Inheritance, Wills & Probate questions?

pinleycov

Hi, need help on this one. I have inherited 10% of a property in Italy. My siblings also have been given 10 also although my oldest brother already owned 50% so he owns 60% now, sister owns 10% and two other brothers own 10% each. My oldest brother is sorting out the will as it was our mum's property and he is the executor. He told me that there is a lot of costs involved in the upkeep of the property and also that it needs updating. There is also some building work that needs doing to the block that it is in as it is an apartment in a tourist/seaside area. All contact between us has been done by text as we don't speak. I also have fallen out with my sister and 2nd oldest brother who i haven't spoken to for about 20 years. I only have contact with my youngest brother.  
         My oldest brother seems to be putting me off from inheriting my 10% by telling me about these costs. The apartment will not be rented out and will be for family use only. It also will not be sold. It's been in the family for about 40 years. I am on the point of signing my share away. Would i be able to sell my share rather than just hand it back the way the apartment is now? If i decide to keep my share i am supposed to be paying 20% of the upkeep and maintenance but i have no income. My husband pays for everything but i can't expect him to pay for this so is selling my share possible?
                   Thanks for reading.

relaxtwotribes

bery_451 said:

Is a will something legal and a gift is not legal?

No, it's the other way around.  A gift is legal and a will is not legal.

bery_451

Flugelhorn said:

bery_451 said:

relaxtwotribes said:

bery_451 said:

And for probate after death is it £215 per will meaning £430 for two wills for probate?

Except that if a solicitor is applying for probate the fee is £155 per will and in your case, if you are named as executor, then you should appoint a solicitor, given your never-ending confusion over simple matters, often repeating questions that have been previously answered.
By the way, did you ever find out what the difference is between wills and gifts?

Is a will something legal and a gift is not legal?

Okay never knew solicitors are cheaper than the government £215 fee? Which solicitors charge £155?
The solicitor still has still take the government route right? So if I give solicitor £155 then that means solicitor gotta top up the remaining to £215?

If YOU apply for probate then the charge is £215, if any solicitor applies then the charge by the courts is £155 - possibly because they are less likely to make mistakes (who knows). HOWEVER you would have to pay the solicitor a good deal more than £155 or indeed £215 to do the work for you

Confused who would pay £215 for probate and do all the work and time when solicitors can do this service for a similar price  ?

After 11 pages here that we all invested our time into I finally realised solicitor charges are similar prices to do it yourself prices so yeah I should had visited a solicitor in the 1st place  🤦‍♂️ 

Thanks,

Owain_Moneysaver

pinleycov said:

Hi, need help on this one. I have inherited 10% of a property in Italy. ... If i decide to keep my share i am supposed to be paying 20% of the upkeep and maintenance 

This is complicated and you need specific legal advice from someone qualified in Italian property and inheritance law. And you can't sort this out by text message. You need to speak to or correspond with the executor, or appoint a legal representative to act on your behalf (which will cost you money). 
If you only inherit 10% of the property why do you have to pay 20% of the expenses?
You also need to clarify what your 10% entitles you to - 36 days per year exclusive access? Can you rent that period out through a holiday lets agency for money, which would come to you not the family. If you insist on this, would someone else want to buy you out? 
The executor has to act (at least in the UK) impartially in the interests of the estate and not favour one beneficiary over another. The law may be very different in Italy. 
In the UK you can refuse to accept a bequest, but again, Italy might be different. 

Cleethorpes

Hi,. My sister & I are executors of my
mother's Estate.  There are 4 beneficiaries altogether including my sister and I.  We have grant of probate and have already called in all funds from bank accs, shares etc and that part of the estate is sizeable.  We we're going to distribute those funds and then once mums property has sold ( which is in process of being cleared out but needs a bit if work to make it marketable) we would then distribute the inheritance from the sake less fees etc.
However, one if the beneficiaries is adamant he wants his all up front not just the part that is settled.  The problem is although property was valued at £200K it doesn't mean we would achieve that and there are fees etc to come out of it.    Does anyone know if he is entitled to that before property is sold or not as he is saying he'll go to solicitors if necessary.   My mum died at the end of January 2020 and due to having had to shield due to coronavirus we have only just started the process of going through her things to get property ready to sell.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.  I tried citizens advice and although they did their best they couldn't find any information re this.

Bobziz

I'm adamant that I would like the ability to fly, doesn't mean I'm going to grow wings overnight though.  He should be grateful that you'll be making an interim payment. The proceeds of the house won't be available until it's sold. If he wants to waste his money on a solicitor then let him. Take your time, do things properly, don't be rushed and keep good records.

Mojisola

Cleethorpes said:

However, one if the beneficiaries is adamant he wants his all up front not just the part that is settled. 

Does anyone know if he is entitled to that before property is sold or not as he is saying he'll go to solicitors if necessary.  

If he does go to a solicitor, all that will happen is that he will waste his money.

If more than a year had passed since probate was granted and he could show that you were not making efforts to finalise the estate, he might have grounds for complaint - as things stand, he's got no right to demand anything from the executors.

Do be careful that you don't distribute too much of the capital as an interim payment - keep plenty back to pay all the other expenses that are going to occur.

Owain_Moneysaver

Cleethorpes said:

 Does anyone know if he is entitled to that before property is sold or not as he is saying he'll go to solicitors if necessary.   

Make it clear to him and the other beneficiary that any such action would result in the executors instructing solicitors to respond on behalf of the estate and that will be paid for out of the money going to all beneficiaries (presumably you get a percentage each). Make it also clear that if you instruct solicitors to carry out all the remaining work that will cost them a lot more than you doing the work because as a lay executor you aren't getting paid. 

getmore4less

And if they are not pulling their weight in preparing the house it will be sold as is. 
In many cases apart from clearing spending any estate money on a place is not worth the risk as if it fails to get more money back executors are at risk out of their own pockets. 

getmore4less

Also if no one was living in the place  you were a bit premature getting the grant as now council tax will be due.
If selling an empty property best to delay getting the grant as you only get 6months CT free.