Fathers ex partner on deeds

keithfarr

My father recently passed away, we have found out his ex partner from 16yrs ago is on the deeds, she has turned up and informed us she is selling the house as she is the surviving co tenant, she has paid no upkeep for the house since she left, mortgage , council tax , insurance , rates ect, does anybody have any advice on this , I am executor of my dad's will, an looks like I am going to lose 50% of his estate

Slithery

Were they joint tenants or tenants in common?

If they were joint tenants then the property now belongs 100% to the ex.

Comms69

keithfarr said:

My father recently passed away, we have found out his ex partner from 16yrs ago is on the deeds, she has turned up and informed us she is selling the house as she is the surviving co tenant, she has paid no upkeep for the house since she left, mortgage , council tax , insurance , rates ect, does anybody have any advice on this , I am executor of my dad's will, an looks like I am going to lose 50% of his estate

I'd wager it's 100% of the estate actually. 

Flugelhorn

oh dear - the key will be whether she is joint tenant or whether they were tenants in common - you need to go to the Land Reg site and download the title to see. If they are joint tenants then the property is hers, unfortunately either this was what your Dad wanted or he didn't change the deeds or write a will since they split - v sad as sounds like it was not what your dad wanted

macman

If tenants in common, she cannot sell it as 'surviving co-tenant', because 50% forms part of your dad's estate: she would need your agreement as well. But, as above, if joint tenants,then it's 100% hers.
One other question: when was the will made, and did your father marry or remarry since? If so, and it's tenants in common, then intestacy applies, which may further diminish your inheritance. Any siblings?

comeandgo

macman said:

If tenants in common, she cannot sell it as 'surviving co-tenant', because 50% forms part of your dad's estate: she would need your agreement as well. But, as above, if joint tenants,then it's 100% hers.
One other question: when was the will made, and did your father marry or remarry since? If so, and it's tenants in common, then intestacy applies, which may further diminish your inheritance. Any siblings?

Depends which country the OP is in whether remarry affects the will.

macman

It's reasonable to assume that the OP's dad was resident in the UK, since he he was paying council tax.

davidmcn

macman said:

It's reasonable to assume that the OP's dad was resident in the UK, since he he was paying council tax.

I suspect comeandgo might be referring to the different jurisdictions within the UK, given that remarriage doesn't revoke a Will in Scotland. Though calling an owner a "co-tenant" wouldn't make sense in Scotland, so I doubt that's where we're talking about. (and we can also rule out Northern Ireland as they don't have council tax)

greatcrested

If they owned as 'Joint Tenants', then the will is irrelevant, as is re-marrying.

Joint Tenants each own 100% of the property. So if one dies, the other continues to own 100%, irrespective of any will.

So the crux here is to establish if they were Joint Tenants, or Tenants In Common.

bucksbloke

If they held the property as Joint Tenants, then as everyone has said, your father's ex will succeed the title for the property. However, as the executor it is your duty to collect any debts owed to the Estate. You could issue a claim on behalf of the deceased (The Plaintiff/Claimant would be "The Personal Representative of Mr X. XXXXXX (Deceased)" for the money owed towards the property. 

getmore4less

macman said:

If tenants in common, she cannot sell it as 'surviving co-tenant', because 50% forms part of your dad's estate: she would need your agreement as well. But, as above, if joint tenants,then it's 100% hers.
One other question: when was the will made, and did your father marry or remarry since? If so, and it's tenants in common, then intestacy applies, which may further diminish your inheritance. Any siblings?

As the surviving ONLY legal owner they have the full right over the sale of the property they don't need agreement from any other beneficial owners.

Even a form A restriction is useless as they can appoint anyone to be the other trustees and run off with the money.