Advice: Property Dispute with Person Not Named in Will

n_shah

I'm looking for some advice (or even a recommendation for a solicitor I could speak to) regarding a property dispute.
My aunt passed away a year ago with no children so her property (and estate) was passed on to family as per her will. Now, family members from her husband's side (husband passed away a year before my aunt) are claiming "constructive trust" in the property, saying they should have received a share of the property after my aunt passed away. However, no one from the husband's side was named in the will, nor in the husband's will.
The property was purchased decades ago (sometime in 1970) so any evidence, bank statements, mortgage statements, etc have since been lost or destroyed.

Obviously, this is a complex case and there are other factors to consider, but is anyone about to provide some advice in how to go about this? Is anyone able to recommend a solicitor who deals with such cases? Any help is much appreciated.

Grumpelstiltskin

Have you received anything in writing from their solicitors?
Personally I would wait for a letter from their solicitors, because how are they going to prove their claim?

Mojisola

n_shah said:

Obviously, this is a complex case and there are other factors to consider, but is anyone about to provide some advice in how to go about this?

I don't think it's complex.

Uncle died and left everything to his wife.

Aunt died and left a valid will leaving her estate to her relatives.

I can't see any grounds for challenging that.

gettingtheresometime

Mojisola said:

n_shah said:

Obviously, this is a complex case and there are other factors to consider, but is anyone about to provide some advice in how to go about this?

I don't think it's complex.

Uncle died and left everything to his wife.

Aunt died and left a valid will leaving her estate to her relatives.

I can't see any grounds for challenging that.

I'd agree with that assessment - unless there is something that the OP knows but hasn't said

TBagpuss

You need to get advice from a solicitor dealing with contentious probate, however, I suspect this is going nowhere.

Constructive trusts are quite rare - they arise where someone has acted to their detriment in reliance on an agreement - for instance, if your uncle had invested money into a house owned by aunt, on the basis of an understanding that it would be theirs jointly, or that he would always have somewhere to live.

In this case, it would seem to be irrelevant whether or not a constructive trust existed or could if uncle left everything to his wife, as she would then inherit the trust property as well.

If he left things to other beneficiaries as well as to his wife then it would be those beneficiaries, not his relations, who would be entitled to anything he might have had a claim on. And it would be up to the executor of his will to pursue a claim. 

Have the relatives seen Uncles will? While they would be able to get a copy themselves, it might simply things to simply send them a copy and point out that they were not beneficiaries under his will so have no claim on any part of his estate, but for clarity he did not have an interest in the property. Who were the beneficiaries under his will? 
(I'm not sure if you are the executor of your aunt's will. If so, then it's reasonable for you to do this as any claim they might have would be against her estate) 

If they were claiming a constructive trust in their own favour (e.g. if they were saying that *they* , rather than uncle, made financial contributions in return for a promise on a share of the property then that would be a claim against the estate, but I suspect that's not what they're saying. 

n_shah

Thank you for the help and advice so far.

Have you received anything in writing from their solicitors?

I have already received a legal letter from the surviving brothers of my uncle. They are claiming that the property was purchased as a "family home" for the four brothers to share, however, as far as I know only one brother has ever lived there (not including my uncle) and he was a student then. That brother (let's call him First Brother or FB) is claiming that he paid a share of the mortgage while he was living there and therefore claiming constructive trust. But there is nothing to prove (as far as I know) that this wasn't just rent while he was living there.

He also claims that the other two brothers (one who has also passed away many years ago, the other surviving) helped with the deposit for the house when it was first purchased (back in 1970). They claim to have a bank statement from ~1970 showing a cheque outgoing, but obviously I cannot prove that the cheque was / was not cashed in by uncle (it's probably impossible to get statements that far back).

Complicating the matter further, FB is claiming that after he got married in circa 1990, he's wife started contributing to the mortgage, despite her never living in said property. So FB also wants to claim a separate share of the property for his wife (which I believe is taking the !!!!!! as she would get 50% of his share, if the claim was true).

Have the relatives seen Uncles will?

I have a copy of my uncle's will but his brothers have not seen it (as in I have not provided them with a copy, nor have they requested a copy). It has been public record for a number of years now so the brothers could have requested this. I suspect they know that they are not named in the will hence the constructive trust route.

Who were the beneficiaries under his will? 

My aunt's side of the family were only in the will. The property was split between by brother and myself, while cash and other assets were split equally between the other members of my aunt's side of the family (two uncles and two aunts). None of the husband's side of the family were named in the will. My father and my aunt were executors on the will, so again, only aunt's side of the family.

If they were claiming a constructive trust in their own favour (e.g. if they were saying that *they* , rather than uncle, made financial contributions in return for a promise on a share of the property then that would be a claim against the estate, but I suspect that's not what they're saying. 

As far as we've been able to find, there was no written contract or paperwork to indicate that the property was purchased between the brothers, and there has been no subsequent paperwork to split the property between the brothers. When the will was executed, only by uncle and aunts names were on the deeds, and when my uncle passed away, we completed a DJP form to pass the entire property to my aunt.

When my aunt later passed away, we did a straight transfer of the property to my brother and myself (TR1 form). 

I've been speaking to a couple of solicitors, but they've been unhelpful so far. No one has been able to advise me on if any of the above claims can be argued against before proceeding to court. I am in the process of contacting Land Registry to get historical title register copies to see who was named on the deeds between 1970 and when we inherited the property, hopefully that can shed some light on the issue. Unfortunately, Land Register have said they can only provide me with historical register entries from 1994 onwards (when the system became digital).