Right of Occupation Trust Query

getmore4less

The trust period will cease only when my youngest son either passes away or changes his home address.

That locks him to that property

Mojisola

Hypothetical_Karen said:

I think the Right of Occupation Trust was a fair way to do it, rather than give the house to one son and ignore the other.

Unless you have a lot of capital that the other son can inherit to balance things up, that is basically what you're doing.

Hypothetical_Karen

Thank you again for your replies, 'getmore4less' and Mojisola.

I think it should all work out fine, as both my sons are decent people who wouldn't betray each other intentionally, or risk being held accountable for dishonesty.  I was worried that 'outside influence' might put my estate at risk, but members on this forum have very much helped to set my mind to rest.

Thank you every much, everybody.

Karen.

Keep_pedalling

Hypothetical_Karen said:

Thank you again for your replies, 'getmore4less' and Mojisola.

I think it should all work out fine, as both my sons are decent people who wouldn't betray each other intentionally, or risk being held accountable for dishonesty.  I was worried that 'outside influence' might put my estate at risk, but members on this forum have very much helped to set my mind to rest.

Thank you every much, everybody.

Karen.

History is full of cases of family feuds started by a will like this, and frankly you are taking a huge risk of destroying your sons relationship. The decent thing for the favoured son to do would be to immediately undo your wish, and sell up so his brother could equally benefit in his lifetime.

These sort of trusts are fine for providing a partner with a roof over their head or for a child that for health reasons may not be able to support themselves, but for 2 healthy siblings who have yet to get themselves on the property ladder it is grossly unfair. One son lives rent free for many years, the other pays London rents, and if the house is eventually sold, the son who has paid thousands in rent will probably end up paying thousands in CGT while the other paid nothing as it was still his main residence. 

Flugelhorn

This really has so many "what-ifs" I would be worried about it. You say that the lads will be fine / get on / sort it out etc etc but they can change and I am afraid parents often have a rosy view of how their offspring will behave . 

What if DIL and son divorce / he  is strapped for cash / part owns a house and he can't access the funds / needs the money etc?

TBH I would suggest that the estate is left jointly to them both, hopefully the younger son will have enough money to by a smaller place out of savings and the proceeds of the sale of the property 

Hypothetical_Karen

Thank you for your replies, Keep_pedalling and Flugelhorn.

I'll respond to each point in order:

The Trust I was advised to have written into my Will is purely to ensure that my younger son, who does have health issues following a very serious historical accident, will not be made homeless after I pass away.  While he does have funds, he's torn between coping on his own with reduced income (while still studying and working on bettering his professional status) and leaving me on my own.  While I could cope financially, as we age the "little things" get harder, and I find having somebody there for me is invaluable.  My married son hardly ever gets in touch and is essentially impossible to get hold of, plus lives nearly 200 miles away and, in the event I needed anything other than a brief chat once or twice a year, could not be relied upon.  I don't mean that as an insult or detrimental comment to or about my son, he is a very busy professional.

I wouldn't call the Trust any kind of "favouring" one over the other, I think of it more as a simple case of reality.  My married son is renting a property with his wife, and if my Will causes issues for him then that's the choice he made.  He's welcome to discuss things with me, but chooses not to.  As far as Capital Gains Tax goes, my younger son is a qualified member of the ICB and, if necessary, can advise on that side of things.  My sons are both intelligent and experienced enough to be very well aware of the consequences of their actions.

Thank you for your comments.
Karen

getmore4less

Flugelhorn said:

This really has so many "what-ifs" I would be worried about it. You say that the lads will be fine / get on / sort it out etc etc but they can change and I am afraid parents often have a rosy view of how their offspring will behave . 

What if DIL and son divorce / he  is strapped for cash / part owns a house and he can't access the funds / needs the money etc?

TBH I would suggest that the estate is left jointly to them both, hopefully the younger son will have enough money to by a smaller place out of savings and the proceeds of the sale of the property 

Better is not part of the divorce settlement.

Youngest can deal with the situation.

Sea_Shell

getmore4less said:

The trust period will cease only when my youngest son either passes away or changes his home address.

That locks him to that property

So if the youngest son wants to EVER move house, will half the equity from the sale be enough?

What if he has a family and children of his own in X years time, and needs a similar size property?  Would he be able to get a mortgage for the difference?

Also, does your will mention your current home by specific address?

What if YOU no longer own this specific property at the time of your demise?

Hypothetical_Karen

Thank you for your reply, Sea_Shell.

My Will was professionally written and the address is specifically mentioned by HMLR No.

The "property" will be that, or wherever is my sole or main residence, at the time of my death.  

I started this thread to ask if anybody could clarify what, if any, safeguarding systems are in place in the UK to protect my estate from being stolen by somebody I haven't written into my Will.  Whether or not other people "agree" with my Will is not relevant.

Thank you for the helpful responses and advice.

Sea_Shell

Hypothetical_Karen said:

Thank you for your reply, Sea_Shell.

My Will was professionally written and the address is specifically mentioned by HMLR No.

The "property" will be that, or wherever is my sole or main residence, at the time of my death.  

I started this thread to ask if anybody could clarify what, if any, safeguarding systems are in place in the UK to protect my estate from being stolen by somebody I haven't written into my Will.  Whether or not other people "agree" with my Will is not relevant.

Thank you for the helpful responses and advice.

We're just pointing out some "what ifs" that you might not have considered.



As for a challenge to your will, AIUI, anyone can lodge a challenge, even if they don't have a chance of a successful claim!!  It can take time and money to get resolved.