Family home

noviceSon

grassmarket said:

This seems a very odd thread! It’s your father’s estate, so whatever he puts in his Will is what the executor(s) must legally do. Why not just ask him what he wants to happen with his property & who the executors are? All the rest is pure speculation. If what he wants to happen is different from what his Will says, he needs to update it. If he doesn’t want you to become effectively homeless when he dies - he needs to do something about it now. 

I appreciate the points thanks.

Much of what you've said I've conidered too.

I have not spoken with him recently, but his attitude has been it will be up to us all to reach agreement.

I think he imagines we will be sharing the property, and who knows, he may be right..

But yes, points taken thankyou - I will keep them in mind and act accordingly.

noviceSon

tooldle said:

I agree. OP does not appear to have sight of the will and, the precise wording of its clauses is important. For example an equal share of the estate does not necessarily mean any property passes into ownership of the three beneficiaries. The exact wording of the clause is important.

Thanks for the advice !

I will see if it's possible to avail myself of the relevant details and report back soon as I can. 

noviceSon

Sea_Shell said:

Another thought, parent could decide to do equity release on the property, if they needed a large chunk of cash for repairs etc.

That would have to be settled, somehow, at part of dealing with the estate.

Parent is fine for money.

However I may be the one who requires it if I do stay after his passing.

That's why I was wondering what the equity realease rules may be for myself in / or joint owenership.

Otherwise if the house is sold as part of the estate, I will have my lump sum to be able to move forward.

You last line confuses me a little however - am I missing something ?

Appreciate the suggestion !

noviceSon

itsthelittlethings said:

Yes, my father did that in case one of his children was living at home when he died.

OP, I just cannot for the life of me understand why you would not want to sell the house and buy a small flat all of your own when the time sadly comes that your parents are no longer with you.

Well basically, it's a nice house.

But the problems may (or may not) occur if family want to move in too.

Not sure I will have the ability to buy, bur perhaps there are options with another sibling.

We wil see - so much depends on family relations and it's hard to predict what will happen there.

Really I just wanted to know my optiions from a legal perspective.

And appreciate all the advice I've been given - so many thanks to you and everyone else.

Sea_Shell

noviceSon said:

Sea_Shell said:

Another thought, parent could decide to do equity release on the property, if they needed a large chunk of cash for repairs etc.

That would have to be settled, somehow, at part of dealing with the estate.

Parent is fine for money.

However I may be the one who requires it if I do stay after his passing.

That's why I was wondering what the equity realease rules may be for myself in / or joint owenership.

Otherwise if the house is sold as part of the estate, I will have my lump sum to be able to move forward.

You last line confuses me a little however - am I missing something ?

Appreciate the suggestion !

Any finance taken out, secured against the property (mortgage, Equity release etc) would have to be paid off, from the estate*, before the net estate is split.

So, if, for example £20k had been released, with no repayments and interest rolled up, there might be a substantially larger debt to be paid from the estate.

If parent has cash, unlikely to need ER.

But, if a parent had no cash, and had taken out ER, then the house would have to be sold to settle the estates debts.   Same as if they had an outstanding mortgage, but no life insurance to pay it off with.

*Unless life insurance available.


ETA as for yourself getting ER once you've inherited, AIUI all owners would need to agree, and they'd be daft to IMO.

Blue_Butterfly

noviceSon said:

Blue_Butterfly said:

Is it possible to write a short term life interest trust into a will, say 1 or 2 years? This could give OP security of tenure whilst dealing with grief and sorting out the estate, but not delay the other siblings inheritance long term. It would also give OP more time to make decisions on future housing, than possibly being pressured to move out quickly by siblings.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I will try to research into it to understand what it means.

But is it effectively a guarantee of residency ? Or a lump sum that can help sustain me ?

Also as joint owner, don't I have the right to remain anyway ?

Before the house is sold I mean ?

Or do you just mean they may be keen to realise their share ?

A life interest trust is commonly used in 2nd marriages to balance the interests of a surviving partner with the deceased's children, but can also be used in other circumstances.. The partner can live in the house for their lifetime, then the 1st deceased's share goes to their children or chosen beneficiaries after the 2nd death. Other conditions can be written into the trust rather than residence for life. Some may specify that the trust ends if the surviving partner remarries or co-habits, or may be a specific timeframe like I suggested for you. This would of course have to be written in your fathers will and be his choice, and would be just a guarantee of residency.

A deceased person's property belongs to their estate until it is sold or transferred to a beneficiary. The executor is responsible for distributing the estate exactly as it's written, and working in the best interest of all beneficiaries. 

It is possible that siblings may be keen to realise their share, and bereavement and inheritance has been known to reignite rivalry and other issues from childhood.

Newly_retired

OP you mentioned joint ownership at one point. Can you clarify exactly how this house is owned? That could make a difference.

I'm asking because I don't think you have clarified the current ownership. My apologies if I have misread it.

If it is jointly owned, who else owns it? If it is jointly owned, it will become theirs.
Is it joint ownership or owned as tenants-in-common?
If TiC, who is the other owner? The will should state what is to happen eg the other owner may have the right to stay. for their lifetime, but more detail is usually included.
Also do you know if your parent has actually made a will or is considering  writing / rewriting it?
What is the exact wording of the relevant part?  Is the property actually mentioned?
Who is the executor?


Property ownership can complicate even a simple will.
My Mother-in-law, for example, did not mention her property in her will, just that her estate ( which includes the property ) was to be divided x number of ways. She intended for it to be sold and the proceeds distributed but had not written that.
What has your father written?

Going back to my mother-in-law: the fact that her adult granddaughter was - and still is- living in the property has led to too many complications, still unresolved after several years. Not an ideal situation. She tried to move into a rented flat but being on benefits, this has proved far from easy, so she has stayed put. This has caused the rest of the beneficiaries lots of problems as nobody wants to see her homeless.
If the will had stipulated that the property had to be sold and the proceeds be distributed as part ( the bulk of) the estate, the executor would have had to sell it and everyone would have been saved a lot of heartache.

On the other hand, leaving a house to several beneficiares is also fraught with problems, as you are envisaging.