Deed of variation query - passing inherited house to my sister

Twixty3

I think you should give more thought to how your sister will feel when she finds out her mother has left her nothing before looking at the ins and outs of how she can buy it. 

It is possible she may accept what is in the will but deep down she may be very hurt so to buy the home of her mother who left her nothing and live in it which could  be like a constant reminder may be an expectation too far. Wills like this do tend to cause all sorts of bother for those left behind and any desire she had to buy it may simply  vanish. 

That said , it may  be better if she bought the house directly from the estate, not you, if she wishes to do so rather than doing deeds of variation and so on. 

Marmaduke123

It sounds as if your mother is well aware that you may sell her house to your sister when the time comes. If she isn't objecting to this the whole thing sounds even more strange. Is your sister very much better off than you I wonder? I suppose your mother could be trying to ensure the most needy person inherits to equalise things a little.

I think your sister may well be very hurt when she discovers how things have been left. I don't think she could successfully challenge the will unless she is dependent on your mother. 

I think you should encourage your mother to talk to your sister about the will, rather than leaving a written explanation. Also, if the will wasn't drawn up by a solicitor, encourage her to take legal advice as there may be a better way of accomplishing what she wants to achieve.

SarahB16

Thank you for the further replies.    

The house is currently worth c.£400k so would be liable to stamp duty and the reason I suggested a deed of variation was so that my sister would not need to pay stamp duty which I think would be £10,000.  If this is viewed as tax evasion then I will not do a deed of variation.

I actually think this may be more hassle than it’s worth and I was thinking of my sister when I suggested this as I would not need to pay the stamp duty.  As mentioned earlier the appointment of two solicitors would also be required so I’m now thinking it probably would be simpler for my sister to buy the house from me and yes she would also need to pay the stamp duty. 

In terms of me being more financially needy than my sister that is not the case.  We have equal wealth.  I do not wish to share all the details as to the reason for what my mum is doing but let’s just say it is down to my sister’s behaviour towards my mum and the inherited wealth my sister received from another relative to the exclusion of my mother and myself which my mum viewed as being received by manipulative means. 

I did wonder if I should post this question on here as I was aware it may come across as though I am money grabbing and I do think things could get unpleasant when my mum passes and I think from sharing this and the responses I have received it is far more simple to let my sister buy the house from me if she wishes and she would also need to pay any stamp duty too. 

I should add my mum’s will has been drawn up by a solicitor and there is a separate paragraph in which my mum discussed with her solicitor explaining the reason for why she wishes her will to be written the way it is.  The solicitor has captured all this in my mum’s will. 

My sister suspects my mum has written her will as she has done with the vast majority going to me and a very small amount to my nieces.  Answering a reply to my previous post, yes I could be left with nothing if the value of the estate was virtually nil if used to pay for care for my mum and that would be fine.  I’d be happy if all that was left went to my two nieces. 

As has been said I do think I need to encourage my mum to speak to my sister (but they don’t speak) or ask her to write a letter to her to explain why she has asked her solicitor to write her will how she has done.   

Sea_Shell

SarahB16 said:

Thank you for the further replies.    

The house is currently worth c.£400k so would be liable to stamp duty and the reason I suggested a deed of variation was so that my sister would not need to pay stamp duty which I think would be £10,000.  If this is viewed as tax evasion then I will not do a deed of variation.

I actually think this may be more hassle than it’s worth and I was thinking of my sister when I suggested this as I would not need to pay the stamp duty.  As mentioned earlier the appointment of two solicitors would also be required so I’m now thinking it probably would be simpler for my sister to buy the house from me and yes she would also need to pay the stamp duty. 

In terms of me being more financially needy than my sister that is not the case.  We have equal wealth.  I do not wish to share all the details as to the reason for what my mum is doing but let’s just say it is down to my sister’s behaviour towards my mum and the inherited wealth my sister received from another relative to the exclusion of my mother and myself which my mum viewed as being received by manipulative means. 

I did wonder if I should post this question on here as I was aware it may come across as though I am money grabbing and I do think things could get unpleasant when my mum passes and I think from sharing this and the responses I have received it is far more simple to let my sister buy the house from me if she wishes and she would also need to pay any stamp duty too. 

I should add my mum’s will has been drawn up by a solicitor and there is a separate paragraph in which my mum discussed with her solicitor explaining the reason for why she wishes her will to be written the way it is.  The solicitor has captured all this in my mum’s will. 

My sister suspects my mum has written her will as she has done with the vast majority going to me and a very small amount to my nieces.  Answering a reply to my previous post, yes I could be left with nothing if the value of the estate was virtually nil if used to pay for care for my mum and that would be fine.  I’d be happy if all that was left went to my two nieces. 

As has been said I do think I need to encourage my mum to speak to my sister (but they don’t speak) or ask her to write a letter to her to explain why she has asked her solicitor to write her will how she has done.   

Are these Nieces residual beneficiaries?

If so, you could still end up with virtually nothing, if the house is sold "for care" but only a fraction of it is actually spent.

You could end up with £xxxk in "cash" within the estate, and no house.

bobster2

SarahB16 said:

Answering a reply to my previous post, yes I could be left with nothing if the value of the estate was virtually nil if used to pay for care for my mum and that would be fine.  I’d be happy if all that was left went to my two nieces. 

If you're referring to my post - I wasn't talking about a situation where the estate value was virtually nil.

Rather a situation where the estate value is still large - but the house had been sold so the estate assets were now mostly cash. Nieces could inherit close to the entire value of the house if the Will says you get the house and they are the residuary beneficiaries.

SarahB16

My nieces have both been left a relatively small cash sum.  The rest of my mum's estate is not large when the house is excluded. 

The will has been written so that I inherit everything but a small cash amount goes to both nieces.  

If I inherit nothing due to the cost of care and my nieces get the cash amount which has been left to them then that is fine.    

Sea_Shell

Thanks for clarifying that.


So, are you only really happy to "give away" your inheritance to your sister if it's still "the house" rather than cash?

Would you be looking to do a DoV for cash, IF the house didn't exist?

sheramber

You want a deed of variation so that your sister inherits the house but has to pay some of her own money into the estate to get it.

I don't see how a deed of variation could compel someone to pay money for something they inherit.

Sea_Shell

sheramber said:

You want a deed of variation so that your sister inherits the house but has to pay some of her own money into the estate to get it.

I don't see how a deed of variation could compel someone to pay money for something they inherit.

I agree.  It's all a bit muddled as to what the OP actually wants to achieve.

Maybe they only want to give (DoV) half the house and have sister buy out the other half?   Assuming the house still exists!!

It's not clear if the OP wants to still effectively give half the "cash" value (or whatever might be left) to their sister if the house doesn't exist?

Spendless

I've also been puzzled but I *think* having re-read several times that Mum's estate is mostly a house and the majority of the estate is being left to the OP except for some small gifts to OP's nieces.

OP sister is being cut out of their Mum's will.

Sister that is being cut out of will, likes their Mum's house and would like to buy it and live there (so buying the house that.OP inherits from their Mum) Sister would be liable to pay stamp duty on this purchase. The OP to be nice to her sister that is being cut out of the will would like to do a DofV to give her sister the equivalent amount to what the stamp duty would be.