Joint Inheritance of a property

pjs493

So this was the situation my husband and I expected to be in before he died unexpectedly. 

His parents were planning on leaving everything to my husband and his brother. His brother has no interest in ever living in the house and he and his wife have jobs in London and don’t like leaving the confines of the M25. My husband had a sentimental attachment to the house and it would have made a good home for us. Our hope was that there would be sufficient in other assets left in the estate to buy his brother’s half of the house. We were also prepared to sell other property we owned. 

However, in our case, our fear was that due to the posh location of the house, its value is going through the roof and there was a worry that even with other assets left in the Will, savings we had, and selling property we owned, we wouldn’t be able to get together enough to buy out my brother in law. We had discussed the viability of some other options such as a mortgage for any shortfall or potentially a loan from the brother, etc. 

It would have very much depended on when it happened in our case. If we were in retirement, we’d have lump sums from pensions upon retiring which would have added money to the pot. If it happened in a couple of years, we’d have complications due to where our jobs needed us to be etc. In the end it all became academic because with my husband predeceasing his parents, I suspect they’ve now changed their Wills so that their surviving son gets everything.