Can executors hang on to the property and not agree to sell?

mwddrwg

Hi,


Hoping for some advice on behalf of my father in law following the death of his parent recently.


Some background - parent lived on their own in a house (no mortgage) until they recently moved in to a nursing home, paying the care fees in full as capital over limit (in Wales, by the way).


FIL has a sister (and her husband) whom he hasn't been on good terms with for over 40 years. Until just over a year ago, parent had cut off my FIL from her will but changed her mind and said that she was going a solicitor to add FIL back in. He didn't think anything of it as his mother was beginning to feel the effects of mild dementia at the time.


Fast forward to now - parent died recently. FIL receives a copy of the will in the post from a firm of solicitors which indeed states that she is due to share the estate in its entirety with his sister.


The parent appointed her daughter and her husband as executors who are to hold all monies and property in trust.


Here's the questions I have for him:


Am i right in thinking that the executors are only ones who can decide whether or not to sell the house? I think this is the case but just wanted to make sure.


The house currently has a sitting tenent. Is my FIL entitled to half the profit from the rent if the house continues to be rented out? Obviously he would rather the houes be sold as he is also now technically responsible for the bills/maintenance etc. Am i right?


Thanks for any advice

konark

Your FIL is not responsible for the house, the executors are.

What the executors can and cannot do is determined by the terms of the will. If your FIL shares the estate with his sister any rents will be paid into the estate and , after costs,shared.

Wills are often worded so that executors who are also beneficiaries have considerable leeway to sell property or not and in what time-frame. Unless the will states that the property Must be sold I think your FIL would struggle to force a sale.

Yorkshireman99

konark wrote: »

Your FIL is not responsible for the house, the executors are.

What the executors can and cannot do is determined by the terms of the will. If your FIL shares the estate with his sister any rents will be paid into the estate and , after costs,shared.

Wills are often worded so that executors who are also beneficiaries have considerable leeway to sell property or not and in what time-frame. Unless the will states that the property Must be sold I think your FIL would struggle to force a sale.

Once the ownership is transferred to the the beneficiaries they can force a sale anyway. Of course negotiation prior to that is preferable. What form of tenancy does the tenant have? They will need to be removed before sale.

mwddrwg

Thanks for your replies. My FIL knows nothing about the tenancy details so not sure about that. His sibling (executor) is the type to drag this on for years just to be awkward so I'm not holding my breath for the property to be sold anytime soon.


Is he entitled to contact the solicitor for an update on the executor's intentions for the property after a reasonable amount of time has passed or does he just have to leave it and see what happens?

getmore4less

how did the tenant get into the property?

is there a legal tenancy

konark

It is true that once the house is in the names of beneficiaries a sale can be forced, but the house will stay in the estate unless the executors choose to register it to the beneficiaries as tenants in common, which is not usual if the house is to be sold.

If executors really wish to 'drag their feet' it is difficult to stop them, although I can't see what this would gain them. Any enquiries to their solicitor would be rebuffed as they are working for the executors not your FIL.

The existing tenant may have several months left on their lease. Whether they are evicted or not the house can be put on the market at an 'aspirational' price and all offers refused, so dragging the sale on for years. Even if a sale is agreed they could find reasons to delay or may instruct solicitors who could be relied upon to proceed at a glacial pace. If challenged, legally or otherwise, they will contend the house is for sale and it is not their fault the market is slow. It may be several years before a court feels that 'enough is enough' and forces action.

mwddrwg

Thanks for all your replies. Sorry, not been back here for a while.
I'm sure that the tenancy is legal and above-board - there is no suggestion otherwise. It's very much a wait and see situation in this case.


Thanks everyone

BJV

I know that there is a lot of legal stuff but have to say that I think it is very sad that only the thought of a chunk of money is getting the family to communicate. Also feel sorry for the tenants who could of been there for a while and made it their home. I have just done my will and would hate to think of my two children in this position.

Malthusian

It may be their home but it's not their house. If you rent someone else's house then the possibility of having to move when they want to sell or do something else with it is part of life. If the landlord is in a nursing home then you need to be prepared for that time to arrive sooner rather than later. The tenants have plenty of protection in the form of their notice period.

The way to avoid landing the children in this position would have been to sell the house at the point they went into the nursing home. But really, this shouldn't be a particularly difficult position for them to be in anyway. It should be a relatively simple matter to give the tenant notice and sell the house - albeit one which will drag on for a while.

getmore4less

Malthusian wrote: »

It may be their home but it's not their house. If you rent someone else's house then the possibility of having to move when they want to sell or do something else with it is part of life. If the landlord is in a nursing home then you need to be prepared for that time to arrive sooner rather than later. The tenants have plenty of protection in the form of their notice period.

The way to avoid landing the children in this position would have been to sell the house at the point they went into the nursing home. But really, this shouldn't be a particularly difficult position for them to be in anyway. It should be a relatively simple matter to give the tenant notice and sell the house - albeit one which will drag on for a while.

The tenants have a lot more than the notice period protecting them as landlords cannot end a tenancy that need a court order.
If they don't want to leave it can take a long time.

Yorkshireman99

getmore4less wrote: »

The tenants have a lot more than the notice period protecting them as landlords cannot end a tenancy that need a court order.
If they don't want to leave it can take a long time.

The long time can be avoided by transferring the action to the High Court but it does cost. The High Court bailiffs will remove them in a day or so.