Inheritance property dispute with my brother

JJN2881

I am looking for some advice to see if anyone has had any problems similar to me....

My Dad died in July 2019. He lived in a bungalow on a piece of land and on the same land is a slightly bigger house that was left to me and my brother in 2006 which was my Grandmas house. That house is still in mine and my brothers name but since that year he has lived in that house. So with my Dad now having passed away there are 2 houses on this land which are both jointly owned by myself and my brother.

A bit of background is that my brother despite being in his 40s never paid any bills. My Dad paid for all the bills on both houses as there was no mortgage on either of the houses and because my brother was basically never taught how to manage his finances he has just spent any income he gets. His girlfriend and her son have been living in the house since August 2018 and i did ask her for a small nominal monthly payment but she threatened to leave my brother if she had to pay???

I must say also that because i have a mortgage off my own with my husband in our own house 6 miles away from there i have never put any money into the house that my brother lives in despite me half owning it. For example there is no kitchen in the house as i always said it was my responsibility to pay for half the kitchen which i was willing to do but because my brother never had any money he never had his share for the other half.

Since my Dads death i have asked my brother if i can have my Dads house and he can have the other house, where he currently lives. The house he lives in is worth £60,000 more than my Dads but i am willing to ignore that just so we get a house each.

However my brother wont sign the house over to me or take full ownership of the house he lives in. He uses sentimentality as an excuse and how he cant see anyone else live in our Dads house. My plan is to sell the house and that is my inheritance but he says that is unfair as he then gets no money despite the fact he has lived for free for the last 14 years and the house i would be signing over to him is worth more money. He uses the kitchen and the driveway of my Dads house and we currently have to pay the council tax every month on my Dads house! In a years time we have to pay 200% council tax as it will have been uninhabited for 2 years which essentially means paying £380 a month for what is basically a derelict house!! I simply have no way of finding even half my share of that.

I am being told by him and his girlfriend that i am being greedy and just want money but the stress of it is making me ill trying to pay for my own house and contribute towards my Dads while they sit in a free house with just their basic bills to pay for.

I have spoken to many solictors regarding the situation but none have really come up with a satisfactory solution.

I am not looking to take any more than what i feel i am entitled to and have no idea what to do next?

RAS

This would be better on the probate and wills sub forum, maybe ask for it to be moved?

Who is/are the executor(s) of your father's will? Who was the executor of your grandmother's will?

Has the larger house been transferred to your ownership? As joint tenants or tenants in common?

JJN2881

How do i ask for this to be placed in the right forum?

Thanks for replying anyway.....My brother is the executor of my Dads will and My Dad was the executor of my Grandmas will. The larger house was transferred in 2007 and my brother and myself are joint tenants of that house.

RAS

Do you have a copy of dad's will? I know you're not legally entitled until probate is granted, so has that been sorted out yet?

JJN2881

Yes probate has been granted and i have a copy of the will

JJN2881

I have posted this on the main forum so apologies if its on the wrong page!!

I am looking for some advice to see if anyone has had any problems similar to me....

My Dad died in July 2019. He lived in a bungalow on a piece of land and on the same land is a slightly bigger house that was left to me and my brother in 2006 which was my Grandmas house. That house is still in mine and my brothers name but since that year he has lived in that house. So with my Dad now having passed away there are 2 houses on this land which are both jointly owned by myself and my brother.

A bit of background is that my brother despite being in his 40s never paid any bills. My Dad paid for all the bills on both houses as there was no mortgage on either of the houses and because my brother was basically never taught how to manage his finances he has just spent any income he gets. His girlfriend and her son have been living in the house since August 2018 and i did ask her for a small nominal monthly payment but she threatened to leave my brother if she had to pay???

I must say also that because i have a mortgage off my own with my husband in our own house 6 miles away from there i have never put any money into the house that my brother lives in despite me half owning it. For example there is no kitchen in the house as i always said it was my responsibility to pay for half the kitchen which i was willing to do but because my brother never had any money he never had his share for the other half.

Since my Dads death i have asked my brother if i can have my Dads house and he can have the other house, where he currently lives. The house he lives in is worth £60,000 more than my Dads but i am willing to ignore that just so we get a house each.

However my brother wont sign the house over to me or take full ownership of the house he lives in. He uses sentimentality as an excuse and how he cant see anyone else live in our Dads house. My plan is to sell the house and that is my inheritance but he says that is unfair as he then gets no money despite the fact he has lived for free for the last 14 years and the house i would be signing over to him is worth more money. He uses the kitchen and the driveway of my Dads house and we currently have to pay the council tax every month on my Dads house! In a years time we have to pay 200% council tax as it will have been uninhabited for 2 years which essentially means paying £380 a month for what is basically a derelict house!! I simply have no way of finding even half my share of that.

I am being told by him and his girlfriend that i am being greedy and just want money but the stress of it is making me ill trying to pay for my own house and contribute towards my Dads while they sit in a free house with just their basic bills to pay for.

I have spoken to many solictors regarding the situation but none have really come up with a satisfactory solution.

I am not looking to take any more than what i feel i am entitled to and have no idea what to do next?

RAS

You need the board guide to move it, but I'm not sure who it is now.

What does the will say about the property, exactly? I leave my house to A&B jointly, or all my estate to be shared equally between A&B? Any mention of selling the estate?

By the way you do understand that if the houses are owned jointly, not tenants in common, when the first of you dies, the entire property passes to the survivor? So one of you will end up with everything if that's the case.

gettingtheresometime

I'm not legally trained but I would have thought that if both properties are in joint names this would be a situation where you would need to go to court to force a sale - abit like where a property is owned by a couple that has now split and one wants to sell but the other doesn't.
What do you mean when you say the solicitors you've seen haven't come up with any suitable solution?
Also I would look , as a matter of urgency into how the properties are owned by yourself and your brother - it's my understanding that any property held as joint tenants means that the property is transferred into the sole ownership of the survivor; so as an example if you predeceased your brother and both properties were held as joint tenants, then your half of the properties couldn't be left to who ever you wanted to leave it to. of course the converse is true ! However I understand you don't need your brother's permission to change it to tenants in common (which would mean you could leave your half to whoever).

sammyjammy

Are there two separate titles on Land Registry, what about the land?

pphillips

gettingtheresometime said:

I'm not legally trained but I would have thought that if both properties are in joint names this would be a situation where you would need to go to court to force a sale - abit like where a property is owned by a couple that has now split and one wants to sell but the other doesn't.
What do you mean when you say the solicitors you've seen haven't come up with any suitable solution?
Also I would look , as a matter of urgency into how the properties are owned by yourself and your brother - it's my understanding that any property held as joint tenants means that the property is transferred into the sole ownership of the survivor; so as an example if you predeceased your brother and both properties were held as joint tenants, then your half of the properties couldn't be left to who ever you wanted to leave it to. of course the converse is true ! However I understand you don't need your brother's permission to change it to tenants in common (which would mean you could leave your half to whoever).

But are they left in joint names, this is what we need to find out. If they are expressed in the will as gifts of residue then no court order is required. But if the property is left in joint names then I think whoever drafted the will has a lot to answer for.

JJN2881

Hi thanks for your reply.
The property is owned as tenants in common. Therefore it would go to my husband. The solicitor has advised me to claim for half the rental value that I'm owed over the last 13 years but that would make things a lot worse.  As he tends to turn to aggression and emotional blackmail.  He feels that as my name is on the deeds that should be enough. He often says "what more do you want" !! The only way to push the sale is to take him to Court but this would end up him having one and a half houses, the will states the estate is split equally.  I have told my brother and his girlfriend that they can live in the house if they want to stay there for the long term future but they need to transfer dads to me and i will obviously do the same.