inheritance

Kallawala

Background:

Both my parents died in 2020.  3 adult children, a girl (myself) 2 brothers. We applied for 'letter of administration' as both died without a valid Will. Assets of parents estate are in the UK and abroad.  At start of probate all parents bank accounts were closed and a new 'probate' account opened with balances transferred into this new account including other monies received for the estate eg pensions, medical and life insurance claims etc This monies was used to maintained the 1 property in the UK and several properties abroad.  

All the children agreed to sell the UK property as it has most money but it will also help to cover any expenses abroad.

The parents UK property remained vacant; but as I have concerns about this, I moved into the property to protect and secure it from squatters including keeping up with its maintenance until sale in April 2024.  Since the Sale, I submit my out-of-pocket spend for reimbursements to the estate before any split of inheritance. 1 brother (C) agreed, 1 brother (B) refused as he requested for further information.  These information were provided immediately in forms of bank statements - this shows monies in and out.   

Brother B appears not satisfied, he then sought to state that since I lived in the property until sale, the utilities paid for should be my responsibility and not the estate's.  He went further to state that I should return the money 'spent' back to the estate by a deduction from my share of the inheritance.  of course I reject this on the grounds that my stay in the house was for security and its maintenance, Not personal benefit.

Since May 2024, this back-n-forth has continued and it doesn't look like it will end soon.  
How can I break this deadlock and move forward?

Flugelhorn

were you paying to live anywhere else at the time? 

having a beneficiary living in a property can be useful as it makes it more secure and looked after - However I think the beneficiary could be expected to pay rent to the estate / pay for own utilities / council tax etc as they are being housed for free. Probably in many  cases the execs would probably agree that the rent would be zero in return for looking after the place  and the resident beneficiary just pay day to day costs 

Kallawala

Yes, I have my home and I continued to pay my bills as usual e.g mortgage, council tax utilities etc.  

Kallawala

Flugelhorn said:

were you paying to live anywhere else at the time? 

having a beneficiary living in a property can be useful as it makes it more secure and looked after - However I think the beneficiary could be expected to pay rent to the estate / pay for own utilities / council tax etc as they are being housed for free. Probably in many  cases the execs would probably agree that the rent would be zero in return for looking after the place  and the resident beneficiary just pay day to day costs 

Yes, I have my own family home which I continued to pay my monthly bills as usual eg mortgage, utilities, Council tax etc.  It was not my intention to live in the house but to make it secure and continue to maintain it until we get probate and then sell the property. The property is in East London and I live in SW London. Brother C lives the closest to the property also he was 'living' in the property with our parents, he has never 'left' home even though he has an accommodation nearby.

Flugelhorn

well if you both were paying bills elsewhere and just keeping and eye on the place then I would think the bills should come out of the estate, they would considered to be estate expenses if the place was empty. 

does this account to a big percentage of the value of the estate?

elsien

Did the other two agree to you moving in for security reasons? did you have any discussion about bills at that point?

Brie

I would think you might split the cost of utilities.  Estate pays the standing charges and you pay for use on the basis that the SC would need to be paid if no one was living there but the use would be minimal although not zero.  

Savvy_Sue

elsien said:

Did the other two agree to you moving in for security reasons? did you have any discussion about bills at that point?

I think that's an important question, plus some more: how much are we talking about, is it worth falling out over, and do you want to continue a cordial relationship with your brother going forward? 

You may be technically in the right, your brother may be a devious schemer just out to get as much as possible, and it may be that if you never see him again it will be too soon. But going legal to assert your rights may cost you several times whatever amount you think you should receive, and will damage your future relationship. 

Another possible route forward, if 2 out of 3 of you agree, is just to pay yourself the amount, split the rest in three and hold your ground, but that depends on you and the more generous brother being able to do that. 

Debbie9009

It sounds like brother C was also living there, in which case why did you need to move in to keep the property secure ? I would say the utilities should be shared between those living there, as otherwise they wouldn’t have been incurred. I agree with Brie that the standing charges would have been incurred even if no one was living there, so the estate should pay for those.

Kallawala

Flugelhorn said:

well if you both were paying bills elsewhere and just keeping and eye on the place then I would think the bills should come out of the estate, they would considered to be estate expenses if the place was empty. 

does this account to a big percentage of the value of the estate?

I am paying bills at my own property; my intentions for staying at our parents home is for security, maintenance of the property - neither brothers B or C offered to visit the property to keep an eye on it, I was doing this every other week cos of concerns of potential problems, so it was also for my convenience, it was too much on me alone.  I'm looking to be reimbursed for around 7K.

Flugelhorn

Kallawala said:

Flugelhorn said:

well if you both were paying bills elsewhere and just keeping and eye on the place then I would think the bills should come out of the estate, they would considered to be estate expenses if the place was empty. 

does this account to a big percentage of the value of the estate?

I am paying bills at my own property; my intentions for staying at our parents home is for security, maintenance of the property - neither brothers B or C offered to visit the property to keep an eye on it, I was doing this every other week cos of concerns of potential problems, so it was also for my convenience, it was too much on me alone.  I'm looking to be reimbursed for around 7K.

I thought you said Brother C had never really left home? 

£7K sounds like a lot, I can see why they are querying it