My gran died without leaving a will

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My gran passed away 7 years ago without leaving a will, however she stated clearly while she was in the hospice that my aunt should have my gran’s house (she had already been living with my gran before she died). The problem now is my mum (my gran’s daughter) is experiencing financial difficulties and could really do with her share of the house (as the law still states that it should be split equally amongst the deceased children), however this is causing tension within the family as the other brothers and sisters are saying that she should be respecting her mums wishes and let my aunt have it. To make matters worse, my aunt is neglecting the house and my mum is watching her inheritance go down the drain! What is the right thing for my mum to do in this situation?

Your gran clearly stated that she wanted the aunt to have the house so whatever the legal stand point, morally this is not your mum's money and she need to sort her financial difficulties out in another way. Even if legally she can force a sale and get her "share" she stands to make her sister homeless and isolate herself from her family. Is this really worth it for a few grand?

It’s been 7 years. I think if your mum had an issue she needed to raise it earlier -

If you are all clear that Gran wanted Aunt to have the house why are you considering selling? It was your Gran's house and her choice to leave it to Aunt. I think, if this truly is clear to you all then going against it, if it's against Aunt's wishes, is poor.

If your mum pushes this further she’s likely to have a huge fall out with her siblings. Your aunt doubtlessly supported your gran the most having lived with her. Can you not help your mum out? It’s not like she’d get a lot anyway. A bit of money and a lifelong feud with siblings.

By the time the sale of a 75k house is forced, split between the siblings, legal fees paid and an aunt made homeless....is it really worth it??

7 years?! You need to see a solicitor to unwind this mess.

As a family, your mum and her siblings will need to consult a solicitor anyway. The intestacy laws are very clear - the estate will be valued and divided equally between the living adult children of your gran. Should any of your gran's children die, their share goes to any children they might have. Legalities will have to be observed to get change of title to the house. However as others have said, there's a moral dilemma here - your gran's wishes - that is something only your mum can resolve in her own mind and act accordingly.

Sounds as though your aunt needs a lawyer to clarify her position and 'everyone else's '

It really isn’t worth pursuing- legal fees will eat up your mother’s share and the family fall out will be immense. It doesn’t sound like the estate was really administered properly if the property is still in your gran’s name. If your mum disagreed with the distribution she should have challenged it at the time. Presumably she agreed to it for a reason and to try and being this up now will inevitably cause a great deal of stress for everyone involved.

Was your mum happy with the agreement seven years ago? If she's having financial difficulties could she move in with your aunt? Then she could help maintain the house if she's concerned about the disrepair.

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I think your Aunt would be considered a dependant (of your Grans) and therefore have some legal rights to stay in the house.
As Gran clearly stated she wanted Aunt to have the house, even if it wasn't written down, and everyone seems to have accepted this for 7 years I doubt your mum will get very far with her claim.
I think getting an hour with a solicitor won't clarify this, they will want to spend a few thousand pounds of your money looking into this, and will probably tell you there is a case in your first meeting so they can get you as a client, but then it will come to nothing and you will have a large bill to pay (bitter experience, not in this area of law though).
My local university does free drop in law clinics and maybe the CAB might be able to help?
Your Mum might have to drop this and find another way of getting some money.

Your Mam sounds really grabby. This was 7years ago and all your auntie and uncles respected your grans wishes your Mam needs to do the same

It's not "your mum's inheritance" if she has any shred of decency. If your gran had wanted it to be her inheritance she would not have made it clear that she wanted your aunt to have the house. As others have said if your mum starts some kind of legal claim it may very well end up with your aunt being homeless, nobody getting much money - it will all go on legal fees - and a lot of people who will probably never speak to each other again. Is that really what you want to encourage her to do?

Assuming this was in England and your gran had no spouse, her property should have been transferred between her beneficiaries at the time of death which would be her children. I would get a solicitor involved to take care of that bit at least so that the property is in the children’s name. No one can sell the house or rent it or do anything with it (like leave it to someone else) until that is sorted. Your mother could force the sale but it is a bit mean. Could your aunt get a mortgage and buy her out?

If you decide to take the legal route, by the time solicitors fees are deducted you're probably going to end up with £10k each and a homeless aunt.

Unless your gran left something in writing declaring the house to be sold and the proceeds divided I would leave the situation as it is.

From your post it sounds like your aunt had moved into the house and been your gran's carer? Your grans wishes should be respected, especially as the other siblings agree with them.

Even if your gran died intestate, someone would have had to deal with her affairs. If your mum was going to challenge what happened to your gran’s estate she should have done it earlier; seven years is a long time. Someone upthread mentioned that £75k divided by x siblings minus solicitor’s fees equals not very much.

Legally, if someone dies without a valid will or any will, and no living spouse, their estate is divided equally between their children. If the children wish to vary this so that one inherits more or all, they must complete a Deed of Variation to the estate,which they all sign, within 2 years of the death.
This has not happened so your aunt can not now inherit your grandma's house. All that can happen is the siblings can agree that she can live in it or that they will give her their share of it- they, not your grandma. Your mum now owns a share of the house- but there is paperwork to complete because your gran didn't have a will.
Your mum can force a sale but needs to think if it is worth what she will lose - her relationship with her siblings- for what sounds like a small amount of money. If there are 5 children in total, their share will be £15,000 each before the fees for sorting out the intestacy and ownership and then the fees for the sale and solicitors fees for 5 people, land registry etc. Your mum may get about £10,000 max, possibly less.
Could her share be bought by her brothers and sisters between them and they can then give the house to their sister if they wish? Or could the sister buy your mum's share with a small mortgage?

I struggle to see any judge signing an eviction order for your aunt, 7 years after your gran died, when all parties agree that it was your gran's wishes, and the inheritance would be too small to secure housing for your aunt

There was a case like this years ago where a man had helped out and lived on a relatives farm. Had been promised the farm but no will. So when he died closer relatives tried to claim and a judge found in favour of the person who had lived at and worked unpaid on the farm.

So your aunt could still end up with the house if she fights it and your mum just have a legal bill and a family feud.

All of that falling out with people for a small cut of £75K? Immoral, grabby and probably not worth it at all.

Sounds like at the time your mum accepted Auntie getting the house. 7 years on and a bit of financial bother she's trying to muscle in on the house.

Are you sure the house hasn't already been transferred into Aunties name, purchased from the estate for a tenner?
Who's been paying for council tax, maintenance and up keep for the last 7 years?

Really your mum should find another way to sort her financial issues. I also think the amount of bad feeling it will create between the siblings just isn't worth it.

Legally she probably has a claim to a percentage, I wouldn't expect auntie to have to sell up unless everyone wanted their share but I couldn't let my sister suffer financially either. I would happily let auntie stay in the house, I assume she pays all the bills but would ask if I could have my share of the property in cash. Id also want something in writing about what happens to the house when auntie dies.

One major factor is that the house needs to be properly registered on the land registry, and obviously it isn't, if it's still in the gran's name. This should all have been sorted out after her death. There are rules as to who gets what after someone dies intestate, but I dare say they can be overruled (like in a Deed of Variation) IF all those who are entitled to inherit anything agree.
OP, you do really need to see a solicitor.
And once it's all sorted out, please get the aunt to make a will!