Help with understanding of will

Keep_pedalling

RAS said:

If they owned the house as tenants in common, the will sets up an immediate post-death interest trust. So you really do need to spend £3 checking the deeds, which may well provide clues, or hunt for a document severing the tenancy which has not been registered. 

Given the absence of joint children, I expect mum to know about this as she would also have been severing the tenancy to protect her children's interests.

The fee went up to £7 in December. 

stan1970

It is a professionally written Will.  Mum is in her 80's and the will was set up a long time ago so she doesnt really remember what was said although she would have wanted to protect her childrens part of the estate.

The property is a mobile home so doesnt feature on the land registry although I can enquire around this with the park.

Thanks again everyone - I will make an appointment with a solicitor to find out exactly what the options and restrictions are 

Sea_Shell

stan1970 said:

It is a professionally written Will.  Mum is in her 80's and the will was set up a long time ago so she doesnt really remember what was said although she would have wanted to protect her childrens part of the estate.

The property is a mobile home so doesnt feature on the land registry although I can enquire around this with the park.

Thanks again everyone - I will make an appointment with a solicitor to find out exactly what the options and restrictions are 

The fact that it's not a bricks and mortar registered property will change things.*

Is all the paperwork in joint names, or just one.  What about the insurance etc.

Are they more like a car, that can't have joint names listed on the documentation?

Hopefully, the park will happily deal with Mum, if she's NOT on the paperwork.


* Would there be no official "Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common" here?

mattojgb

Is the mobile home the home known as xxxxxxx in the will?

stan1970

mattojgb said:

Is the mobile home the home known as xxxxxxx in the will?

YesSea_Shell said:

stan1970 said:

It is a professionally written Will.  Mum is in her 80's and the will was set up a long time ago so she doesnt really remember what was said although she would have wanted to protect her childrens part of the estate.

The property is a mobile home so doesnt feature on the land registry although I can enquire around this with the park.

Thanks again everyone - I will make an appointment with a solicitor to find out exactly what the options and restrictions are 

The fact that it's not a bricks and mortar registered property will change things.*

Is all the paperwork in joint names, or just one.  What about the insurance etc.

Are they more like a car, that can't have joint names listed on the documentation?

Hopefully, the park will happily deal with Mum, if she's NOT on the paperwork.


* Would there be no official "Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common" here?

Yes Joint names

mattojgb

Without any documents to indicate it was to be treated as owned as tenants in common, then it should probably be treated as jointly owned so that it automatically becomes owned solely by mum. For registered land, ownership as tenants in common is normally recorded at the Land Registry - but that doesn't apply.

However the fact that there are corresponding wills which presumably both state an intention that the deceased's half should pass to a trust might be sufficient documentation to indicate an intention that the property was held as tenants in common. Although given the way it is written it is arguable that they did not understand that intention.

Sea_Shell

mattojgb said:

Without any documents to indicate it was to be treated as owned as tenants in common, then it should probably be treated as jointly owned so that it automatically becomes owned solely by mum. For registered land, ownership as tenants in common is normally recorded at the Land Registry - but that doesn't apply.

However the fact that there are corresponding wills which presumably both state an intention that the deceased's half should pass to a trust might be sufficient documentation to indicate an intention that the property was held as tenants in common. Although given the way it is written it is arguable that they did not understand that intention.

This.

One other thing to bear in mind, is the age of the park home and what the TRUE MARKET VALUE of it is.   

They have a reputation for not being worth anything like what people expect, once second hand, and you are usually at the whim of the Park Owners with regards what they would buy it off you for (or resell it, after taking a commission).    So, ask them for a current valuation, if you haven't already.

So before you get into any 'wranglings' over who owns it, and potentially incurring legal fees, you are all aware of what you're debating in £££ terms.  

GDB2222

As Sea Shell says. Take a look here:

'Ripped off' caravan owners start compensation bid https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gmy7xjewko

Keep_pedalling

GDB2222 said:

As Sea Shell says. Take a look here:

'Ripped off' caravan owners start compensation bid https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gmy7xjewko

Owners of residential park homes have more protection than the owners of holiday park homes which is what the article is dealing with.

Keep_pedalling

mattojgb said:

Without any documents to indicate it was to be treated as owned as tenants in common, then it should probably be treated as jointly owned so that it automatically becomes owned solely by mum. For registered land, ownership as tenants in common is normally recorded at the Land Registry - but that doesn't apply.

However the fact that there are corresponding wills which presumably both state an intention that the deceased's half should pass to a trust might be sufficient documentation to indicate an intention that the property was held as tenants in common. Although given the way it is written it is arguable that they did not understand that intention.

It would help if there had been a deed of trust drawn up at the time the will was drafted. Without that I am not sure how you show ownership was held as TiC.

If everyone involved is on good terms one possible option is to go with the assumption that we are talking JTs here and for the surviving spouse makes a new will dividing her estate between children and step children as was intended with the original wills.