Difficult Inheritance

GH80

Two years ago my mother-in-law passed away, leaving 3 daughters (I am married to one) and 1 son equal share in the family house, and about £50,000 in cash each. The house was valued at the time at £160,000 but now is in the £170k - 200k range.

The brother was the executor and transferred 4 siblings names onto the deeds. Two of my wife's sisters still live in the house, the oldest brother (executor) lives in America.
As it was a difficult time for all, we did not lean too heavy about getting our share of the house. We had asked to get bought out at the time but we were refused, I believe one sibling said they were not giving us her inheritance. Now that 2 years have gone past, we are a bit fed up. We are looking to move house soon as we have a young family so could use the money, and are also concerned about the extra 3% stamp duty we are likely to face as the wife is named on the deeds on the mothers family home.

First of all, we are looking for advice, can we force a sale if the siblings don't buy us out? Is it clear cut like this? How much are legal proceedings likely to cost, how long will they take, and would we have to bear all legal costs?

Secondly, my wife is being excluded from all dealings by her other two sisters. I think they believe my wife is not entitled to her share as they still live in the house. They wont give any indication of when they are selling.
Apparently they put the house up for sale last year, had viewers, (may have had offers?) then removed it from sale - all without informing any of this to my wife. I found out when internet searching homes in the area the brochure appeared, and the estate agent told us about the details. When approached about this they have not responded.
Is this legal to exclude a co-owner?

[Deleted User]

I am not sure this is the best place to get advice you can rely on in this situation.

I am sure you want to avoid huge legal fees but it might be worth one consultation with a solicitor just to gain enough information to enable you to make choices.

-taff

Youu might be better of posting this on this board
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=217

elsien

Did the will give the siblings living in the house the right to remain for any length of time?

GrumpyDil

There's a couple of questions here but to start from basics.

If the will give the sisters the right the right to stay in the house then she has a problem but you would need to see the full wording of the relevant clause from the wil to provide a useful assessment of that element.

Any owner could list the house for sale but if your wife is a legal owner then she would have to sign the contract and transfer deed.

What has happened to the cash element of the will?

As regards the likely costs it cost me just shy of 20000 in a will dispute I had where my mother's will was altered shortly before her death which was settled shortly before we were preparing to go to court. Yours could cost more or less. I'd expect it to be less as you would be arguing about forcing a sale of the property as opposed to challenging the legality of the will.

If you do end up being forced down the legal route then don't expect any cordial relations afterwards.

GH80

No mention of right to stay in the house, just equal share of property. However, one of the sisters had mentioned that the deceased mother had told her that she wanted to change the will to let her live in the house, but the will was not changed. I don't believe any other sibling had been told about this arrangement. The will has not been challenged as far as the solicitor is concerned. I think this is where some of the saltiness is coming from. The deceased mother had plenty of time to do this if necessary, she was aware things were not good for a few months unfortunately before passing.
We are willing to accommodate everyone here but we are getting far from the same treatment back, we would have waited if they had asked us, but they refuse to even talk about it. We usually get the "mother is turning in her grave", or "all you think about is money".

Jenniefour

The problem here is that the house itself has been left to four siblings in equal shares - not the smartest way to write the will, given the circumstances. The executor has put the house, correctly, into the four names. You need legal advice on how to proceed because if they want to keep the house then they need to buy you out - hopefully without you having to force a sale.

Addition: ignore the emotional blackmail, what one person might have said to another is irrelevant because it's not in the will.

xylophone

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2008/apr/30/property.mortgages

getmore4less

trying to force a sale won't be easy.

wanting to move and needing the cash will help but won't happen quickly.

cheaper to move in that will give them focus that they need to cooperate.

G_M

1) first thing to do is to read the will. Then post here the exact wording so we can comment on a) what restrictions there might be on evicting the occupants and b) the property ownership.

The will can be purchased from the Probate Office if the Executer does not provide a copy

2) Next, register here with the Land Registry. That means you'll be notified when any sale takes place

3) Avoid legal action if possible. Reaching an agreement will be much easier, cheaper and faster. If necessary, agree to sell your share at below market value- it will still be better value than option 4 below

4) force the other 3 owners to sell, using the courts. This may or may not be possible, depending on 1) above.

Norman_Castle

What does the brother with the 25% share want to do?