Sell share of property held in trust

nando111

Good Afternoon,
I have inherited a property with my brother after the passing of my father.
The will states that my brother has a right of occupation over the property for life and he can decide when he wants to sell, in which the proceeds are split 50/50. We do not have a good relationship and does not want to sell immediately. 

I have been told from the executors (appointed solicitors) that I am able to sell my share of the property, however the right of occupation still applies.
Obviously it is going to be near impossible to sell a share on the open market (half share is approx £85,000) when a potential investor has no idea when the money would be released.
I have a novel idea of trying to sell my share through Raffall and to 'prize' my share of the property off. Does anyone here have any advice on how I can relinquish my half as I would like to gain my half of the inheritance?

Keep_pedalling

I think it a non starter, people have run into trouble trying to do this with whole houses, few will be willing to gamble on half a house with an occupant who could be their for decades. Have you approached him about buying you out?

getmore4less

Reality is if there is an interest in possession you have not inherited anything yet.

The effect of the IIP trust is your brother owns the beneficial interest till something triggers the end of the trust.

looks like death or he decides to sell.

Finding a 3rd party buyer will need a very big discount, would the brother be interested in buying you out to remove the contraints of the trust?

nando111

Thanks for the replies. 
I have mentioned my brother buying me out but he's not thinking about that right now. He 'may do that in the future'.
What is his incentive to buy me out if he can live there rent free forever? The will also states that the interest can be transferred to another property which also seems wholly unfair. 

I'm finding myself in a horrible position with regard to this. Either that or I spend thousands challenging the will. 

xylophone

There must have been a reason why your father set up the IIP?
Had your brother always lived at home and perhaps shared bills, gave support etc?

Sea_Shell

xylophone said:

There must have been a reason why your father set up the IIP?
Had your brother always lived at home and perhaps shared bills, gave support etc?

Same question really...

Did your Dad have any conversations with any of you to let you know what he was thinking/planning?    I wonder if he realised that this would result in you having no access to your inheritance for many years (decades)?

Sea_Shell

nando111 said:

Thanks for the replies. 
I have mentioned my brother buying me out but he's not thinking about that right now. He 'may do that in the future'.
What is his incentive to buy me out if he can live there rent free forever? The will also states that the interest can be transferred to another property which also seems wholly unfair. 

I'm finding myself in a horrible position with regard to this. Either that or I spend thousands challenging the will. 

Did the will not make any conditions about if any rent should be payable, on your 50%, or who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the property.    Is your Brother going to be asking you for a contribution if the boiler breaks down, for example?

Does he work, have a decent income?    Is he able to afford to continue to live in the property?

To be honest, i think trying to sell to a Third party is a non starter, as they would end up in the same position as you...unless they wanted a very long term investment!

getmore4less

OK cross off he decides to sell ends the trust. 

The benefit for him buying out is 100% of the beneficial interest becomes part of his distributable estate to pass to whoever he wants.

The IIP makes his estate liable for 100% of the value for IHT already. 

Unless said otherwise the trust/him is responsible for upkeep remaindermen of IIP are not responsible for maintaining the assets in a trust. 

The trustees should be consulted on any works. 

nando111

Did the will not make any conditions about if any rent should be payable, on your 50%, or who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the property.    Is your Brother going to be asking you for a contribution if the boiler breaks down, for example?

Does he work, have a decent income?    Is he able to afford to continue to live in the property?

To be honest, i think trying to sell to a Third party is a non starter, as they would end up in the same position as you...unless they wanted a very long term investment!

The will states that he must mainain the property to a decent standard (how that is enforcable I have no idea) and he must pay all bills, boiler etc etc. I basically have nothing to do with it until he wants to get rid of it.

He has a degree, but basically just bums around in a music/bar job. I'm going to assume his plan is to have his girlfriend live there in her final year of her masters degree (a completely pointless degree). I on the other hand have had my career in the RAF since 2012, been promoted, saved hard, bought a house with my now wife, live away from family and friends in Cyprus and have always had a good relationship with my mother and father. I know I may need to just 'get on with my life' but the unfairness of my hard work and sacrafices for my brother to end up on the same financial terms as me and being younger than me feels like a kick in the teeth.

My brother and mother have a terrible relationship and I think this is where this is all stemming from, which is why it's making me so upset and angry. 

nando111

xylophone said:

There must have been a reason why your father set up the IIP?
Had your brother always lived at home and perhaps shared bills, gave support etc?

He has never lived in my dads flat, and has rented a place closer to the centre of town (most likely for work purposes as he doesn't drive).  He has never paid any bills. He may have visited my father slightly more often during the time he was most sick (the 3/4 months or so before his death) however he was in hospital and in a care home so he wasn't giving 'care' as such. The times I did see him 'help' my father out he was wildly obtrusive towards him and I couldn't believe how he was acting towards him. 

nando111

getmore4less said:

OK cross off he decides to sell ends the trust. 

The benefit for him buying out is 100% of the beneficial interest becomes part of his distributable estate to pass to whoever he wants.

Is this the only benefit? I think I would need a more compelling argument for him to want to buy me out quicker. What 'rights' or 'things can I do' to make him want to do it? For example, if he has no intention to have kids etc. then I can't see him caring about this? (The only thing I guess is that he's got a 'tie' with me for as long as we both have an interest in this property).


The IIP makes his estate liable for 100% of the value for IHT already. 

Can you expand on that point please? I don't think there's any IHT to be paid as the value of property is circa 160-170k.

Unless said otherwise the trust/him is responsible for upkeep remaindermen of IIP are not responsible for maintaining the assets in a trust. 
Who pays for the trust to be administered? Ie, if I want to be shown that he is paying for a boiler service etc, do I go to the solicitors to request this?

The trustees should be consulted on any works. 

Can you expand on that point please? I don't think there's any IHT to be paid as the value of property is circa 160-170k.