Probate - Can rent be claimed from resident beneficiary living in house to be split?

cc120

Hi Everyone

The scenario:

Estate includes 1 property, value to be split between 2 of the beneficiaries. 1 of the beneficiaries who was also the executor of the will has lived there from 1971 to present day. His mother (their mother) passed away in 2011 but he didn't carry out any executor functions due to depression until approx 2013. During which time the other beneficiary was urging him to act and threatened to claim 50% value of the rent of the property for the time between 2011 until the beneficiary vacates the property.

The executor/beneficiary has since been removed (via consent order) as executor. The other beneficiary will become executor after grant of probate goes through. He is claiming he has a legal right to 50% rent value from the resident beneficiary.

Can he legally claim this? If so, would he be able to deduct the rent value total from the original executors 50% share of the property value when sold, now that he will be executor?

Savvy_Sue

I think this may depend on the wording of the will, and if it's going to get messy I would recommend legal advice, especially given that the original executor knows what the will says and may disagree that the new executor has a right to rental income.

Other factors: who has been paying the bills on the property? Who has been paying for maintenance of the property?

cc120

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I think this may depend on the wording of the will, and if it's going to get messy I would recommend legal advice, especially given that the original executor knows what the will says and may disagree that the new executor has a right to rental income.

Other factors: who has been paying the bills on the property? Who has been paying for maintenance of the property?

Sorry Savvy_Sue, only just saw this as I wasn't notified, should I have checked a box somewhere :-). Thank you for your reply.

The first executor was paying the bills / maintenance.

I doubt that the will mentioned rent at all.

Savvy_Sue

I refer to my previous post: Executor 2 should get legal advice if he thinks he can claim rent from Executor 1, unless there's clear provision for that in the will.

cc120

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I refer to my previous post: Executor 2 should get legal advice if he thinks he can claim rent from Executor 1, unless there's clear provision for that in the will.

Thank you Savvy_Sue, just for the purposes of rounded information on this post:
According to Judge Judy (US law might be different though) a beneficiary who was living in a house to be split 3 ways between himself, his sister and the executor, neither of which were living in the house, owed 2 thirds of the rent from the time he lived there after his mother's death (don't know if he lived there previously to mother's death) to the executor, half of which to be passed on to the sister. No provisions of rent in the will.

Yorkshireman99

cc120 wrote: »

Thank you Savvy_Sue, just for the purposes of rounded information on this post:
According to Judge Judy (US law might be different though) a beneficiary who was living in a house to be split 3 ways between himself, his sister and the executor, neither of which were living in the house, owed 2 thirds of the rent from the time he lived there after his mother's death (don't know if he lived there previously to mother's death) to the executor, half of which to be passed on to the sister. No provisions of rent in the will.

Don't believe everything you see on TV! In any case we have no idea if the US law is the same. For a definitive answer the executors need proper legal advice.

cc120

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Don't believe everything you see on TV! In any case we have no idea if the US law is the same. For a definitive answer the executors need proper legal advice.

You're absolutely right of course. Thank you Yorkshireman99.