Shared House

J_Kay

Hello,
me and my sister bought the family home and now occupy it.However,she has now intimated that in her wiill,she is going to leave"half the house"to other family members.Can she do this is my question?
Many thanks.

J_Kay

Al_Mac wrote:

If she owns half the house, yes she can. Would be tricky for you if it happens.

Sorry

I pay the mortgage,i pay the insurance,i pay for the upkeep of the house,i do all the work in it and it all comes out of my bank account.Does this change your answer or is it the mere fact that her name is on the title deeds?

J_Kay

Al_Mac wrote:

Title deeds is the key. Have you talked about it, voiced concerns, discussed an alternative?

If we had sat down at the discussions to buy the house and she had told me,"let's buy the house,but i'll be leaving "my half to other family members,so in effect,you're only buying half a house",i wouldn't have entertained the idea.Her idea has only surfaced after i paid all the bank and solicitors fees,she's on income support!Who the heck wants to buy half a house.!
Thanks.

Ian_W

J Kay wrote: is it the mere fact that her name is on the title deeds?

I'm no lawyer but I'd have thought it was more than a "mere" fact - it's the "main" fact in MHO.
Probably not what you want to hear.
If, before she dies, you jointly decide to sell the house how much would you think she was entitled to from the sale? My view would be half the proceeds, if you agree then I think you answer your own question. If you disagree, I think you need to see a lawyer and find out the legal position. Does seem unfair that you pay all the costs but she gets half - but unfair and unlawful are frequently two different things!

J_Kay

I can't imagine a married couple specifying that if any one of them dies,the house proceeds goes to other family members,unbelievable!
Also,i've never had the inclination to specify that "my half" goes to anyone other than her if i die first.
Would she legally have to specify this in her will?

Ian_W

J Kay wrote: I can't imagine a married couple specifying that if any one of them dies,the house proceeds goes to other family members,unbelievable!

There are 2 different types of ownership and I can't for the life of me remember the names of each. A married couple, as a legal entity, are assumed to own the property on a shared basis, if one dies the whole house becomes the survivor's property. They can and sometimes do change that, for IHT and other reasons, but I'm pretty sure they have to opt to do this & notify the Land Registry.
Others are assumed to own a particular share of the prop, in this case 50% each for you & your sister, so have the right to gift or leave their share to someone other than the co-owner. You and your sister could opt to be [I think it's called] Joint Tennants which would place in a similar position to a married couple - but she would need to agree. Otherwise you remain Tennants in Joint [again, I may have the name wrong] with a specific share each.
Do you still have the paperwork from when you bought? Usually the solicitor will prepare a report on the contract and may well have covered your respective positions as purchasers in that. Worth a look anyway.

HGLTsuperstar

J Kay wrote: I can't imagine a married couple specifying that if any one of them dies,the house proceeds goes to other family members,unbelievable!

Course they could! How better to cause mischief from beyond the grave!
Look the point is you have an equal share in the house, according to the deeds, its not the same as a married couple breaking up and negotiating a divorce package. I know this is not what you want to hear, and of course hindsight is a wonderful thing, i.e. a 50% holding means 50% of the bills etc, but what did you expect her to do, leave it to you instead of her dependants. Would that have been fair on them? Maybe you do need to think about selling and splitting the profits if this is going to get too heated.

Also "i've never had the inclination to specify that "my half" goes to anyone other than her if i die first."
Well do you have wife and kids at the moment? If not, then when you do your view may change, and if you do how do they feel about being cut out!

J_Kay

HGLTsuperstar wrote:

J Kay wrote: I can't imagine a married couple specifying that if any one of them dies,the house proceeds goes to other family members,unbelievable!

Course they could! How better to cause mischief from beyond the grave!
Look the point is you have an equal share in the house, according to the deeds, its not the same as a married couple breaking up and negotiating a divorce package. I know this is not what you want to hear, and of course hindsight is a wonderful thing, i.e. a 50% holding means 50% of the bills etc, but what did you expect her to do, leave it to you instead of her dependants. Would that have been fair on them? Maybe you do need to think about selling and splitting the profits if this is going to get too heated.

Also "i've never had the inclination to specify that "my half" goes to anyone other than her if i die first."
Well do you have wife and kids at the moment? If not, then when you do your view may change, and if you do how do they feel about being cut out!

I can leave "my half" to the person she hates most if i want.
I'll also add that the house would never had been bought if it wasn't for my money as i paid for everything.
Presuming she does what she says she might do,is there anything i can do to stop it?Got to be legal though,i value my freedom more than real estate!

HGLTsuperstar

J_Kay wrote:

I can leave "my half" to the person she hates most if i want.
I'll also add that the house would never had been bought if it wasn't for my money as i paid for everything.
Presuming she does what she says she might do,is there anything i can do to stop it?Got to be legal though,i value my freedom more than real estate!

Sure you do that, though that only counts if you die first! Seems like this was done without legal consult initially, but you can't turn the clock back on that one so go talk to someone now. If you can reach an agreement, such as she pays towards running costs or something like that, but I really think you are lumbered as if the deeds are in both names...
PS Saying "Well if I'd known beforehand.." is not an argument that would stand in the eyes of the law unless written documentation to back it up