Problem with being left with part of a house in a will

Flugelhorn

Bakewell76 wrote: »

Thanks again for taking time out to reply.I will have to re visit the solicitors for further advice as it was then who drew up the will,all very confusing!

Good idea - sounds like your mother didn't get probate or if she did then the process wasn't followed through as the ownership of the property should have been changed.

buildersdaughter

Bakewell - yes I think you do need to go to the solicitors, but there are steps you can take that will minimise the time spent with them, and therefore the cost.
Ask your mum if you can see the will, and help her sort out getting it into probate
Register your and your sister's share with the Land Registry
Assuming the will is straightforward, talk to the family, and think about what you all want to do.
A simple example, missing out pesky things like solicitors' fees and expenses, but just to give an idea:

House worth £350k, mortgage £50k, so you realise £300k
Mum moves into a place that costs £200k
£100k is split between you and your sister, and you each have a £25k interest in the new property (ie: 1/8 each). It is important to register that 1/8 for the future, should your mum sell again, or need to move into residential care.
You don't say how old your mum is, or her health or job, but be warned that if she is thinking of 'retirement properties' there are monthly management fees and so on that she needs to think about paying out of her income.

getmore4less

Back to basics.

What did the will say?
chances are it is one of two options outright inheritance or a life interest trust

Find out.

If you want to protect your beneficial interest you need to do that yourself as anyone involved(executors/trustees) can just leave you out.

The probate office and land registry do not deal with beneficial interests.

The land reg rep has reported numerous times probate is not needed if there is a living owner.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I would download a copy of the title from the land reg now and check how the property is held.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If your mum and dad held it a joint tenants, which is often the way with married couples, your dad's share will have passed to your mum and not to you so you do not own any of the property.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If it was held as tenants in common then your 2 x25% shares will pass to you depending what exactly the will says about your mum occupying the property.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Again, depending what the will says about your mum occupying the property there may be CGT issues on any gain in the house value over the past 4 years.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It could be that your dad's 50% share is still owned by his estate and if the property is sold before being transferred to you and your sister the estate will end up paying 28% CGT on virtually the whole gain on that 50% over the past 4 years. The estate will have no CGT annual allowance because that is only available for 2 years after death.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If that is the case it would be important to transfer the 50% from the estate to you and your sister before exchanging contracts on the sale of the house . That way the two of you will each have a £11,700 CGT allowance and only pay tax at 18% if you are a basic rate taxpayer.[/FONT]

Sea_Shell

As Tom99 say's above, you need to check how the property was owned originally, as if it was Joint Tenants, the house will have passed automatically to the surviving spouse (co-owner) OUTSIDE of any will, regardless of what the will specified.

Without first establishing this...you can't move forwards.

macman

To avoid IHT implications, your mum should also have been paying a commercial rent on the 50% of the property that (we think) she does not own. If not, then it will be viewed as a gift with reservation in her estate when the time comes.
If your solicitor drew up the will and also executed it, then I suspect that you will need to find a new solicitor, as the drafting of the will is potentially flawed and negligent.

NordicNoir

macman wrote: »

To avoid IHT implications, your mum should also have been paying a commercial rent on the 50% of the property that (we think) she does not own. If not, then it will be viewed as a gift with reservation in her estate when the time comes.

If the children inherited 50% of the house from their father...the mother did not gift it, so whether any rent is paid is irrelevant, as it is not a 'gift with reservation'.

Mojisola

MichelleUK wrote: »

If the children inherited 50% of the house from their father...the mother did not gift it, so whether any rent is paid is irrelevant, as it is not a 'gift with reservation'.

Also, if the mother was given a life interest in the share given to the children, she doesn't need to pay rent to them.