Inheritance query

hollip0p

Hi all,

I’m not sure I am posting this in the right section so please correct me if not, it’s also a little complicated so I hope it makes sense.

My boyfriends grandmother passed away several years ago. His grandfather moved abroad to live with my boyfriends father and stepmother in Cyprus after this happened and then passed away whilst living out there.

The grandparents UK home has been on the market and sold in January. In between the house going on the market and it actually selling, my boyfriends father has had a stroke and been left in an almost vegetative state (still in Cyprus). His wife is caring for him and they continue to live there, they have really struggled with money since the stroke.

The stepmother has been told by my boyfriends uncle that there was no will and there has been no mention of the uncle sharing the money received from the house sale.

In the absence of a will, should the money not be split between my boyfriends uncle and father?

Is there any way to search for a will with my boyfriends grandfather passing away outside of the UK?

Thanks in advance

Savvy_Sue

I'm no expert, but generally, a UK will would be needed to dispose of assets in the UK, so if there was no will then the rules of intestacy would apply, and you're right, the money from the house should be shared between your boyfriend's Dad and his uncle. The fact that Dad is in Cyprus and unable to act for himself doesn't alter that.

If uncle says there wasn't a will, then it's highly unlikely that one has been submitted to probate, and that's pretty much the only way you can find one: if it's not submitted, it could be anywhere.

The question is, will uncle take any notice if his nephew writes to point out what the law says? Would he take more notice if your boyfriend took legal advice and instructed a solicitor? BUT you have to understand that it would be your boyfriend instructing - and therefore paying for - said solicitor. And your uncle may feel that if he ignores any such letter, no-one will take it any further.

hollip0p

Thank you. I just wanted to be sure my general understanding was correct in that the Dad is entitled to half the house before we contact the uncle - hopefully there is a reasonable explanation as to why they’ve not sent the funds but we are willing to go down the solicitor route if need be.

The only thing we’ve thought of as a possibility is that the Uncle is worried that he will send the money over and the stepmother will spend it/do a runner with it. He apparently sent £5k over previously to help with medical costs (with no mention of it being from the house) so we are wondering if maybe he is planning on drip feeding it but hasn’t made the intentions clear to the stepmother. But, even if that were the case, he has no right to make that decision does he?

Savvy_Sue

hollip0p wrote: »

The only thing we’ve thought of as a possibility is that the Uncle is worried that he will send the money over and the stepmother will spend it/do a runner with it. He apparently sent £5k over previously to help with medical costs (with no mention of it being from the house) so we are wondering if maybe he is planning on drip feeding it but hasn’t made the intentions clear to the stepmother. But, even if that were the case, he has no right to make that decision does he?

No, he probably doesn't, but it would be worth establishing it. Maybe Uncle would feel happier if he thought your boyfriend was involved in helping his dad.

Brynsam

Although the house could be marketed before probate was granted, the sale couldn't complete until the grant came through. If there was no will, the uncle (presumably) would have applied for letters of administration - same thing applies re the house sale. Have you checked: https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/searching-for-probate-records

Before getting too steamed up about anything, perhaps talking the uncle is the best idea? There may be no fight to have, so before the adrenalin really gets flowing, find out what he thinks the score is.

Voyager2002

Some obvious questions: how could the house sale have been completed without a grant of probate? If payment was made for the house, into whose account was the money paid?