Left The House In My Late Mum's Will But My Sisters Refuse To Sell It-HELP!

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  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    edited 1 March 2016 at 8:48AM
    Well I got an email from my Solicitor yesterday. I only found out just now as I have another email account don't check my emails in that account every day.

    He says he has written to my sisters by letter and email and has sent me a copy of my sisters letters and forwarded the emails to me. And it seems that my sisters are trying to get my mum's house up for sale.

    I will post both the letter from My Solicitor to my sisters here.
    Names have been removed.

    My Sisters Letter sent to my Solicitor on 20th February 2016-also sent to me by email from my Solicitor.

    Dear Sir

    I am writing in response to your letter of 19th February 2016.

    The accounts have been closed and we are getting valuations from estate agents within the next couple of weeks

    Yours faithfully
    Sister A.


    My Solicitors Response to my Sisters Email and Letter sent on 29th February 2016.

    Dear Miss(Name Removed),



    RE: In the Estate of (Name Removed)



    We thank you for your email of the 20th February. As an Executor you do
    have a duty to keep the beneficiaries advised as to the progress of the
    administration.



    In the meantime, we look forward to hearing from you when you have received
    the valuations and also with a marketing plan thereafter.



    Yours faithfully,

    My Solicitor
    (Name Removed)




    So it seems that my sisters are trying to put the estate up for sale but it also seems that they are doing it without a solicitor which is not a very good idea my Solicitor said.
    It could also be that my sisters might be just saying that they are selling the house but are not. But we can ask them to show us something in writing from the estate agent proving that they have put the house up for sale.
  • Loanranger
    Loanranger Posts: 2,439 Forumite
    You can keep checking on Right Move to find out if the house is up for sale. Just leave your solicitor alone now or you will continue to rack up bills with him/her.
  • jouef
    jouef Posts: 117
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    edited 1 March 2016 at 9:29AM
    I doubt very much that most people would see this as a business relationship in any way, particularly as there's no point in charging the sister rent when the OP would simply lose this off her benefits anyway.
    The benefits agencies might see part-owning a house not your main residence and not claiming rent as deliberate deprivation of assets.
    There's no benefit in a clean break per se for anybody except the non resident sister who has her own property and will benefit immediately after the sale. Both the OP and the resident sister will either be no better off or will be in a far worse situation.
    Would you find it comfortable part-owning a house where the occupant will not speak to you? Where you might share landlord responsibility for gas safety certification but the occupant will not let you in? This is a serious family rift, not an exercise in paper-ownership.
  • nom_de_plume
    nom_de_plume Posts: 959
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    annbarbs wrote: »
    So it seems that my sisters are trying to put the estate up for sale but it also seems that they are doing it without a solicitor which is not a very good idea my Solicitor said.

    They will need to use a Solicitor or a conveyancer once a buyer is found. For the purposes of putting the property on the market they will just need to instruct an estate agent. Most estate agents have a solicitor or 2 that they recommend.
  • missbiggles1
    missbiggles1 Posts: 17,481
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    annbarbs wrote: »
    Well I got an email from my Solicitor yesterday. I only found out just now as I have another email account don't check my emails in that account every day.

    He says he has written to my sisters by letter and email and has sent me a copy of my sisters letters and forwarded the emails to me. And it seems that my sisters are trying to get my mum's house up for sale.

    I will post both the letter from My Solicitor to my sisters here.
    Names have been removed.

    My Sisters Letter sent to my Solicitor on 20th February 2016-also sent to me by email from my Solicitor.

    Dear Sir

    I am writing in response to your letter of 19th February 2016.

    The accounts have been closed and we are getting valuations from estate agents within the next couple of weeks

    Yours faithfully
    Sister A.


    My Solicitors Response to my Sisters Email and Letter sent on 29th February 2016.

    Dear Miss(Name Removed),



    RE: In the Estate of (Name Removed)



    We thank you for your email of the 20th February. As an Executor you do
    have a duty to keep the beneficiaries advised as to the progress of the
    administration.



    In the meantime, we look forward to hearing from you when you have received
    the valuations and also with a marketing plan thereafter.



    Yours faithfully,

    My Solicitor
    (Name Removed)




    So it seems that my sisters are trying to put the estate up for sale but it also seems that they are doing it without a solicitor which is not a very good idea my Solicitor said.
    It could also be that my sisters might be just saying that they are selling the house but are not. But we can ask them to show us something in writing from the estate agent proving that they have put the house up for sale.

    I don't see where it says that they're selling without a solicitor and anyway, many people don't appoint a solicitor until after the property is sold.
  • missbiggles1
    missbiggles1 Posts: 17,481
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    jouef wrote: »
    The benefits agencies might see part-owning a house not your main residence and not claiming rent as deliberate deprivation of assets.
    Would you find it comfortable part-owning a house where the occupant will not speak to you? Where you might share landlord responsibility for gas safety certification but the occupant will not let you in? This is a serious family rift, not an exercise in paper-ownership.

    Perhaps the OP's sister might be speaking to her if she wasn't being thrown out of the home where she cared for their mother with no help from the OP herself?
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,551
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    annbarbs wrote: »
    But we can ask them to show us something in writing from the estate agent proving that they have put the house up for sale.

    And this will be another charge on your solicitor's bill. Have you asked how much he charges for each email and phone call he makes on your behalf? Have you asked how much is already charged to your future bill?

    You can keep a check yourself on whether the house is up for sale by googling the address and looking on Zoopla and Rightmove.
  • margaretclare
    margaretclare Posts: 10,789 Forumite
    But my sisters phoned me and tried to talk me into changing my mind but I said NO Sister A cannot live in the house it must be sold.
    And I did explain to my sisters why and I also told them in my emails to them.

    We've been told repeatedly that 'sisters will not speak to me'....etc etc

    It seems that they will!
    The sister that is living in the house was nasty to me and said she is not leaving the house. But the other sisters did not seem to upset and just said she had hoped I would let my sisters stay but if not she will help my sister find somewhere else to live but she does not want to sell only because she has to.
    I'm really not surprised - this has been her home for x amount of time, she has cared for Mum in her last days there, now being expected to move out - to where? - without so much as a by-your-leave.
    [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Æ[/FONT]r ic wisdom funde, [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]æ[/FONT]r wear[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ð[/FONT] ic eald.
    Before I found wisdom, I became old.
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882
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    annbarbs wrote: »
    But my sisters phoned me and tried to talk me into changing my mind but I said NO Sister A cannot live in the house it must be sold.
    And I did explain to my sisters why and I also told them in my emails to them.

    The sister that is living in the house was nasty to me and said she is not leaving the house. But the other sisters did not seem to upset and just said she had hoped I would let my sisters stay but if not she will help my sister find somewhere else to live but she does not want to sell only because she has to.

    When did this conversation take place?

    You have been told they are willing to sell but you have been insisting that they won't.

    Let them get on with it.
  • jouef
    jouef Posts: 117
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    Perhaps the OP's sister might be speaking to her if she wasn't being thrown out of the home where she cared for their mother with no help from the OP herself?
    Yes, maybe so. However the house sale falls under testamentary law which has no provision for moral indebtedness. I don't think this family should ever attempt any financial interdependence. It would be great if they found a way to mend the rift, but it won't be through keeping the house.
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