What happens if:

Seanymph

An item (in this case a house) is left to a specific person in a will, but the 'willee' has sold it between writing the will and passing, so that particular asset is no longer owned?

nom_de_plume

In very simple terms, the bequest fails as the legacy no longer exists. ie The beneficiary gets nothing.

If the property value exists in another form such as perhaps savings and the other beneficiaries agree, the will could be varied so that the person for whom the property was intended gets something. There is no obligation however to do so.

BobQ

nom_de_plume wrote: »

In very simple terms, the bequest fails as the legacy no longer exists. ie The beneficiary gets nothing.

If the property value exists in another form such as perhaps savings and the other beneficiaries agree, the will could be varied so that the person for whom the property was intended gets something. There is no obligation however to do so.

Also, if they do not agree to this change, and the value does exist in another form, it is dealt with in accordance with the rest of the will. Suppose the Will says I bequeath my house at 1 Old Street to my son A and leave the rest of may estate to be divided equally between my sister B and charity C

He may have intended that his main asset a House (worth say £300K) went to his son and that his sister and the charity got £10K each. But what happens is the son gets nothing, and the sister and charity get £160K each.

nom_de_plume

I had power of attorney for a relative some years back and that relative eventually needed to go into care and was never likely to return to their home. Due to their diminishing mental capacity, I started the ball rolling to register the power to enable me to dispose of their main residence. This was known to be bequested to a specific individual. I consulted the Office of Public Guardian on this matter and was advised that the sale proceeds could be 'ring fenced' into a separate account clearly identified as the sale proceeds of '1 Old Street' to protect the inheritance. I never fully investigated the entire process as, sadly, the relative passed away shortly after.
I doubt this helps the OP but may assist someone searching in the future.

g6jns_2

nom_de_plume wrote: »

I had power of attorney for a relative some years back and that relative eventually needed to go into care and was never likely to return to their home. Due to their diminishing mental capacity, I started the ball rolling to register the power to enable me to dispose of their main residence. This was known to be bequested to a specific individual. I consulted the Office of Public Guardian on this matter and was advised that the sale proceeds could be 'ring fenced' into a separate account clearly identified as the sale proceeds of '1 Old Street' to protect the inheritance. I never fully investigated the entire process as, sadly, the relative passed away shortly after.
I doubt this helps the OP but may assist someone searching in the future.

Had the sale taken place AFAIK the proceeds would not be "ring fenced" should the property have been left to an individual. It would be part of the residue of the estate. It would not protect the funds from being taken by the local authority to fund care. If the OPG advised you otherwise they were wrong.

BobQ

g6jns wrote: »

Had the sale taken place AFAIK the proceeds would not be "ring fenced" should the property have been left to an individual. It would be part of the residue of the estate. It would not protect the funds from being taken by the local authority to fund care. If the OPG advised you otherwise they were wrong.

Normally yes but the phrase used is that OPG advised the proceeds in that case "could be ring fenced". The OPG can support applications to the COP for all sorts of things so it may be possible.

g6jns_2

BobQ wrote: »

Normally yes but the phrase used is that OPG advised the proceeds in that case "could be ring fenced". The OPG can support applications to the COP for all sorts of things so it may be possible.

The OPG have no powers to do this. In fact it Does not appear that the grounds for selling the property were reasonable. The OPG's only role is to ensure that the assets are dealt with for their benefit. I can't see how selling the property in advance of the person dying fulfilled that objective. Given a rising property market quite the reverse. All the OP has done is to deprive the beneficiary of their inheritance. Maybe there is something else that the OP has omitted to say about the circumstances.

BobQ

g6jns wrote: »

The OPG have no powers to do this. In fact it Does not pear .the grounds for selling the property were reasonable. The OPG's only role is to ensure that the assets are dealt with for their benefit. I can't see how selling the property in advance of the person dying fulfilled that objective. Given a rising property market quite the reverse. All the OP has done is to deprive the beneficiary of their inheritance. Maybe there is something else that the OP has omitted to say about the circumstances.

You may be right, although the Court of Protection can make orders in respect of statutory wills or gifts.

g6jns_2

BobQ wrote: »

You may be right, although the Court of Protection can make orders in respect of statutory wills or gifts.

The OP stated that the OPG had advised him not that they had ordered it. I simply can't see any reasonable grounds for the OP's actions.

Tuesday_Tenor

g6jns wrote: »

The OP stated that the OPG had advised him not that they had ordered it. I simply can't see any reasonable grounds for the OP's actions.

It's not the OP but Nom de Plume who potentially had this situation and discussed it with the OPG.

I have read of a similar arrangement before.
I think it may be important that the bank accoun is called '1 Old Street' not 'sale proceeds of 1 Old Street'. While the testator is alive the funds are being diminished to pay for care. That was indeed the point of selling the property in the first place.

However, when the testator dies there may still be SOMETHING in the '1 Old Street' account. Depending how long the testator was in care, this might be a tiny proportion, or the vast majority, of the value of the house. If it has been set up properly (and I would certainly seek legal advice before setting it up) then the account '1 Old Street' CAN stand for the property '1 Old Street' in the estate of the deceased, and will go to the intended beneficiary. This way they get something, rather than nothing, in the scenario that the house had to be sold to pay for care.

One would think that re-writing the will on sale of the house would have been simpler, but sometimes (as in nom de plume's case) that's just not possible.