Understanding Dad's Will

miss_saski

stuhse said:

Does the will not leave her anything specifically ?

"If my said wife should survive me for thirty days I give all my real and personal property not  otherwise specifically disposed  of by this my Will or any Codicil hereto to my said wife absolutely or if for any reason my said wife shall fail to attain a vested interest therein the following provisions with regard thereto will apply"

Also, how were the care home fees paid for ?

No, nothing specific at all.

We - my mum, my full sisters and I - paid for dads care home fees until he hit pension age, which his pensions then covered.

Rob5342 said:

You don't need to get involved really, as executors your mum and sister are the ones to deal with it all. It was your Dad's decision so he is the only person your half sister can be unhappy with.

I am not trying to get involved in the process. My mum asked me to go through the house to see if I can find his Will as all his stuff was left here when he moved into the nursing home. I found it, she asked me to read it to find who was named as Executors and to get an idea of what was in it.

That is the worst thing she could have asked me to do, as that seed of doubt about the was then planted in my head, which has grown and spread. I have literally bitten all my nails off with worry. You may shrug it off because it is the norm to leave it to the wife, but I have many many "what ifs" pop into my head and I struggle to contain them.

Yes, I am already receiving therapy, and one of the coping mechanisms I have been taught is to seek reassurance and clarity where I can to stop the thought process. Hence, why I am here - I needed clarity on that statement, and reassurance that we are not going to lose the house. This is the only place I could think of to ask without paying.

Keep_pedalling

miss_saski said:

bobster2 said:

I would have thought, in England - with a valid will leaving everything to a spouse - nobody else will be entitled to anything. It's very common - leaving everything to a spouse.

But it is important to tell relatives there is a will - and who the executor is - otherwise they may think they need to apply for letters of administration.

I know it is pretty regular practise to leave everything to the spouse, but what is it with legal documents using a foreign language?!

Mum is happy with me living in the house, but like I said, I am just in need of some reassurance that she will get it all. 

She will. You half sister could challenge the will but it is highly unlikely she would succeed in a challenge unless she was financially dependant on him.

For longer term security are you in a situation where you could buy out part or all of what was your father’s share from your mother? 

miss_saski

Keep_pedalling said:

She will. You half sister could challenge the will but it is highly unlikely she would succeed in a challenge unless she was financially dependant on him.

For longer term security are you in a situation where you could buy out part or all of what was your father’s share from your mother? 

That is the reassurance I was after - Thank you.

I am not in a position right now to buy dad's half. However, before dad's death, mum and I had been trying to transfer the house into my name with my partner so that we could take on the mortgage. There were too many legal hoops to jump through, even with my mums full Power of Attorney. Mum is hoping to gift us the house later on. Dad verbally always said he wanted me to have the house as I was the only one who cared for him at home for 5 years, and mum agreed with this and my full sisters said they were fine (mum paid the deposits for their own houses). But this was never done in writing so I know I do not have a leg to stand on with this

Keep_pedalling said:

Bed-bound for 7 years does nor sound like it was something you would not get NHS funded care for.

Any NHS funding would have been sorted by the care home. I am not aware that he got any, but I am not going to deny it either. All I know is the care home sent us an invoice every month which we split 4-ways.

stuhse

Good news.  You should be ok to stay in the house.  If you wish to continue to live their after your mums day you will need to understand what is in her will and prepare appropriately. If she remarries it will need updating. With your dad gone her will probably needs a revisit now.

Sarahspangles

If wills were made when your parents were ‘together’ i.e. before a split, maybe at that point there was an understanding between them about what your half-sister would eventually be left if dad died first, as has happened.

But it sounds like there has been a lot of ‘water under the bridge’ since. Presumably he became ill during his working life and hence wasn’t able to clear mortgage debt during his lifetime. Then you directly provided care to your father, after which all of the children of his second marriage contributed to the costs of his care home. It doesn’t sound like your half-sister should be expecting there to be much to distribute, or to be at the front of the queue.

Flugelhorn

it is curious why they held the property as TIC and then didn't make a will sharing other than leaving it to the other TIC 

Keep_pedalling

miss_saski said:

Keep_pedalling said:

She will. You half sister could challenge the will but it is highly unlikely she would succeed in a challenge unless she was financially dependant on him.

For longer term security are you in a situation where you could buy out part or all of what was your father’s share from your mother? 

That is the reassurance I was after - Thank you.

I am not in a position right now to buy dad's half. However, before dad's death, mum and I had been trying to transfer the house into my name with my partner so that we could take on the mortgage. There were too many legal hoops to jump through, even with my mums full Power of Attorney. Mum is hoping to gift us the house later on. Dad verbally always said he wanted me to have the house as I was the only one who cared for him at home for 5 years, and mum agreed with this and my full sisters said they were fine (mum paid the deposits for their own houses). But this was never done in writing so I know I do not have a leg to stand on with this

Now would be a good time for you mother to at least gift you your father’s share especially if the inheritance is taking her into IHT territory. 

Keep_pedalling said:

Bed-bound for 7 years does nor sound like it was something you would not get NHS funded care for.

Any NHS funding would have been sorted by the care home. I am not aware that he got any, but I am not going to deny it either. All I know is the care home sent us an invoice every month which we split 4-ways.

Sorry my post had the word ‘not’ in it which totally reversed what I meant to say (I will edit that)

bobster2

Flugelhorn said:

it is curious why they held the property as TIC and then didn't make a will sharing other than leaving it to the other TIC 

No idea if it's the case here but...

Some people switched to TIC before the introduction of the residential nil rate band - so they could do more complex things with each share.

When the RNRB was introduced - they may have written new wills - but not seen any point in switching back to joint tenants.

kazwookie

Make sure your mother has an up to date WILL

miss_saski

I can't remember the exact reason as to why they switched from joint tenants to tenants in common. I have a feeling that it was to do with dad's health? I know they were advised to do it at the time...

My mum has already said she is never getting married again

But anyway, Thank you for responses - it really has put my mind at ease I might even get to sleep tonight!