Advice on dealing with estate

Chez2402

My Mum passed away without leaving a will. Myself and my brother applied for a grant of representation which we got. There is also 3 grandchildren from our deseased brother who would be entitled to inherit also. As my Mums house was mortgage free and I wish to move in the land registry is now in my name by means of assent. So basically I was wondering what's the best way to ensure everyone gets their share and agrees to it with no repercussions? I wish to buy my brother out ( 1 third share ) and the 3 grandchildren (1 third split 3 ways) and live in the house. The house is stated as being worth £100,000 on the land registry document. Would I just need to draft a letter of some sort for them to sign agreeing to their share amount? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

konark

I don't know how you've got the house already registered in your name when technically you only own a third of it


I suppose as it's already a fait accomplis all you need to do is give your brother £33,333 and your other brother's children £11,111 each and get a signed receipt from..

Chez2402

Basically I filled out an As1 form I think it was to have the property put into mine and my brothers names as we're both on the grant of representation form, then filled in Ap1 form to have the house put into my name as I intend to move in. I just thought that was the way to go about it as I've not used a solicitor so relying on info from the land registry website.

Yorkshireman99

Chez2402 wrote: »

My Mum passed away without leaving a will. Myself and my brother applied for a grant of representation which we got. There is also 3 grandchildren from our deseased brother who would be entitled to inherit also. As my Mums house was mortgage free and I wish to move in the land registry is now in my name by means of assent. So basically I was wondering what's the best way to ensure everyone gets their share and agrees to it with no repercussions? I wish to buy my brother out ( 1 third share ) and the 3 grandchildren (1 third split 3 ways) and live in the house. The house is stated as being worth £100,000 on the land registry document. Would I just need to draft a letter of some sort for them to sign agreeing to their share amount? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

The first thing you need to do is get a formal professional valuation by a RICS surveyor. That is the only way to establish a fair price for dividing the value.

Chez2402

Everyone is quite happy with the amount they will be receiving as we're all keen not to spend any more money. The house is already in my name so I really just want to know the best way to give them their share, ie. the rough terminology I should use on a receipt.

Yorkshireman99

Chez2402 wrote: »

Everyone is quite happy with the amount they will be receiving as we're all keen not to spend any more money. The house is already in my name so I really just want to know the best way to give them their share, ie. the rough terminology I should use on a receipt.

As administrators you are legally obliged to be sure fair value is used. The minors are not in a position to agree to a value. Also you are obliged to put the interests of the estae above your own particularly when self dealing is concerned. Hence a professional valuation should be done.

unholyangel

Have you already ascertained all assets & liabilities of the estate and is that her sole asset/no liabilities?

Tom99

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

As administrators you are legally obliged to be sure fair value is used. The minors are not in a position to agree to a value. Also you are obliged to put the interests of the estae above your own particularly when self dealing is concerned. Hence a professional valuation should be done.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The OP does not say the grandchildren are minors but I would 2nd that view.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]There are 5 beneficiaries involved, who came up with the £100,000 value, sounds a very round sum? Is that the value you used for probate?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]For the cost of a RICS valuation, lets say £500 ( £167 each for you and brother, £56 each for grandchildren) all parties can then see the split has been fair both now and in the future.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]You say you want to document the other beneficiaries agreement to this value without any (future?) repercussions and a 3rd party expert valuation is the only way you can do that.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]What if it comes to light that next door sold for £125k last week or some other evidence that your figure was too low. Whether intentional or not, that would lead to the repercussions you are trying to avoid. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I am not sure about the stamp duty situation if you already own a property. You are buying a beneficial interest in a property for say £67k which would normally attract £2k stamp duty.[/FONT]

Chez2402

No the beneficiarys are all adults not minors. Also I don't own another property, my fiance is selling his house and we're using the money from that sale to give to the others. As I said they are all happy with the amount they are receiving and the house is already in my name. My Mum did have a bank account which was transferred to me shortly after her death long before we got the grant and the money was used to pay for the funeral and clear debts etc.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]You keep saying 'and the house is already in my name' as if that is justification for not getting a formal valuation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The grandchildren may be happy with the amount they are receiving now but what if evidence later came to light that your figure was too low?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The fact you have used your authority as executor to transfer the legal interest in the property to your sole name without first having written agreement with all the beneficiaries will not look good.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]What sort of repercussions are you trying to avoid?[/FONT]

Yorkshireman99

Chez2402 wrote: »

No the beneficiarys are all adults not minors. Also I don't own another property, my fiance is selling his house and we're using the money from that sale to give to the others. As I said they are all happy with the amount they are receiving and the house is already in my name. My Mum did have a bank account which was transferred to me shortly after her death long before we got the grant and the money was used to pay for the funeral and clear debts etc.

Thanks for the clarification on the ages. As others have said the need for a professional valuation is still a factor to prevent any future dispute. All the other assets/debts should have been included in probate. Also transferring the title could be problematic if you or your fiance die in an accident for example, before the transactions are complete. Certainly for the benefit of other readers transferring a property in this way is bad practice and I am a little surprised the Land Registry were willing to do it. I hope it all works out OK.