Tenants in common - Repairs to the house after father's death

Lucyoi

My Dad recently died and I am the executor dealing with his estate. A large part of his estate consists of the house owned by my Mum and Dad as tenants in common (50% each). My Mum will live in the house now, unless she later chooses to move to a smaller place, therefore the property part of Dad's estate is not available for distribution yet. The remainder of estate (apart from the property), will be divided by us equally as soon as probate is complete. The house is in a poor condition and requires repairs to the windows, bathroom, kitchen and garden. Most of the repairs are essential for security and safety and also to maintain the basic condition of the house. Mum doesn't have enough money to do the repairs.  As executor is it reasonable to use the funds available from my father's estate to repair and maintain the house? If not 100% could I choose to contribute 50% of the cost of repairs to reflect Dad's 50% ownership? I'm concerned that the house is not safe to live in and will be devalued if not repaired. 

getmore4less

Did the will leave a life interest to mum?

Flugelhorn

who gets the rest of father's estate? I mean the non property bit  - is that being left to mum?

Keep_pedalling

It sounds like your fathers will has put your mother in a poor state financially if he has not left her sufficient assets to maintain her home. Being asset rich and cash poor is not to be recommended in your latter years.

If his will leaves the bulk of his liquid assets to his children, would you all consider a deed of variation so that they all go to her instead? The alternative would be to sell up and buy something smaller, cheaper to run and easier to manage.

74jax

How is the property not safe to live in now, but it was not an issue until only recently? 

Your mam could chose to live with you (if it's an option) or would the insurance cover temporary accommodation until the main issues are rectified?  Does the insurance cover the property of it is unsafe to live in (worth checking). 

Who owns the 50% your dad left? 

elsien

74jax said:

How is the property not safe to live in now, but it was not an issue until only recently? 

Your mam could chose to live with you (if it's an option) or would the insurance cover temporary accommodation until the main issues are rectified?  Does the insurance cover the property of it is unsafe to live in (worth checking). 

Who owns the 50% your dad left? 

Insurance won’t pay out for ongoing lack of maintenance, which it sounds like this is. 

Would it not be better to sell up and mum move to somewhere more affordable for her.
Depending on the beneficiaries, they may not be too impressed at paying out for a new kitchen and bathroom the cost of which is unlikely to be recouped in the subsequent sale. 

74jax

elsien said:

74jax said:

How is the property not safe to live in now, but it was not an issue until only recently? 

Your mam could chose to live with you (if it's an option) or would the insurance cover temporary accommodation until the main issues are rectified?  Does the insurance cover the property of it is unsafe to live in (worth checking). 

Who owns the 50% your dad left? 

Insurance won’t pay out for ongoing lack of maintenance, which it sounds like this is. 

Would it not be better to sell up and mum move to somewhere more affordable for her.
Depending on the beneficiaries, they may not be too impressed at paying out for a new kitchen and bathroom the cost of which is unlikely to be recouped in the subsequent sale. 

True but I'm wondering if it is something more recent. If it was habitable for 2 people until only recently, has something happened to now make it unsafe.  Just thought the insurance was worth mentioning as at times like this you can forget the simple things  

gwynlas

Where the money comes from to improve the house depends in part on the benificaries. Does your mother wish to remain in the house or would she be better off moving to single floor accommodation? If so put the house up for sale requiring modernisation and purchase suitable property. Alternatively you go forgo your monetary inheritance and use this to bring the housse up to a good standard safeguarding your monies by putting a charge on the property either singly or jointly with other benificaries. If your mother requires care in the future then only her portion of the house would be assessed regarding expenses. You should seek appropriate advice regarding this.

doodling

Hi,

As executor your job is to distribute the estate according to the will.  You must do that or you would be personally liable to any beneficiaries who have not received their share.  If the will says that money should go to someone other than your mum then that is what must happen.  Of course, it is open to individual beneficiaries to choose to vary the will in respect of their bequests and if they did that then the executor should distribute the estate according the varied will.

As a beneficiary, you can vary the will such that some or all of anything left to you is redirected to someone else, e.g. your Mum.  One or more (or all) of the beneficiaries could choose to do that if they wanted.  Equally, the beneficiaries could choose to receive what they are due under the will as it stands and then simply give the money to your Mum.  If you are planning to do this then it might be worth seeking advice as to whether varying the will, or simply gifting the bequests onwards is the most appropriate.  Bear in mind that it is almost impossible to vary a will such that any beneficiaries under the age of 18 receive less than they were due under the original will - they are not able to give consent to such a variation.

You need to bear in mind that you have at least two, possibly three roles:

1. You are executor, making sure that assets are distributed according to the will (either original, or as varied by the beneficiaries).
2. You are a beneficiary who is due to receive a portion of the estate and you can then do what you want with that portion.  You can also choose to vary the will to give your portion to someone else.
3. You are trying to look after your Mum to make sure that she isn't left with a house in an intolerable state of disrepair.  In doing that you want to encourage other beneficiaries to be generous to your Mum, either through varying the will or by giving her money from the bequest they receive.

If you know which of the above hats you are wearing at all times then it makes it a lot easier to make sure that everything is done correctly.  The role of executor has certain responsibilities attached to it and getting things wrong could leave you seriously out of pocket (or even bankrupt).

As others have noted, I assume that the will has provision for your Mum to live in the house for the rest of her life?  It it doesn't then what is your plan for distributing your fathers share of the house (or its equivalent in cash) to the beneficiaries?

theoretica

Who becomes the owners of your dad's 50%?  It may be very sensible for them to ensure the property is in good condition.

It is of course open for your mother's children to help her out with home repairs without bringing the inheritance into it.

Keep_pedalling

I think the lesson here is when making your wills the priority should be the security of the survivor not going all out to maximise the children’s inheritance.