Property upon trust in will

Niki_Wright

My stepmother sadly died last year and left a will appointing my father, her eldest daughter (child x) and me to be executors and trustees of her will. The will goes on to say that "I give all my share and interest in the property at the time of my death to my Trustees UPON TRUST to sell the same and to hold the net proceeds of sale and net rents and profits until sale UPON TRUST for such of my child x, my child, y and my child z..... " All of the trustees mentioned are adults.

If Dad wants to move house, (which he does), the will says that the trustees should "join in with the sale of the said property and in the purchase of such other property PROVIDED ALWAYS that no more than the proceeds of such sale shall be required to cover all the costs of sale and purchase and conveyance of the properties".

The conveyancing solicitor has advised that Dad must now pay the higher stamp duty rate (nearly 3 times as much) as all 3 children own their own homes, and now they will own part of a second property ie. Dad's. The solicitor has also advised that all 3 of their names need to go on the title deed of the new property along with Dad's. I have several questions which I hope someone might be able to answer:

1. Do all their names need to be on the title deed if Dad is still living there? Isn't their half of the property still in trust until he dies?. His will leaves his share to me and my sibling.
2. Does the provision in the will mean that he doesn't have to pay the higher rate of tax (under the exemption rules?
3. Dad cannot afford to buy a property in the area he wants with just the proceeds of the sale of the house. He is putting some more money of his own towards it, but does that matter, given that the will says no more than the proceeds of the sale should be required?

I know this is a complicated area, but given that he might need a loan to pay the higher rate of stamp duty, he really can't afford more solicitors fees!

Browntoa

You need professional advice.

This is out of our league

getmore4less

Get a trust specialist to look at the options.

If there is a life interest then the kids have no beneficial interest in the property.

Yorkshireman99

Niki_Wright wrote: »

My stepmother sadly died last year and left a will appointing my father, her eldest daughter (child x) and me to be executors and trustees of her will. The will goes on to say that "I give all my share and interest in the property at the time of my death to my Trustees UPON TRUST to sell the same and to hold the net proceeds of sale and net rents and profits until sale UPON TRUST for such of my child x, my child, y and my child z..... " All of the trustees mentioned are adults.

If Dad wants to move house, (which he does), the will says that the trustees should "join in with the sale of the said property and in the purchase of such other property PROVIDED ALWAYS that no more than the proceeds of such sale shall be required to cover all the costs of sale and purchase and conveyance of the properties".

The conveyancing solicitor has advised that Dad must now pay the higher stamp duty rate (nearly 3 times as much) as all 3 children own their own homes, and now they will own part of a second property ie. Dad's. The solicitor has also advised that all 3 of their names need to go on the title deed of the new property along with Dad's. I have several questions which I hope someone might be able to answer:

1. Do all their names need to be on the title deed if Dad is still living there? Isn't their half of the property still in trust until he dies?. His will leaves his share to me and my sibling.
2. Does the provision in the will mean that he doesn't have to pay the higher rate of tax (under the exemption rules?
3. Dad cannot afford to buy a property in the area he wants with just the proceeds of the sale of the house. He is putting some more money of his own towards it, but does that matter, given that the will says no more than the proceeds of the sale should be required?

I know this is a complicated area, but given that he might need a loan to pay the higher rate of stamp duty, he really can't afford more solicitors fees!

Why do you not believe the solicitor? Given the complexity and that they know all the facts we have no chance of advising other than follow what the solicitor says or get advice from a trust specialist who is a STEP member.

getmore4less

A conveyancing solicitor is unlikely to have the expertise so look for a solution, they are still within the window to do a DOV to restructure if needed.

Yorkshireman99

getmore4less wrote: »

A conveyancing solicitor is unlikely to have the expertise so look for a solution, they are still within the window to do a DOV to restructure if needed.

This is why a solicitor who is a STEP member needs to be consulted. It will cost much more not to in the long term.