Drafting wills

katy123

Say a friend owns a property as tenants in common (50% each), let's call them A & B. A's will states that on death, they assets are to be equally distributed to her 4 children.

I've always thought the maximum number of owners for a property is 4. In this scenario, there will be 4 children and friend B = 5 individuals. How would this work in practice? THanks

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Like you my understanding is that the maximum number of legal owners that can be registered is 4 but I do not think there is any limit on the number of beneficial owners.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I assume therefore that it would be possible for 1 of the 4 beneficiaries to become the legal owner of the 50% but hold it in trust for all 4.[/FONT]

Yorkshireman99

Tom99 wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Like you my understanding is that the maximum number of legal owners that can be registered is 4 but I do not think there is any limit on the number of beneficial owners.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I assume therefore that it would be possible for 1 of the 4 beneficiaries to become the legal owner of the 50% but hold it in trust for all 4.[/FONT]

This is correct. However, it would be much better if the OP's friend consulted a solicitor preferably one that is a STEP member to discuss the options. It is emphaticly not a job to DIY.

Mojisola

katy123 wrote: »

Say a friend owns a property as tenants in common (50% each), let's call them A & B. A's will states that on death, they assets are to be equally distributed to her 4 children.

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

However, it would be much better if the OP's friend consulted a solicitor preferably one that is a STEP member to discuss the options. It is emphaticly not a job to DIY.

Definitely!

Is B going to given the right to stay in the house or will A's children be able to force B to sell up so that they can get their money?

katy123

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

This is correct. However, it would be much better if the OP's friend consulted a solicitor preferably one that is a STEP member to discuss the options. It is emphaticly not a job to DIY.

The will is already in existence, it's just something that I thought of that might be an issue.

I guess if it goes into trust, then 5 owners isn't a problem. Also, I know the original idea was to avoid going into trust (for simplicity reasons), I think they call it an IIP - security for the survivor. The reason an IIP wasn't recommended was because they wanted simplicity (no trust) given that it is a closely knitted family but it looks like an oversight by the solicitor given that there are 4 children and it will still have to go into trust. Will explain to her, thanks

katy123

Mojisola wrote: »

Definitely!

Is B going to given the right to stay in the house or will A's children be able to force B to sell up so that they can get their money?

The house is rented out so I guess the idea is that no owners will ever live in the house.

Keep_pedalling

katy123 wrote: »

The house is rented out so I guess the idea is that no owners will ever live in the house.

Have you considered the impact that this could have on the beneficiaries as far as causing them to pay additional stamp duty if they are buying property for themselves? Or one or more of them may also not fancy the idea of becoming a landlord and need buying out to avoid forced sale.

Yorkshireman99

katy123 wrote: »

The will is already in existence, it's just something that I thought of that might be an issue.

I guess if it goes into trust, then 5 owners isn't a problem. Also, I know the original idea was to avoid going into trust (for simplicity reasons), I think they call it an IIP - security for the survivor. The reason an IIP wasn't recommended was because they wanted simplicity (no trust) given that it is a closely knitted family but it looks like an oversight by the solicitor given that there are 4 children and it will still have to go into trust. Will explain to her, thanks

In which case they should still get advice from a trust specialist. The average solicitor seldom has the depth of knowledge required hence my suggestion to see a STEP member. In any case it is sound practice to review a will at a maximum of five year i later Val’s.

getmore4less

The problem with a IPDI(IIP in a will) is if the life tenant is not the spouse of the deceased there can be IHT/nil rate band issues that need careful consideration.