Father passed, no will MIL problems.

TBEight

THREAD TITLE WRONG! i meant step mother not MIL (brain freeze)

I will try and be as detailed as i can, really looking for advice here as everywhere i have been hasn't helped at all.

quite a confusing backstory, ill try my best.

My father passed 2 years ago, No will, estate went to intestacy.
At the time the estate was valued at around £320,000. (he had a flat in London, purchased 15 years previously, next to no mortgage around time of death)
Step-Mother name was not on the property, she continued to live there.
Estate was agreed to be carved up, myself getting a figure of around £30,000, granted she lived in the property for the foreseeable future.
1.5 years later, estate still not been tied up, she has decided to sell and the figure agreed upon with buyer is £420,000, £100,000 more than the figure she had obtained as the value of the house. She had to sell because she said she couldn't get the money together to pay me my share.
i have tried to ask the solicitors about this figure but they have been less than helpful.

my question, am i entitled to more than the figure from 2 years ago? i really don't want to sound like a money grabber but my dad died suddenly at the age of 53, he was about to divorce his wife, he didn't leave a will as I'm sure he didn't see himself dropping dead out of the blue. I know he wouldn't want her to inherit everything.
I've tried to be civil with her but she has made it clear she wishes to have nothing to do with me.

hope I've included all the info, any advice is greatly appreciated!

Mojisola

TBEight wrote: »

My father passed 2 years ago, No will, estate went to intestacy.

MIL name was not on the property, she continued to live there.

Your Mother-in-law was living in your father's house?

TBEight

Mojisola wrote: »

Your Mother-in-law was living in your father's house?

Step-Mother! sorry again

HappyMJ

TBEight wrote: »

Yes, they were both living there at the time of death.

Are you sure about that?

You did say it was a confusing backstory.

Your partner's mother was living in your father's house.

You should ask your partner to speak with his/her mother about this.

TBEight

HappyMJ wrote: »

Are you sure about that?

Your partner's mother was living in your father's house.

SORRY! my STEP mother, let me edit this post lol

Mojisola

TBEight wrote: »

SORRY! my STEP mother, let me edit this post lol

That makes more sense!

The intestacy rules changed in October 2014. Did your father die before or after that date?

TBEight

Mojisola wrote: »

That makes more sense!

The intestacy rules changed in October 2014. Did your father die before or after that date?

November 2013 he passed

antrobus

TBEight wrote: »

...my dad died suddenly at the age of 53, he was about to divorce his wife, he didn't leave a will as I'm sure he didn't see himself dropping dead out of the blue. I know he wouldn't want her to inherit everything.....

Sadly, what your father wanted is irrelevant as he failed to make a will.


Your step mother (aka father's wife) inherits the first £250k plus half the excess. So if all there was in the estate was a £320k house, she'd get £250k + £35k = £285k share of the house, leaving a £35k share to be divided amongst your father's children. Which would obviously include you, and might well be just you, if you were an only child.


Has somebody actually applied for administration of the estate?

TBEight

i believe she has applied. the house sale is currently going through and completion is close.

i understand the maths behind the intestacy but I'm more so questioning how a house's value can jump 100,000k in 2 years, even by London's prices thats a joke. Doesn't common sense kick in and someone realise the figure she obtained back then was false?

antrobus

Mojisola wrote: »

That makes more sense!

The intestacy rules changed in October 2014. Did your father die before or after that date?

Ah, yes, that's a point.

Kayalana99

TBEight wrote: »

i believe she has applied. the house sale is currently going through and completion is close.

i understand the maths behind the intestacy but I'm more so questioning how a house's value can jump 100,000k in 2 years, even by London's prices thats a joke. Doesn't common sense kick in and someone realise the figure she obtained back then was false?

You are talking about 50k here owed to you if the above is correct and you're an only child, get a lawyer. I believe most give you a 30min free consultation to see if you have a case and she's hardly going to hand over 50k to you to be nice is she? So you'll most likely need one anyway.