Late fathers entitlement to property

Moorsey11 · 12 April 2018 at 1:07AM

Hi my father passed away recently and myself and my brother are named benefactors in his will.
The house he lived in was in his wifes name only but they've been together 24 years and married for 20. This is their third property together and there's no mortgage.

I was informed by her daughter in law and again today by my step mum that there's no property to involve in the financial settlement because initially 24 years ago he moved into her house which she had from her divorce settlement from her first husband.

The long and short of it is that I believe Dad was completely involved with household bills, renovation and various other joint costs over the last 24 years and is an equal partner in the property.

Can anyone clarify this for me?

Savvy_Sue · 12 April 2018 at 2:34AM

Sorry for your loss, however you can believe what you like, but it depends entirely on what the deeds say at the Land Registry.

If the property is registered solely in your stepmother's name, it's not part of your father's estate.

Even if it was held in joint names (and there's no reason why it should be, given the situation you describe), it may have been held in such a way that on death, his share of the property passed automatically to his wife and does not form part of his estate.

Your dad's involvement in paying bills, renovation and joint costs is completely irrelevant to the property's ownership.

So what does the will say?

Tom99 · 12 April 2018 at 2:45AM

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It does not sound as if your father has been contributing much to the capital cost of the property.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]There is no current mortgage, but was there and earlier mortgage which your father partly paid?

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If all your father has done is contribute to other household bills, repairs and other minor costs then he has essentially been living rent free for the past 24 years.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Maybe if you could show evidence that he had paid for something major that improved the house value you might have some sort of claim to a share of the equity but it would be very hard to prove.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The other thing is that your father has been quite happy to go alone with not owning a share for 20 years and maybe that's what he thought was fair.[/FONT]

AnotherJoe · 12 April 2018 at 8:04AM

Sorry for your loss.

On what basis do you beleive he is "an equal partner in the property" ?
What does the will say? If it doesnt mention this property, I think that's a fairly strong statement that he didn't beleive he was.

Yorkshireman99 · 12 April 2018 at 9:22AM

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Sorry for your loss.

On what basis do you beleive he is "an equal partner in the property" ?
What does the will say? If it doesnt mention this property, I think that's a fairly strong statement that he didn't beleive he was.

But he may have a claim under the legislation requiring appropriate provision. That has to be made within six months.

Savvy_Sue · 12 April 2018 at 9:45AM

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

But he may have a claim under the legislation requiring appropriate provision. That has to be made within six months.

The OP and his brother? IF Dad was supporting them prior to death then yes, but if the house did not belong, even in part, to Dad then it STILL isn't part of Dad's estate so can't be used to make that provision ...

OP, we can only help further if we know what the will says (summary will do) and how the house is owned.

Yorkshireman99 · 12 April 2018 at 9:53AM

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Striping claim ? Autocorrect changing something ?

Finger trouble! Just remove striping. Thanks for correcting me!

Silvertabby · 12 April 2018 at 12:12PM

My sympathies on your loss.

Are you thinking about the law in the event of divorce? If your father and step-mother had divorced then, yes, he may have been able to claim a percentage of the house/total marital assets to support himself.

However, as others have said, if the house belongs to your step-mother then you have no claim on it.

Larac · 12 April 2018 at 1:19PM

Sorry for your loss - was this never discussed previously ? - I am divorced and when my ex husband remarried, his name was not put on the tenancy of his new wife's house as she too brought the house from the proceeds of her divorce. I paid out his share of the house, which he re-invested in a business. My children know there will be no legacy from their Dad's side. For that reason, I will never have joint tenancy (with a partner) as in my view I have paid for the house and don't wish to have any claims on my estate from other third parties. Sounds a bit selfish, but you need to have some form of self protection for your own family.

Yorkshireman99 · 12 April 2018 at 2:08PM

Larac wrote: »

Sorry for your loss - was this never discussed previously ? - I am divorced and when my ex husband remarried, his name was not put on the tenancy of his new wife's house as she too brought the house from the proceeds of her divorce. I paid out his share of the house, which he re-invested in a business. My children know there will be no legacy from their Dad's side. For that reason, I will never have joint tenancy (with a partner) as in my view I have paid for the house and don't wish to have any claims on my estate from other third parties. Sounds a bit selfish, but you need to have some form of self protection for your own family.

Avoiding a joint tenancy may not protect an estate from claims from relatives claiming financial dependency. It will depend on the facts of the case.

AnotherJoe · 12 April 2018 at 2:10PM

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Avoiding a joint tenancy may not protect an estate from claims from relatives claiming financial dependency. It will depend on the facts of the case.

True but its a solid starting point !

Late fathers entitlement to property

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