Inheritance / Retirement

bowlhead99

Ownership of an asset doesn't generally follow who is using the asset. It's not "finders keepers".

So when the father got together with new wifey, and agreed to share all their stuff and pool their living expenses and live in one of the two properties, they might well have agreed that each would inherit all i.e. most of the other's assets. For example, they could agree that if she dies he gets her stuff, apart from what goes to her kids, while if he does, she gets his stuff, apart from what goes to his kids.

You have said that he *did* do a new will, and in that will he *did* make provision for his son (the uncle). So unless that changes with a further will, that's how it is. And you have not been told there are changes. So that's how it is.

Not that they need to tell you personally of changes anyway, as that is between the man and his wife and his son, and a man can give his wife whatever he likes, though you have no knowledge that he has gone back on any promises our plans, just that he loves his wife.

If you are concerned on behalf of the son that there have been some changes, why not ask the son to ask if there have been any changes?

Feels pretty horrible to be honest. Can't believe that people would do things like it really.

You mean the thing that you have no evidence that they have done, where your understanding is that they *have* provided for the son and there is no evidence that they have changed it. Other than your suspicion because you think that the new wife (who took the husband into her house so that his son could continue to live in his old house) is a money grabber?

Perhaps you're making a fuss out of nothing.

I am somewhat confused by your comments about the care home. He checked into the home and gave his son/daughter's details (your wife's parents) as next of kin so that if something goes wrong or there's a significant decision, everyone knows he regards his 'old' family as next of kin. Sounds ok to me. That is what you would all hope for, right?!

From the way you were talking it up as a big deal, we might have assumed he was putting his new wife and *her* family as next of kin, implying she had got under his skin and convinced him to tell the care home that the new family was closer to him than the old, almost cutting the old family out of decisions and out of his life as if he meant to disinherit them. But in fact they have not done that, and the exact opposite has happened with regard to the care records.

Perhaps you are seeing a mountain when it's a molehill and may need to relax a bit. Your wife, her parents, and her uncle can follow up with the father, the issue about interest in the property, if they are concerned about it. Your wife would be best served with you as the voice of reason in the background - rather than the one feeding their paranoia and saying it feels horrible and how dare the wife do this, when you don't have any evidence that she did "do this"

SpuddyMcFuddy

Honestly, I know exactly where people are saying he's effectively living the life of riley for years, in effectively an almost free house - and we totally agree. Honestly, he's lazy to the point of ridiculous, but that's not the point of what I'm getting at.

He's lived there all his life, he's lived there on his own for the past 5 or 6 years. His wife and family are just trying to fleece my wife's grandad and because he's old, now 90, and not well they've used him to get his money and now - it looks - as if they're trying to get the house out of my wife's uncle; which is my wife's family home.
They are essentially strip mining the money that my wife's grandad has made over his life, yes, I know he's lived with her for 5 / 6 years and they've "shared" her house, but in reality what that is is that he's done up the entire house, paid for run about cars for her family and generally just funded the family.

I know there is nothing I can do personally, and I don't want anything from him - neither does my wife, we'd much rather have the lovely grandad we've known for years. I just hope that my wife's uncle doesn't lose his home for many years.

I hope indeed I am making a mountain out of a molehill (or rather my wife is) but the more we find out, the more it looks like she (and moreover her family) were just after his money.
They've now put him in a home, not paid for it at all; trying to foist the bill onto his children. His 6 months 'free' in-home care has now run out, so it looks like he's been cast aside now he's not worth anything and it's heart breaking. If/when he finds out I think it'll kill him with a broken heart. It's just rather sad to be honest.

Anyway - thanks for the advice and information.

atush

Honestly, I know exactly where people are saying he's effectively living the life of riley for years, in effectively an almost free house - and we totally agree. Honestly, he's lazy to the point of ridiculous, but that's not the point of what I'm getting at.

That might not be the pint you are getting at, but it is the point most readers are getting at.

If he is lazy and work shy, let him get tossed out on his behind. Good for him to finally take care of himself.

If he is vulnerable, and needs help. help him ask what his position is. and help him find out how he can make sure he is in a stable position.

xylophone

They've now put him in a home, not paid for it at all; trying to foist the bill onto his children.

Your wife's grandfather owns a house (the old family home) where he was living with his wife and one of his children (the uncle). He has a generous pension, a state pension and (it appears) savings.

After his wife died, he met and married his current wife, went to live in her house and left his son in residence in the old family home where he is currently living at a very small rent.

Grandfather is now in a care home and will be assessed on his ability to pay the fees.

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS38_Treatment_of_property_in_the_means-test_for_permanent_care_home_provision_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

It is unclear as to whether the family home will be taken into account (despite the uncle's being over 60) as your grandfather has been living for several years in his wife's home and presumably that has become his main residence. In effect he became the uncle's landlord.

If the house is sold before your wife's grandfather dies this may have CGT implications.

Grandfather made a new will on marriage. If he was compos mentis and it was correctly signed, witnessed and dated then the will is valid.

He was free to leave his property as he chose - any post death challenge to its provisions would be likely to end up in court.

Malthusian

Rent on a 1 bed property would be, what, £750 a month on average? Obviously much more than that in London. Let's not even get into the question of whether mum and dad were also doing his cooking and cleaning. Total benefit over 40 years of adult life = £360,000 in today's money.

Dad's new wife must have got him to buy a lot of new cars and install gold taps in all the bathrooms if he's been anything like as generous to her branch of the family as he has been to his kids.

Normally with "I've been staying in someone else's house for years and don't want to move out, what are my rights" questions there are two standard emotional weapons deployed in the incumbent's favour. 1) "I've been caring for my parents unpaid for x years and always thought I'd get the house in return" 2) "I'm vulnerable and incapable of moving out on my own". Neither is apparently the case here. We've all been dancing around it but atush is right, if forthright. Your uncle-in-law has nothing to complain about. The music was always going to stop one day.

Notwithstanding that there may be a case under the IPFD Act if he is completely disinherited, but you've not given us much reason to believe that he has. Just because you have been generous to your new wife's family does not mean you have completely cut out your children. If he wanted to do that he could have kicked the son out of his house, sold it and spent the money on his new wife years ago.

Your grandfather is responsible for his care home fees, not his new wife's relatives nor his children. Are you saying he has no money left (other than the house which his son occupies) and is about to be kicked into local authority care?

mumps

Has the uncle spent any money on the house in expectation of continuing to live there, things like maintenance, decoration, installing CH or double glazing? If so he may be able to continue to live there and prevent her selling. I have done this for a relative, he needs to see a solicitor and if he can show what he has done a barrister can sort it out. Can't remember exactly what the barrister did but it did keep the house as a home for the relative concerned.