bank arrestment

Vermillion

Sounds to me like the solicitor has 'copped out' of it here. Probably advised the council that you are due to inherit and they have done the deed without the need for the solicitor getting their hands dirty because of it.

These things just don't come out of the blue - you have had a sigificant inheritance and up pops the council with this demand! Coincidences do happen, but not to this extent. The solicitor played their part dutifully to the council - make no mistake!

Only thing that you can do is discuss the amount of interest with the council. Doubt whether it will wash, but you can have a go. Speak with CAB and see if there are any unfair charges levied in there that you could claw back - something is better than nowt!

Wihtout seeing the terms of the Will then I can't comment, because there could be a Trust involved which complicates matters even further.

Flip side is that interest rates are due to rise so, I would put in an interest account at the building society and leave it there - there is some evidence to show that the housing market is cooling down and certainly with interest hikes that will alter it. Keep it out of the solicitors client account as they will be making interest out of you from your own money and probably not passing it on either.

They have done the dirty on you, you owe them nothing. Put the money in an account don't touch it and when the market cools down then you can look to buy. With a large deposit, nothing to sell, first time buyer you should be alright for getting a small mortgage and possibly with the buidling society where the money is lodged!

Do yourself a favour as well and don't use this firm for conveyancing. They have been rumbled. They should have had the decency to tell you what was going to happen; they didn't they slunk under their desk and slithered out of out of it like a snake. They had a duty to advise you that they were obliged to advise the council - they didn't they negated their responsibility and landed you in the proverbial!

paisley123

Thanks for the advice.I know i got myself in to a mess and shouldve paid it but it just seems so unfair to take the whole amount,even if they took half i could accept that x

Vermillion

Just reading back through you posts - this may not be straight forward. You say you are divorced as you have referred to an ex husband in your post! When you divorced you need to check that you had what is called a "Clean-Break Order, which means that at the point of your divorce being granted that there is no way back for him to pursue you for funds such as a lottery win, or in this case, an inheritance!

If you have not got one, then you may need to speak with a matrimonial solicitor who will advise you what your next steps are.

The other thing is that you could technically use this to buy a house because you will still be in the terms of the Will, it just means that you could do a buy to let. This would help you PROVIDING that you use the capital from the rent each month to clear down all the mortgage. Some companies allow a mortgage to be overpaid bringing the loan down in a quicker time scale. You will have to put some money by for repairs/maintenace but at the end of say 10 or 12 years you could have a very nice home paid off in full.

There are options but you need to cover some bases.

Edited to add - you would need to be careful in the event you are renting as buy to lets could conflict with LA's!

chanz4

Vermillion wrote: »

Just reading back through you posts - this may not be straight forward. You say you are divorced as you have referred to an ex husband in your post! When you divorced you need to check that you had what is called a "Clean-Break Order, which means that at the point of your divorce being granted that there is no way back for him to pursue you for funds such as a lottery win, or in this case, an inheritance!

If you have not got one, then you may need to speak with a matrimonial solicitor who will advise you what your next steps are.

The other thing is that you could technically use this to buy a house because you will still be in the terms of the Will, it just means that you could do a buy to let. This would help you PROVIDING that you use the capital from the rent each month to clear down all the mortgage. Some companies allow a mortgage to be overpaid bringing the loan down in a quicker time scale. You will have to put some money by for repairs/maintenace but at the end of say 10 or 12 years you could have a very nice home paid off in full.

There are options but you need to cover some bases.

Edited to add - you would need to be careful in the event you are renting as buy to lets could conflict with LA's!

have you read it all?

Vermillion

chanz4 wrote: »

have you read it all?

Yes I have done! That is why it is important that she gets some advice regarding the Clean Break Order. She has also stated that her former husband is taking out a mortgage. That alone raises some serious legal rammifications for her personally as that will then give her former husband an equal share in the house and any equity - including the lump sum of the inheritance.

The only way around that would be for a solicitor to draw up a Deed of Trust to protect that share so that he cannot touch it.

It also means that in the event he does not pay the mortgage and arrears accrue then the Deed of Trust may not apply if there is a serious shortfall and the property was foreclosed on.

There are allot of legal issues coming up with this - some of the picture is not clear at all here and that is why I fervently believe that this lady needs to get the advice of a good Matrimonial solicitor before she enters into a legal contract of a property with her former husband.

dancingfairy

To be honest I'm surprised they didn't go for a committal for that amount. Owing that amount of money and avoiding it for so long you could have been looking at prison. :eek:
I can't see that you are really entitled to that amount back. You owe the money and now it has been taken back. How are you going to persuade the council to give it back to you so you can buy a house and agree a payment plan. I can't see them agreeing to be honest, you obviously haven't been in contact with them before so there is no reason to trust that you would stick to a payment plan.
It may be harsh but it appears that the money was due. Hopefully now you have the debt settled you will be able to take this lifeline and move on.
df

sourcrates

Only way you would stand the remotest chance of ever seeing this money again is to instruct a solicitor to challenge what has happened in court, on the basis that the terms of the will have been broken.

It would then be for a judge to decide wether the councils claim out ways the terms of the will, or vice versa, obviously this could prove to be expensive, certainly get some advice on this, and decide if it's worth it or not.

Movingon5464

I agree with sourcrates. I think you would need to take it to court for a judge to decide. Maybe instead of making the council pay the money back the solicitor might have to compensate you if the judge decided the solicitor was wrong to pay the money to the council when presumably he or she knew that their was a condition written into the will that the money was left to you for a specific reason. That would be a win win for you as you get the money back from the solicitor and the council debt remains paid. I think you need to find a solicitor who specialises in wills. I hope it works out for you as i can relate to wanting the stabilty for your children.

chanz4

Movingon5464 wrote: »

I agree with sourcrates. I think you would need to take it to court for a judge to decide. Maybe instead of making the council pay the money back the solicitor might have to compensate you if the judge decided the solicitor was wrong to pay the money to the council when presumably he or she knew that their was a condition written into the will that the money was left to you for a specific reason. That would be a win win for you as you get the money back from the solicitor and the council debt remains paid. I think you need to find a solicitor who specialises in wills. I hope it works out for you as i can relate to wanting the stabilty for your children.

the cash was paid to the ops bank, so the sols done nothing wrong in that respect

Movingon5464

Think i got confused with the post about the solicitor running a credit check and paying off debts out of inheritance money. Unless someone (solicitor ?) told the council about the inheritance i don't see how the council would have known the money was there to take. I know i don't have that amount of money sitting in my account and am sure i am not alone. Seems too much of a coincidence for the council to do this unless they knew about the inheritance money. Really hope it gets sorted out somehow.