Help! Property query after death

HayleyB26

Hi All,
After some advice if possible, a family member passed away and they owned their property. Another family was staying there to assist with their care prior to passing away. They weren't a tenant in common, and aren't registered to live there. The property has been left to a separate family member, who is also the sole executor of the will. Where does the executor stand in asking the family member to leave? 
They have been asked to vacate the property, but they have made no effort to leave. The property has not gone through probate as of yet.
Any advice is welcome  

AndNeil

Hi

my dad has sadly passed away and unfortunately has not made a will. His house deeds document his wife as the occupier. I’m unsure if this gives her legal rights to the house ? And what I should do if not. Any help appreciated. Thanks 

geminilady

You should really start your own thread but I can see you are new.If there is no will his wife will inherit the house anyway as she is next of kin

Malthusian

geminilady said:

You should really start your own thread but I can see you are new.If there is no will his wife will inherit the house anyway as she is next of kin

Not correct. Under intestacy laws, the wife gets the first £270,000 [corrected - thanks MobileSaver] and half the remainder; the rest goes to his [corrected - thanks Mojisola]  kids in equal shares. So she might get the house if the total estate is worth less than £270,000, or if she takes the house as part of her share. But it's not automatic. "Next of kin" has no legal meaning.

She should have a read of MSE's What to do when someone dies first of all and consider professional legal advice. As his wife she is first in line to apply to administer his estate.

xylophone

my dad has sadly passed away and unfortunately has not made a will.

Your father died intestate.

If there is no will his wife will inherit the house anyway as she is next of kin

Above is not accurate.

See Rules of Intestacy here  https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will 

and check the exact situation in your mother's circumstances.

Malthusian

To answer the original OP's question, they need to talk to a solicitor. This could get messy if the family member who was living in the house decides to contest the Will on the grounds it should have made provision for them.

Mojisola

Malthusian said:

Under intestacy laws, the wife gets the first £250,000 and half the remainder; the rest goes to her kids in equal shares. 

The rest will go to HIS children, not hers.

MobileSaver

Malthusian said:

Under intestacy laws, the wife gets the first £250,000 and half the remainder;

This was changed again a few months ago; the wife now get all the personal possessions (furniture, car etc.) and the first £270,000 of assets (cash, shares and property etc.) and half the remainder of the assets.

Malthusian

Both corrected, thanks guys. I completely missed that the £250k amount had been uprated - that's why I read these forums.

macman

Malthusian said:

To answer the original OP's question, they need to talk to a solicitor. This could get messy if the family member who was living in the house decides to contest the Will on the grounds it should have made provision for them.

But contesting the will is an entirely separate matter, it wouldn't give the family member the right to occupy in the meantime. The family member is simply a guest, or maybe a lodger if they paid some rent, and the executor can ask them to leave without notice. They have no occupancy rights whatsoever.

Malthusian

Entirely correct, but the OP already tried that, so they need to talk to a solicitor to start the eviction process.