Brother not contributing financially now wants to force sale three years on

charliemuppet

Hi guys

This is probably a wills and probate issue but i,'m not sure

I am a co- executor,of my late father's estate along with my elder brother whom has remained non comunative throughout,I have been waiting for him now for three years to complete dissolving the estate and during this time my wife and I have paid every penny towards this and my brother has refused all financial support and has not even visited the property in the entire time, I'm doing my best to keep it informal, amicable and if possible avoid probate but financially we are drained and now in debt ourselves because of it and a 10k loan my wife took on at Barclays simply to pay the bills and maintain the property,I have four children to think of.

He is now,after three years of zero contact he is pressing for sale and threatening to apply for probate unilaterally.,the value of the estate is minimal,less than 7k and I found out yesterday from a solicitor that my parents gifted myself and my brother the property in 2003

I would appreciate immensely any guidence anyone can offer on this matter,and thank you for taking the time to read this
Thanks
Charlie

xylophone

Your mother predeceased your father?
You say that your parents gifted you and your brother the property seventeen years ago. Were you completely unaware of this?  Neither you nor your brother  lived in the property?
Did your parents continue to  have sole occupation without paying you and your brother rent? I am assuming the answer is yes  as  if you were receiving rent, you would have been aware of the gift of the property.
If so, this was a gift with reservation of benefit and  could have  had implications for IHT for your mother and father.  However, it may be that the value of their assets was below the IHT threshold.
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm14332 Your solicitor will explain further.
Has the property just stood empty since your father died?
If the total value of your father's estate (including the GWR) was below the IHT threshold, and if the only asset in the state on death was £7000, it may be that probate is not required - by "dissolving the estate" do you mean advising your father's bank of his death and asking for the money to be paid to his executors?
If you and your brothers are joint owners of the property and neither of you live in it, there will be CGT implications on sale.

And unless you renounce, he cannot apply for probate unilaterally.
What advice has your solicitor given you?

charliemuppet

Hi Xylophone,
Thank you for the pointers and also your time.
Yes my mother died five weeks prior to my father,both cancer.
They did indeed live there until their deaths,no money changed hands to my knowledge.
At the time the property was transferred to me and my brother,I recall there being an overwhelming tension in the family,at the time in question but I ne we paid too much attention to matters like this,I was young and foolish but as far as i am to understand from a wil of my mother's circa the same period my brother (eldest and only) was to inherit the property upon their deaths on the condition I would be allowed to use it as my dwelling untill such time as I married at which point he could do as he chose fit.
I have gained no further direction from my solicitor,she sent me home to ponder over what she just informed me regarding ownership of the property,she saw how shocked I was and suggested my brother was possibly aware and suspected he had his own agenda??
By dissolving I mean the estate in it's entirety,I cannot afford to care for it much longer,my family are being compromised now because of it ,I cannot afford to fund two properties whilst he fails to contribute
Thank you once again
Charlie

Keep_pedalling

I am confused, you say the property was transferred to you and your brother, but that your mother left it to your brother in her will, which she obviously cannot do if it had already been gifted.

When exactly did the transfer take place, and is this registered with the land registry?

charliemuppet

Hi,sorry to confuse,the will I am referring to is an earlier draft circa 2001,she made a will every few years and kept them all but none mention the property being gifted,I was informed of this yesterday by a solicitor following a search she performed in her offices
Charlie

charliemuppet

Sorry,transfer took place in 2003,december

Keep_pedalling

OK so the solicitor has found out that you and your brother already own the house. Do you know when this transfer took place and have you been living in that house all that time?

charliemuppet

2003 according to her,I live with my wife and children in our own home,the property in question has remained empty since my father died and I have maintained it since and paid every penny towards this,I have seen my brother once since the funeral and we agreed to dissolve the estate asap and sell the house,then he just stopped communicating from that point.
Charlie

Keep_pedalling

In which case you should really get the house on he market pronto, once sold you can recover your expenses on maintaining it. The alternative if you want to move into the house, is buy his share out. That option might be attractive to you as you are likely to face a significant capital gains tax liability once your share is sold, as will your brother when his share is sold.

there is also the possibility that IHT might be due. Although the house was given away over 7 years ago because your parents continued to live in it it’s classed as a gift with reservation so still forms part of their estate for IHT purposes. If the house is worth more than £650k then IHT will be due.

xylophone

Was there any mention of the property in the wills of either parent?
If their wills predated the transfer, any mention of  a bequest of the property would have no effect since neither of them owned it at the date of death.
Were either of you living in the property at the time of the gift? If so, when did you move out?
What was the value of the property at the time the gift was made? And when your parents died? And currently?
You need to consult your solicitor on the question of the GWRB - she should be able to advise.
There may be IHT due - it is virtually certain that there will be a hefty CGT bill for you and your brother on  sale to a third party.
Would you want to consider living in the property? If you sold your own home, would you have enough to settle your debts and buy out your brother (taking into consideration the money you have spent in upkeep)? 
Otherwise, it would be best to get the property on the market as soon as possible and be free of the responsibility?

charliemuppet

Hi,the property is only a two bedroom bungalow,we are a family of six,so it's not really practical,as much as I would like too,it was valued at £100k in 2003,£130k is its current value,I was living there at the time but moved out the following year.
I paid the solicitor on account but I very much doubt I can afford to keep going if my brother fails to contribute much longer
Thank you
Charlie