Selling inherited house when sibling living in it

Your mum did the correct thing leaving it equally. She probably privately wanted your sister to pull her finger out and sort her life out.

If there was a way you could get a lawyer to simply take charge of all this for you that would be ideal, get the lawyer to put it onto the market and everything with your oversight if you stay as sole executor.

This way you get to let the lawyer be the bad guy not you, it’ll be much cheaper and fairer than giving away your share.

Challenging the will isn't what is needed here. If the sister successfully challenges the will then that will mean that the mother essentially died intestate and she would still only get one third under the intestacy rules.

What you are likely thinking of is a claim under the Inheritance Act 1975 which allows a child (and other people) in England & Wales to make a claim if they haven't been left reasonable financial provision in a will.

That can be quite risky unless there is a very strong case.

Alternatively, the deceased mother may have said something like "Come and look after me and I will make sure that you are taken care off after I die and can live in the house as long as you want." but then failed to update her will to reflect that.

Now, if there is evidence that the mother said something like this and the sister then gave up her job to look after the mother for a long period of time then she may also have a claim anyway. This would simply be because the mother promised this and the sister then relied on that promise and gave up her job to look after the mother.

But, again, that can be a risk if there isn't strong evidence.

You mean proprietary estoppel? That only applies if she was promised she would get the house and relied upon it

OP is the executor and has a legal obligation to carry out the terms of the will. She must do so without delay. Get probate done and sell the house on the market

She may also be legally obliged to charge her sister market rate rent...

Either way, she needs some legal advice

Good god, there's always one. Stupid post.

Only if the estate has been wound up and the house transferred I to their names. And why would the have done that without this being sorted out?

"Probate settled" is not the same as "estate wound up".

Unlikely to have been £1,500 a week.

That's not what those forms were, you being "happy" is not a legal requirement.

A pp was right when they said the house would (most likely) need to be sold with vacant possession. Which was more likely what you were signing for.

mum died a few months ago, and already trying to evict the sister and cash in, and posting on Mumsnet to get some encouragement along the way. Grim

If the sister lived rent free for 10 years but the mother was in need of round the clock care for say 3 years then that's £1500 per month not per week

She's the executor, she has to follow the will. It's her legal duty

That's what I meant

As executor I wouldn’t offer any more than her share - stick to the will. I think you’ll need to use a solicitor due to her lack of engagement and that is money that will need to come out of the estate.
The house may not sell for years and costs may escalate, she may not be able to buy anywhere but could rent; that’s not your problem at this stage, don’t make it harder for yourself by trying to resolve her issues ahead of the sale.

Sell it. Give her only her share. Not unreasonable, not at all.

Yes. That's the job of the executor. Its a legal obligation, OP has no choice

somekindof · Today 12:08
You could also go to mediation or family therapy/relationship counselling. All three of you. Having a place to all be heard and understand each others perspectives would help as you navigate the next steps. Direct to legal forcing her out of the house could permanently damage the relationship.
Obviously she will have to leave the house, but this is a huge emotional upheaval for her. It’s not about the money.
I feel for you being in
THIS!

The sister has no means to pay for repairs etc on the property. Goodness knows if she can afford the council tax and other running costs if it's a massive gaff. These costs shouldn't fall on the other two - I suspect the mother knew this and it is why the sister wasn't given a life interest in the property.

It's really obvious it's not a straightforward kindness not to tackle this head on - everyone has to face reality here.

mum died a few months ago, and already trying to evict the sister and cash in, and posting on Mumsnet to get some encouragement along the way. Grim

House is in a poor state of repair. The longer a sale is delayed, the more it's likely to deteriorate, especially with winter coming on, and its value will be reduced. So everyone, including sister, will end up with less. Who benefits from that?

absolutely not. she does have options. she and the other sister want to sell, but there is no evidence she has too. she wants the money.

they can own the house between the 3 of them

she could step down from being executor

she could work up a plan to help her childless, partnerless sister adjust to her new life. Strewth the funeral might only have been a few weeks ago.

but no, get on Mumsnet and get the reddies in. horrible.

perhaps perhaps perhaps

perhaps interest rates hold steady, mortgage rates drop and house prices rise.

op wasnt so worried about maintenance before she saw the pound signs!

Over 20 years of cheap rent, 10 years of no rent and no other contribution. Room in a shared place here with share of bills is easily £600 a month. Thats 72k for the 10 years plus maybe another 96k for the 20 years before that assuming contribution of c£200. Not adjusted for inflation but also doesnt allow from how much the sister could have made with interest etc or saving on moving costs. Gives a high-level indication of how much the sister could have saved.

The sister sounds to have had an easy ride over the years, paying very little and nothing now, she could have claimed that caring for their mother was her 'rent' but now she has no such claim to a free house. Legal advice and action is needed if she's blocking the sale, maybe explain to her that her share would be reduced if solicitors are involved.

The maintenance matters because the council can force people to bring properties up to a certain standard if they fall into certain states of disrepair. As the legal owner, the OP will be on the hook for this. Would you potentially want a bill of thousands hanging over your head?

How do you foresee them owning between the 3 of them? Who pays the general bills? Who sorts out the repairs? The house sitting sister has little income? Do you expect the 2 siblings who lose out on the inheritance to foot the bills as well? They have probably scrimped and saved to be in the position of having their own homes, whilst sister has been living pretty much rent free for her whole life

Are you the sister?

Because except in the case of proper, existing trenancies, homes have to be sold with vacant possession and this one is anything but vacant

Until she's out of there any solicitor would advise prospective purchasers to run a mile, and that's if she's not already frightened them off with "Oooo didn't they tell you about the dry rot?" and the like

Edited to add that some have mentioned there wouldn't have been a house to sell had the sister not been her mum's carer, and often that would be true.
However OP said she died only "a few months ago" and that the sister became a carer "at the end of her life" so not sure it applies here