Should I be worried? Sibling getting overly comfortable in family house....

MalMonroe

The_Walker said:

Interesting points so far, thanks. No change in the will has been made, the house hasn't been put in my her name. 

So probate protects the property until it's allocated equally. But I wonder what would happen then if she refused to vacate? She doesn't have the finances to buy out my share of the house, so that's not the plan. Squatters for example can be very hard to evict yes? 

When she stated her plans to renovate and sell, it rang alarm bells immediately. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard tbh.

This is your sister! In the past, she's been living with your parents and presumably helping them with everything in the home?

How can you now begrudge her anything? You said you had "moved out many moons ago and did what most people do i.e. made an independent life with my own home."  For whatever reason, your sister didn't do the same. Maybe your parents asked her to stay, you don't know. 

My adult daughter has to live with me because she has an illness which means that she needs support, it's not an ideal situation and she'd love to be independent but sadly, has to rely on my support right now. 

Your posts indicate that there's sibling rivalry here, maybe has been since you were both small. I think that's really sad. 

You have your own home. Your sister doesn't have her own home. Would you be happy to see her living on the streets? Can you feel any kind of altruism towards your own sister at all? What if she did have full possession of the house? Would it really be so bad? She's been there as support for your parents all her adult life. 

I definitely have different views to you as I'd be glad that my sister had somewhere to live where she was comfortable and happy, rather than trying to get her out so I could have my share of it. 

To me, people are far more important than things or getting my own share of what is due to me. I've lost a lot of things because of divorce and having to be a single parent but then that's life. Things happen. 

What if your parents had been renting their home? There would be nothing for anyone. That's the situation I was in with my brother when our parents died. All we had was their wedding rings and watches, which we split between us and which mean more to me than anything. I'd never sell. My brother the same. And we still have our precious sibling relationship. 

I want to say 'let it go' but that's far too twee. 

elsien

She’s not a squatter. At the moment she’s there with the consent of your parents. After they pass if things stay as they are she will be there as a part owner of the property.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable of her to be taking the lead with regards to any repairs, given that she is living there and it is still her home, while your home is elsewhere.
If she’s talking of renovating and selling in the future then it doesn’t appear as if she has long-term plans to stay there so won’t  need to buy you out.  The debate is likely to be around modernisation or not and the timing of that.
That seems to be a conversation that you should be having now rather than when you’re both upset after your parents do pass.

RAS

Does anyone have power of attorney with regard to health, and finances, now your parents are in care?

How is their care currently being funded?

The_Walker

Clearly I shouldn't have used the word "squatter" in the same context as my sibling, for the record I was questioning the legal side of things alone. I was thinking along the lines of a person refusing to leave a property.

You're probably right Elsien, it will be a question of modernisation before sale rather than whether to sell or not. I hope so anyway.

And MalMonroe I take your points on board as well, but please don't assume you know a whole situation. I certainly wouldn't want to see *anyone* on the streets. In the past my sibling has threatened violence against my mother, so no she wasn't there to care for them both like Mother Teresa. But that's not even relevant now. Large amounts of inheritance obviously can help with pensions, mortgage payments and medical bills if needed, so yes I could just "let it go" as you say lol. But I do need to put food on my own table and care for my wife who is unable to work. Thank you.

The_Walker

RAS said:

Does anyone have power of attorney with regard to health, and finances, now your parents are in care?

How is their care currently being funded?

We jointly have power of attorney should that be needed. Their care is currently funded partly by the council and partly by their pensions and savings etc. 

Flugelhorn

The_Walker said:

RAS said:

Does anyone have power of attorney with regard to health, and finances, now your parents are in care?

How is their care currently being funded?

We jointly have power of attorney should that be needed. Their care is currently funded partly by the council and partly by their pensions and savings etc. 

That's good - the whole process is a lot easier if you are familiar with their finances

The_Walker

Brie said:

But all of this is getting ahead of the situation.  It's possible the house may need to be sold to pay for your parents' care before they die and then your sister would have no choice but to move out and find a place of her own.  If they are in local authority funded care then potentially they could take possession of the house to sell making your sister homeless as she's under 60 (at least that's what the LA do in our area).  And if they didn't insist on an immediate sale then there'd be a lien put on the house so when your parents do die the sale of the house will be enforced with the council getting their cut before either of you.  

Yes, the council may well require the sale of the house. 

Interesting you mention the age 60. If she did reach the age of 60, would that change things then?

Flugelhorn

The_Walker said:

Brie said:

But all of this is getting ahead of the situation.  It's possible the house may need to be sold to pay for your parents' care before they die and then your sister would have no choice but to move out and find a place of her own.  If they are in local authority funded care then potentially they could take possession of the house to sell making your sister homeless as she's under 60 (at least that's what the LA do in our area).  And if they didn't insist on an immediate sale then there'd be a lien put on the house so when your parents do die the sale of the house will be enforced with the council getting their cut before either of you.  

Yes, the council may well require the sale of the house. 

Interesting you mention the age 60. If she did reach the age of 60, would that change things then?

It does change things - if the remaining person in the house is 60+ then they can't have the house sold from by the council, they can stay there


have a look here https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-a-care-home/do-i-have-to-sell-my-home-to-pay-for-care/

The_Walker

So it would be protected from the council. And would it affect the will too? I'm getting ahead of myself I know. But I'd rather know the facts out of interest. If she was over 60 and living in the house, would the house still be divided equally or would she have a right to continue living there (effectively owning it)?

macman

She's not a 'squatter'. That constitutes criminal trespass in a domestic property, and you can use reasonable force to remove a squatter. She's an excluded occupier, with right to remain as a guest for as long as your parents permit her to. No security whatsoever.
Dies the will leave the property to you jointly, or simply leave the assets of the estate jointly to you in equal halves? Two very different things. If the latter, as I hope it is, then as an executor she has a duty to discharge the will to the best benefit of the beneficiaries, which means selling it at a commercial price. She can of course purchase it from the estate, but it can't be sold at a discount without the agreement of the other beneficiaries.
If, as executor, she refused to vacate, then the property would remain unsold, as no conveyancer is going to permit their buyer to exchange without vacant possession. And she would then be liable for the maladministration of her executorship.
Since she has no share in the property, and is simply a guest (not even a lodger), I cannot see that her occupation can prevent the council forcing a sale of the property. If that cannot be done, they will simply put a charging order on it instead.