Solicitor not carrying out our instructions

Tyler119

Hi everyone,

Sadly my both my partner's parents passed away in the last 6 months. Due to her receiving inheritance we have decided to purchase a house (which is on track...mostly).

Due to the size of the inheritance we are able to purchase it with cash only. Quite alot of work to do which I am actually looking forward to.

Last week we went into our solicitor to sign the sort of pre-contract which he will hold until we say to exchange. When he discovered where the money had come from, he totally dismissed myself and told my partner that he would be ring fencing her money and writing a will for her that makes sure that I get zero. He then proceeded to tell how to look after our child and how I should run my own business.

We left in total shock at how the meeting had gone. My partner and I had already talked about the ownership of the property. I had said that I was totally happy for her money to be protected. However we have always been a couple of what belongs to one of us belongs to the other. We have plans for getting married and having another child. My partner told me that no she did not want her money being ring fenced and she is very annoyed that the solicitor just tried to railroad us into something we did not want.

We dropped in a letter to the office stating that we want the house owned equally between us and thought that would be that. However we have received a very harsh letter from him saying that he will not carry out this instruction and my partner is to go and see him alone and justify to him why she wants to do this. He also says that he will not take any joint instructions from us, just from her.

To be honest my partner is fairly upset about the whole situation and feels it is adding stress to something that she was excited about. She also feels that she should not have to justify anything as our relationship and the decisions we make are our own business.

Is it proper that a solicitor should be acting in this way? We are considering pulling our business from him and going elsewhere.

pelirocco

She should be protecting her money , you never know what the future will bring

Tyler119

pelirocco wrote: »

She should be protecting her money , you never know what the future will bring

You may be right, but it is never something that we have done or want to do. In the years that we have been together never once have we argued about money. We are both surprised and shocked about how cynical people are about money in relationships.

Perhaps folk could accept our decision as we accept others and answer my original question.

pelirocco

you are perfectly free to choose another solicitor . Solicitors have to act in the best interests of their clients , so dont be surprised if another wants to protect the money too .

Btw I wasn't referring to arguing about money , but what happens if you were to split up? would you expect to get half the money ? especially if it happens in the first few years


or what if you have large personal debts ?

hjd

I would change solicitors asap!

Tyler119

pelirocco wrote: »

you are perfectly free to choose another solicitor . Solicitors have to act in the best interests of their clients , so dont be surprised if another wants to protect the money too .

Btw I wasn't referring to arguing about money , but what happens if you were to split up? would you expect to get half the money ? especially if it happens in the first few years


or what if you have large personal debts ?

To be honest no I wouldn't expect half the money. We are wishing to half pretty much everything 50/50 to ensure that our little one (and future children) will benefit from both our inheritance tax allowances in the event of something happening to both of us.

If something was to happen between us then we would simply work it out; in terms of finances.

I understand that the solicitor has a duty of care if you like. However I find it disgraceful that he won't carry out our instructions.

picardygirl

Tyler119 wrote: »

If something was to happen between us then we would simply work it out; in terms of finances.

You hope .... or should i say your partner should hope so! I would change solicitors, he/she sounds a bit arrogant!

To be fair to the solicitor though, IF and, sorry, it could be an IF, you were to split in 6 or 12 months time for whatever reason you could effectively claim half the house ...... which her parents have worked hard for!

If your partner was to kick you out and move a new partner in, or leave you for another partner and demand the house is sold, would you just accept it and "work it out", sorry to say but you dont know what you'd do if something were to happen, I know thats sounds drastic but unfortunately it happens. Hopefully not to you.

Unfortunately nobody knows what will happen in the future, I'm not trying to knock your relationship at all, but the strongest relationships can break down (i've seen it happen to friends) so to me sounds like the solicitor is just trying to protect your partners inheritence!

propertyman

The solicitor is acting in the best interests of the beneficiary of the will, and feels obligated to protect her position by first giving her advice on her position so that she can decide, after discussion with you, what steps to take.

Given her child and concerns over your business ( on which clearly the money has a bearing on) he has concerns ( valid or or not) that we dont know about.


Your statement

If something was to happen between us then we would simply work it out; in terms of finances.

is one that has
1: divorcees on MSE saying "big mistake"
2: has divorce lawyers laughing at the next holiday this thinking pays for

Best advice is to let her have the meeting asap and then decide ( have her record the meeting on her phone it's not illegal if it is only to help her recollection ).

His duty discharged he can
1: Put in place the arrangements between you that you have discussed formally
2: get on with the house purchase

outdoorcjc

The way you describe it does sound like your Solicitor has a bad attitude, however I don't think it would be unreasonable for one to ask those questions of your partner, however once she has confirmed her intention, (whether, the solicitor, us on here or even you agree with them) the solicitor should follow the instructions given surely.

propertyman

outdoorcjc wrote: »

The way you describe it does sound like your Solicitor has a bad attitude,

But he may not- I am often accused of being terse and it is most often when
a: they dont like what they are being told
b: they are unfamiliar/uncomfortable with a commercial businesslike approach
c: They are out of their depth

and react emotionally as if it is a challenge to them.

Tyler119

outdoorcjc wrote: »

The way you describe it does sound like your Solicitor has a bad attitude, however I don't think it would be unreasonable for one to ask those questions of your partner, however once she has confirmed her intention, (whether, the solicitor, us on here or even you agree with them) the solicitor should follow the instructions given surely.

But she has given her instructions. We are a fairly private people when it comes to these sort of things. We believe that we are paying him to do a job, sort the house paperwork out, so why should my partner have to justify everything to him. My partner has already made her decision, I have to respect that, so should he. And yes the man is totally arrogant! It is not his job to protect the inheritance as he was hired to do a specific job. Our finances have always been joint and we simply share everything as to us money is just a means to an end (which seems an odd sentiment these days).

We were joking the other day that he will probably say I should be paying rent!