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

Emily_Joy

Do you if the house has been well looked after in the past and what exactly does she mean by renovation? If it hasn't had any work done for the last 30 years, I am with your sibling - it is her home and she naturally wants to make some improvements - e.g. new double glazed windows, insulation, rewiring, new wallpaper, new kitchen/bathroom etc. 

elsien

Emily_Joy said:

Do you if the house has been well looked after in the past and what exactly does she mean by renovation? If it hasn't had any work done for the last 30 years, I am with your sibling - it is her home and she naturally wants to make some improvements - e.g. new double glazed windows, insulation, rewiring, new wallpaper, new kitchen/bathroom etc. 

That does rather depends on who’s paying for them. And could lead to an expectation that the sibling can stay there indefinitely.

If the parents have lost capacity and the power-of-attorney is in place, then the OP should be entitled to be involved in any repairs if it’s the parents money that’s being used. Because they are equally responsible.

Emily_Joy

elsien said:

Emily_Joy said:

Do you if the house has been well looked after in the past and what exactly does she mean by renovation? If it hasn't had any work done for the last 30 years, I am with your sibling - it is her home and she naturally wants to make some improvements - e.g. new double glazed windows, insulation, rewiring, new wallpaper, new kitchen/bathroom etc. 

That does rather depends on who’s paying for them. And could lead to an expectation that the sibling can stay there indefinitely.

If the parents have lost capacity and the power-of-attorney is in place, then the OP should be entitled to be involved in any repairs if it’s the parents money that’s being used. Because they are equally responsible.

We actually don't know what the sibling is proposing to do and who is paying for this. It could be something simple and cosmetic like getting new wallpapers and it could be something much more disruptive like getting a new bathroom.

macman

The_Walker said:

macman said:

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.

The wills state the freehold property will be shared equally, not assets.

That's most unfortunate. I can never understand why people draft wills in this fashion, it creates so many problems of this nature. 

The_Walker

Emily_Joy said:

Do you if the house has been well looked after in the past and what exactly does she mean by renovation? If it hasn't had any work done for the last 30 years, I am with your sibling - it is her home and she naturally wants to make some improvements - e.g. new double glazed windows, insulation, rewiring, new wallpaper, new kitchen/bathroom etc. 

It has not been well looked after, no. It's been filthy since my parents moved out. The renovations are planned to sell at profit, not to live in.

The_Walker

Emily_Joy said:

We actually don't know what the sibling is proposing to do and who is paying for this. It could be something simple and cosmetic like getting new wallpapers and it could be something much more disruptive like getting a new bathroom.

She's planning to divide the house into flats.

I have no idea where the money would come from to do this, and this is partly what worries me. Big projects often go over budget, especially when the person in control has no experience of such matters.

The_Walker

macman said:

That's most unfortunate. I can never understand why people draft wills in this fashion, it creates so many problems of this nature. 

Really? This is the first I've heard of this. So you're telling me I *should* be worried then, because she could simply refuse to leave and though I'd effectively own half the property I'd never be able to realise those funds?

RAS

The_Walker

I think you need to get some very clear advice from someone like AgeUK who were brilliant when we had issues.

As an attorney, you and sister have an obligation to act in your parents' best interests.

Since it is possible that the house might need to be sold when their existing funds run out, you have an obligation to keep it in a good state of repair etc. 

You cannot legally however make any alteration or improvements that would not benefit parents.

So getting the central heating boiler maintained might be viewed as OK even if your sister benefits, as would be repairing a single glaze window. A new boiler may not be an acceptable cost, nor would be improvements like double glazed windows.

Meantime, your sister is liable to pay the full cost of running the house from Council Tax to utilities, and Wifi.  If she doesn't want to pay those, the house needs draining down, water and heating turning off and emptying. 

The only justification I can see for retaining the house now is that your parents have other investments, and the house could be seen as diversifying their portfolio, assuming that it is appreciating at a higher rate than could be achieved by selling and investing alongside their current portfolio.

Niv

The_Walker said:

Emily_Joy said:

Do you if the house has been well looked after in the past and what exactly does she mean by renovation? If it hasn't had any work done for the last 30 years, I am with your sibling - it is her home and she naturally wants to make some improvements - e.g. new double glazed windows, insulation, rewiring, new wallpaper, new kitchen/bathroom etc. 

It has not been well looked after, no. It's been filthy since my parents moved out. The renovations are planned to sell at profit, not to live in.

Isn't this to both your benefit though? Or has she suggested that she will get all proceeds from the house? 

I accept you don't want this done (I don't blame you), but this is why, as others have suggested, you need a proper chat with her about it. 

It doesnt sound like she is getting overly comfortable if she is planning on splitting the house into flats to sell it. Obviously you know all the in's and out's best, but I think you may be misinterpreting her intentions a bit.

Niv

The_Walker said:

macman said:

That's most unfortunate. I can never understand why people draft wills in this fashion, it creates so many problems of this nature. 

Really? This is the first I've heard of this. So you're telling me I *should* be worried then, because she could simply refuse to leave and though I'd effectively own half the property I'd never be able to realise those funds?

I think its more along the lines of - if the will simply said a equal split of the estate then you could potentially take the savings and valuables and she could have the house (assuming they were the same value), but if it states half the house each then that is not as straight forward.