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

Mojisola

doodling said:

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.

It's also possible for the surviving spouse to challenge the will if the deceased hasn't left adequate provision for them.

getmore4less

What is not clear is how many alternative beneficiaries there are.

It sort of reads it's just mum and child(executor) there may be more...

Lucyoi

doodling said:

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?

Thanks for your thorough answer, it is really helpful. I'll be careful to consider the three separate roles are all properly covered. Beneficiaries will all receive their bequests, I wanted to find out if there is any precedent for using some of the estate to maintain the house. However it may be more straightforward to arrange to sell the house and buy something smaller and in better condition. 

wilfred30

Is there a particular reason why you haven't answered the question about who now owns your dad's 50%?