Can family members contest House Deeds

mani_man

My mum is looking to put her house on my name. I dont live with my mum but my sister and her husband and two kids do can my sister and her husband contest the house deeds. Because my mum has left me her house in her will but her husband has hinted that he would contest the will thats why we thinking to change the house to my name. If we do this can they contest the deeds I no they can contest a will.

Gingernutty

mani_man wrote: »

My mum is looking to put her house on my name.

Do you mean that she wants to gift the house to you? Put your name on the title deeds?

There are huge tax implications as well as deprivation of assets for the purposes of benefits and care fees assessments.

mani_man wrote: »

I dont live with my mum, but my sister and her husband and two kids do.

mani_man wrote: »

Can my sister and her husband contest the house deeds.

No, but they can grass you up to the Tax Man.

mani_man wrote: »

My mum has left me her house in her will but her husband has hinted that he would contest the will thats why we thinking to change the house to my name.

If your mum was of sound mind when she wrote the will and has left an explanation with the will as to why she did this (say, in the form of a letter), then any challenge to the will and subsequent probate will be short lived and unsuccessful.

mani_man wrote: »

If we do this, can they contest the deeds, I know they can contest a will.

Gifting a house without money changing hands is complex, dodgy and fraught with legal challenges from the Tax Man, local authorities and benefits agencies.

Leaving a house to someone in her will, with a letter explaining why is much easier.

Should you need to sell the house for care fees or if your Mum needs to move then it would be easier in the long run to leave it in her name.

paddedjohn

Are you married? If you got divorced her house would become part of the matrimonial assets and she could lose her home. What would happen if you died first? do you have a wife or kids that would inherit?
Will she need to go in a care home in the future?
Too many things wrong with your plan so the will as suggested above is the best way to proceed.

G_M

Assuming she is of sound mind, tell her to go to a solicitor and get a will drawn up. He will ensure it is written in such a way that it cannot be successfully contested - plus he will act as a witness to her sound mind at the time.

If she just writes a will herself, it is more likely to be possible to contest it, or to contest her soundness of mind at the time of writing.

mani_man

She has a will im not sure if she has written a letter explaining why she is going to leave it to me this will was drawn up in 2006 by a proper legal firm.

G_M

mani_man wrote: »

She has a will im not sure if she has written a letter explaining why she is going to leave it to me this will was drawn up in 2006 by a proper legal firm.

Then the will should be fine and you will inherit the property.

Who are the executers of the will: they would need to evict your sister and husband.

I'm surprised by the arrangement though. why does your mum not want your sister to inherit even a share of the house? Does she realise your sister will lose her home (since she currently lives there)?

And if your mum
a) does not want sister to inherit AND
b) is not bothered about sister becoming homeless
why does she allow your sister to live there now....?

mani_man

My sister and her husband have their own house which is on rent my mother has their kids and cooks their food. They buy the food and chip in with the bills from what I have read is that they can contest the will but you guys say they cant. My other sister went and got legal advice and they told here that even if the house deeds are on my name they could both contest for the house on the grounds that they have been looking after mother. They also told her that the will can be contested on the same grounds. Should I go to seek legal advice just to clear this up my head is very confused.

paddedjohn

No need to pay for legal advice as such, just make sure you're mums will is drawn up properly by a solicitor and get her to add a note explaining why she has done it this way.

Brock_and_Roll

As I am in the midst of a massive legal battle myself over this, I can confirm that subject to the exact circumstances, both the husband and potentially the sister/kids can challenge the will under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

Without going into details, basically if someone is living with the deceased and is/was dependent on them in some way, then they can challenge the will and make a claim from maintenence out of the Estate. With both a partner and kids involved in this case, it looks very complicated indeed and I would advise the op's mother to seek legal advice asap.

In my case my late father gave everything to my mother in his will. My mother did all the work that created my father's wealth over 40 years of married life but all the assets were in his name. However, my father had a younger girlfriend who was kept in a life of leisure - she challenged the will and under the legisilation the Estate was forced into a very expensive settlement (as she was so young and needed "maintenence" for the rest of her life) despite the perceived gross injustice we seem from our side. Further more the dispute has been running for 3 years and cost £20k in legal fees todate with no sign of an end......even though the claimant has actually passed away herself!

So the husband clearly has an inkling about this - so I repeat the op's mother should take proper legal advice as this is a specialist area of law.

TBagpuss

They might be able to contest a will if they can show that they were dependent ion her at the time she dies, or that they acted to their own detriment in reliance on promises that they would be looked after.

One option may be to put the house into the joint names of yourself and your mother to hold as joint tenants, so that it comes directly to you on her death.

If your mum transfers the house to you (either wholly or in part) then this has tax implications (as others have said, and also has implications for you in terms of any divorce (if you are married or got married) and capital (possible Capital Gains Tax when the house is sold, lack of eligibility for benefits as it will be taken into account as 'savings' etc) .


It may also be sensible for her to consider rethinking her will - for instance, providing if your sister is living with her at the time of her death, sister is allowed to remain there for a period of 3 or 6 months (subject to paying all outgoings 0 to allow timne for them to give notice to their tenants and move back into their own home, or to find other accommodation.

If she is supporting them financially then a lump sum equal to6 months worth of suppot, to allow them time to sort themselves out might also be appropriate (these types of provision make it much harder for them to claim there is no reasonable provision than if they get nothing)

It is very important that our mum leaves very clear details of WHY she has made the decisions she has - this should be noted in her discussions with the solicitor when she makes / updates the will, but also do a letter to keep with the will.

It might also be wise for her to do a formal letter to your sister now (and keep copies with the will) explaining that while she is willing to allow them to live in her home in exchange for them helping with the bills and housework, that she does intend to support them financially in the future and that they will not be entitled to remain in the house or to make to any claim on her estate upon her death, and that the only circumstace in which this would change would be in the event that she later decides to enter into any agreement with them in which case any agreement will be IN WRITING and prepared after both parties have taken legal advice

This makes it much harder for them to later claim that there was an 'understanding' that she would leave them the house.

I would also strongly advise your mum not to agree to have them out an bank accounts or other assets into their joint names, and not to sign anything.

Your mum would benefit from seeing a solicitor who can advise about the range of options open to her - look for one who is a member of 'solicitors for the elderly'

dancingfairy

Yes, the solicitor should have a conversation with her about why she is leaving certain people out of her will and this should be carefully noted. In fact she may want to leave a token amount to them (So they can't claim she forgot about them etc).
Definitely worth a solicitor whilst she is still around to sort it out.
df