Property left partially in trust to me...very confused about how works

SusieT

DerbyBorn7 said:

Thatw really helpful. Thank you.

With ref to my step mum asking me to reduce my share of the property due to 'renovation ' work.... can I just out right blank this and say I won't want to get involved and she'd need to put the figures to the executor / trustee my aunt ?

As, I don't own the share...the trust does...so surely that reduction 'paperwork' should go 'officially ' through the trust itself ?

I'm thinking of a gameplay as fhe reduction proposal is a convenient way to dismantle and change at the same time....

So a) I refuse to sign and change it...
if you wanna reduce shares...approach who owns the trust..not me ?!

If step mum asks you anything, you say that you are consulting a solicitor and that all communication should be through them - that is it and final, keep repeating if they persist. That way you are not suggesting that the step mum and trustee can sort things out and go ahead with whatever they want. 

DerbyBorn7

Exactly my point...if aunt / executor/ trustee cant reduce share due to past works...then my step mum will be stumped . Surely shares could change (if its legit , and going via aunt who is 'supposed to' keep records) without me having to wrap up old trust and sign a new one ?

diego_94

I smell a rat here. If this is a life interest trust, then generally this ends at the house sale. At which point the trust gets 60% and your step mum 40%. You then get your 60% as a beneficiary of the trust.

doodling

Hi,

There is no need to treat this as a game. You are likely to have a clear right to a certain sum when your father's widow passes away. That right persists unless you sign it away.

Don't worry about what you are told by your father's widow, concentrate on your rights.

This is not something which is normally subject to horse trading, it is something that just is. Don't treat it as a negotiation, simply protect what you are entitled to.

It sounds like you don't have a clear idea of your entitlement so having a solicitor explain it to you will be beneficial. If there are proposals which might vary that entitlement then you need to have them professionally reviewed. Remember that your Dad made provision for you, all you need to do is make sure that you don't sign away that provision.

TripleH

I think any offer put forward by the step mother must be considered under advice. Which might be contrary to an earlier post of mine. If genuine value has been added by the step mother to the property (rather than saleability which is different) then by all means that should be considered but under advice.

The quoted sales fees of £25K do seem rather high, which makes me think they include an onward purchase cost. I think the trust deed is key though. I don't see any benefit to the Op in selling the existing home and buying a new home, so don't see why they should bear the extra fees that involves (particularly as there is no obvious benefit to them) hence why a specialist with sight of the actual trust deed is essential.

I think the step mother has also failed to look into what the trust entails and her attempts to move on incorrectly have caused her issues (but she hasn't realised that yet).

A better solution would be a negotiated settlement of this trust. I think (with no disrespect to the Op) that their late father's love and best interests have inadvertently caused issues beyond the grave.

My mother has to deal with a different issue left by my father in selling their house.

hazyjo

diego_94 said:

I smell a rat here. If this is a life interest trust, then generally this ends at the house sale. At which point the trust gets 60% and your step mum 40%. You then get your 60% as a beneficiary of the trust.

There's often a clause to allow the property to be sold. Any profit goes to the trust. Not sure on any finer details, but know it to be an option.

GDB2222

TripleH said:

I think any offer put forward by the step mother must be considered under advice. Which might be contrary to an earlier post of mine. If genuine value has been added by the step mother to the property (rather than saleability which is different) then by all means that should be considered but under advice.

The quoted sales fees of £25K do seem rather high, which makes me think they include an onward purchase cost. I think the trust deed is key though. I don't see any benefit to the Op in selling the existing home and buying a new home, so don't see why they should bear the extra fees that involves (particularly as there is no obvious benefit to them) hence why a specialist with sight of the actual trust deed is essential.

I think the step mother has also failed to look into what the trust entails and her attempts to move on incorrectly have caused her issues (but she hasn't realised that yet).

A better solution would be a negotiated settlement of this trust. I think (with no disrespect to the Op) that their late father's love and best interests have inadvertently caused issues beyond the grave.

My mother has to deal with a different issue left by my father in selling their house.

The will probably includes power for the trustees to buy a substitute property, at the behest of the life tenant. 

GDB2222

@doodling negotiations do come into this if the trust fund is to be split up or if step mum wants to do something not allowed by the trust, such as buying a property in conjunction with the new husband. 

Frankly, now might be a great opportunity to split the trust up, and they’ll need to negotiate about shares. 

DerbyBorn7

Thank you , all, for your feedback...its amazing how the perspective of the entire thread is entirely different than the perspective my mother in law pitched to me.

Alarm bells ringing on this proposal for sure !

doodling

Hi,

Negotiations only come into this if the OP chooses that they do, it is their choice.

From what has been said, there is no rush for the money so the OP can do nothing and the widow has the choice of adhering to the trust terns or giving the OP their full share (negotiation is not necessary for those options - the OP cannot reject them).

The only uncertainty at the moment is what the terms of the trust actually are - understanding those will help the OP assess whether negotiation might be beneficial to them.

Of course, this is all from a legal perspective, the OP might choose to be generous to preserve family harmony for example (although it doesn't sound like they are inclined to in the case).