Advice about inheritance

xylophone

I direct my executor to make over to my son ** residing with me at ** my interest in any house occupied by me as my normal residence at the time of my death free of all expenses of transfer, heritable debts and securities, and other capital burdens affecting my interest in the house at the time of my death. 

The deceased wasn't  physically occupying the house as her normal residence at the time of her death.

Does the bequest therefore fail so that the house falls into residue?

If this is disregarded on the basis that she was the owner of a property to which she could have returned, then there is the question of its being 

free of all expenses of transfer, heritable debts and securities, and other capital burdens affecting my interest in the house at the time of my death. 

Does this imply that any cash/assets in the estate should be used to settle the DPA (which is surely a heritable debt/capital burden)?

The solicitor/executor is going to have to sort this out?

Marcon

eg1980_2 said:

xylophone said:

She had made a will in 2014 leaving her house to one uncle. However at time of her death she had a deferred payment arrangement DPA with the local council and they have placed a charging order on the house. Will my uncle have to come up with the funds to settle the DPA? If he is unable to do so will the house have to be sold? What happens to the surplus funds? Will these go to my uncle in lieu of the house? 

Who is the executor?

He will be required to follow the normal process in dealing with the estate of the deceased.

The DPA is a debt of your late grandmother's estate.

If the debt cannot be repaid from other assets held by the deceased, then either the beneficiary of the property comes up with the money (from his own resources or perhaps by way of a mortgage loan) or the executor sells the property, repays the debt and distributes any balance to the beneficiary/ies of the will.

Thank you for responding. The executor is a solicitor. What I was trying to understand was if the executor sells house to settle the DPA would the surplus amount go to my uncle or should it be divided between the 5 siblings who were named in the will as beneficiaries for all other possessions etc. 

The quickest and most reliable way to get the correct answer to your question is to ask the executor. It's not a complicated question, so isn't going to ratchet up the fees.