Aunt and uncle, her best friend, and myself – so I was mainly wondering that if we got into a situation where her husband did try to claim the house as his own, would we be able to contest it? And would this be reasonable grounds to contest and get any potential decision overturned?

I’m really not sure what to do next to be honest, just want to make sure as I said that I’m ready for anything that could happen.

Thanks in advance

spacey2012

Her "wishes" Died with her.
No will = Husband is sole beneficiary of everything. End of story.
There is no such thing as someone's wishes unless they put those wishes in to a legal document called a will.

skizz_b

Thanks for that very "helpful" advice there. I am more than aware of what a will is.

Tell me then, if wishes "died" with the person who made a will, why are they often contested?

Ever so considerate in your words.

RAS

Sorry for your loss

The law in intestacy is here http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cto/customerguide/page14-1.htm

You will need to abide by those rules. The fact that mum did not make a will after her marriage means that her wishes are irrelevant.

RAS

spacey2012 wrote: »

No will = Husband is sole beneficiary of everything. End of story.

Incorrect http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cto/customerguide/page14-1.htm

skizz_b

RAS wrote: »

Sorry for your loss

The law in intestacy is here http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cto/customerguide/page14-1.htm

You will need to abide by those rules. The fact that mum did not make a will after her marriage means that her wishes are irrelevant.

Thanks for this, much appreciated.

Perhaps if I can find where she's put it in writing somewhere this may be admissible?

In essence there are no grounds for contention on repeated verbal assertions?

spacey2012

They are not, a will can be contested, wishes can not.
If she died with no will, her husband now owns everything that they owned jointly or independently, the house belongs to the husband unless you can pull a Legal will out of a hat.
You can contest nothing as you have no legal or lawful grounds to do so unless the marriage was unlawful .
All you can do is hope that the husband as you call him looks upon you favourably when his time comes.
This is not what you want to hear, but it is very "helpful" as it is the truth.

RAS

skizz_b wrote: »

In essence there are no grounds for contention on repeated verbal assertions?

None whatsoever.

skizz_b

RAS wrote: »

None whatsoever.

Ok. So what happens from here? The solicitor sorts the estate and then divides it as per the intestate laws?

skizz_b

spacey2012 wrote: »

This is not what you want to hear, but it is very "helpful" as it is the truth.

your advice was helpful, your tonality was not.

rpc

You have to abide by the intestacy rules others have posted. Her husband will be first in line to obtain letters of administration. You can only obtain them if he declines.

If all affected beneficiaries agree, you can execute a deed of variation to change the default distribution.

RAS's_link wrote:

You have selected the following

• The estate is in England & Wales
• There is a surviving spouse or civil partner
• There are children or remoter issue of the deceased

If this is not correct return to page 14 of the Customer Guide
If this is correct, the estate passes as follows

• The surviving spouse or civil partner receives the chattels, a statutory legacy of £250,000 (£125,000 if the death was before 1 February 2009) and a life interest in half of the residue.
• The children receive the other half of the residue in equal shares. If any of the deceased’s children have died leaving issue, then the issue will receive their parents' share per stirpes.

Note - If the estate is less than £250,000 (£125,000 if the death was before 1 February 2009), the deceased's surviving spouse or civil partner will receive the whole of the estate.

spacey2012 wrote: »

If she died with no will, her husband now owns everything that they owned jointly or independently

Wrong, as above.