Is a pension part of an estate?

Mandy55

Does that still apply even if we didn't have a will? Thank you for your advice

Mojisola

Mandy55 wrote: »

Does that still apply even if we didn't have a will? Thank you for your advice

Yes. Is someone telling that you're not entitled to the pension payout in addition to your legal rights under the intestacy rules?

Mandy55

Yes, i think so. It seems that the life insurance has paid off the mortgage but because we didn't have a will the house is now owned by a trust between myself and our children. Do you think it sounds like the 250,000 could be in the trust? Thank you

stclair

I recently recieved funds from my late fathers company pension and did not form part of his estate.

Just to add he never left a will either.

getmore4less

Was the previous wife estate concluded that should have resolved the house ownership prior to the death of your OH

Mandy55

Hi getmore4less,

I'm really sorry but i'm not sure what you mean?

Mojisola

Mandy55 wrote: »

Yes, i think so. It seems that the life insurance has paid off the mortgage but because we didn't have a will the house is now owned by a trust between myself and our children. Do you think it sounds like the 250,000 could be in the trust? Thank you

Who is the administrator of the estate? It would be normal for the spouse to take on the role but it sounds as if someone else is doing it.

Mandy55

A relative is doing it (i'm a joint administrator) as at the time i was too upset to deal with it all. It's only now that i'm trying to make sense of it all.

Tuesday_Tenor

First thing is not to panic or rush; administering the estate can be done at whatever pace you need while you are grieving.

I think you are saying that in some way husband and first wife owned the house jointly?

The simplest possible scenario is that:
- They owned it as 'joint tenants' (i.e. they both owned 100% of the property) and on her death he then owned 100% on his own as the survivor. He was the sole owner as you were never placed on the title deeds. The deeds may still show her as joint owner if they were not properly updated at the time, but that is a fairly common occurrence and, in due course, a copy of her death certificate to the Land Registry will deal with that aspect. The property is his asset that will now form part of his estate to be dealt with according to the laws of intestacy. IF you had got round to having you named as a 'joint tenant' co-owner (with again each of you owning 100%) , then on his death the property would have passed straight to you as the survivor, and not formed part of his estate. [But as he has children, that might not have been the desired outcome anyway).


There is another possible scenario:
If husband and first wife owned the property as 'tenants in common' then they each owned a share of the house, typically 50% each. That share they can bequeath to anyone they like. It forms part of the person's estate; no automatic passing to the survivor. So first wife could have chosen to leave it to e.g. her children, not her husband.

So it will be important to know:
a) How the property was jointly owned by the couple
b) Whether first wife's estate was properly dealt with, and concluded by updating property records as required
c) IF she had owned a share of the house as 'tenants in common', whether that share passed (by will or intestacy) to her husband or not.

You may want the advice of a solicitor to help you through this, but try to get as much understanding as you can so that you ask the right questions and minimise the time needed by the solicitor.

HTH make things a bit clearer to start asking questions.

Mandy55

Thank you. It looks like the situation falls into ' the simplest scenario ' . His late wife's estate went to probate and all was tied up officially that i'm aware of. I really appreciate everyone's advice as the solicitor fees are searingly expensive. Thank you.