House sale, 3 adult children, 1 with nowhere to go

[MakeMineALarge1]

So MIL passed away, she had 3 children ( all children 50 yrs +), I am married to one of them
Adult 1 - I am married to, both him and me in good jobs, 1 dependant child
Adult 2 - Single, decent job, mortgage free
Adult 3 - Single - never had a real job, works hard but plays hard and has never settled down, spend half the year skiing and then comes back lives with mum and goes back again in the winter

MIL passed away, house being kept on as if sold, child 3 will effectively be homeless ( they do have 2 children who both have homes and lots of friends, so wouldn't be on the street ) but he cannot buy the other 2 out and cannot afford to keep the house on his self - the house isn't worth a great deal, say £180,000 ball park figure, so if sold and split equally only £60,000 each, which wouldn't be enough to buy him a place, but would cover rent for a good while until i presume benefits kick in?

Adult 1 and 3 are not pushing for the sale and they will not see number 3 homeless, but this can't go on forever ( its all very recent) I am not getting involved, but would be interested in knowing what others think.

Also this situation very much mirrors my own family with my sibling being very much like adult 3 and I may be facing this conundrum in the future.

The house needs to be sold.

If he is obstructive then tell him the sale will be forced and all costs will be deducted from his share which will leave him with very little.

It's in his best interest to sell. He can then use his £60k to do what he wants. Buy a studio flat perhaps.

As the MIL very sensibly made a will and her assets are to be shared equally between her adult children, there's fuck all the sponger can do about it. The terms of the will need to be followed which means the house must be sold so that the assets can be shared equally.

It's an absolute piss take - @MakeMineALarge1 don't feel guilt tripped about the fact that this man will have to move out. He's clearly had a massive financial advantage already, living for free rather than paying his way. Time for him to live in the real world.

Meant to add: the freeloader will probably already be getting a taste of 'adulting' because all of the MIL's bank accounts and finances will have been frozen and untouchable since she died, so the freeloader will be having to pay council tax, utilities and everything else out of his own money.

@MakeMineALarge1 don't be guilt tripped by the fact that the freeloader provider company for MIL. At the absolute best, if we're being really charitable, it was a mutually convenient arrangement which has now ended with her death. I think in reality though, providing a bit of company is a small price to pay for basically not having to pay full rent and bills on his own place in the U.K. to return to when he's not swanning off abroad.

What àbout sibling 3 using his share of the house sale to buy a shared ownership property, I know someone who has done this, with less than £60,000, pays a smallish rent, and has the security of part ownership.

You don't have to wait for probate to put the house on the market, though you'll need to take steps to ensure BIL can't sabotage any sale.

I don’t understand how someone, who has large cash amount in the bank can be classified as homeless or “OP takes away roof over his head”. It his choice, not OP’s. If house is worth 180, it’s likely flat will cost £100k, even is his age and on minimum wage he can take mortgage.

I'm in 2 minds with this.
My friend works but is on very low pay and has chronic health conditions. If she suddenly found herself homeless, she would really struggle. Yet it wouldn't be her fault. She does work but doesn't earn enough and is single. I don't think that means she should be judged and I can think of a lot of my own friends would also struggle if their partners left them. We are in London which means rent and housing is extortionate.

Tbf to the OP it’s her dh’s responsibility not hers.
she can try and persuade her DH that’s all.

we have a not dissimilar situation going on due to the death of a relative of DH. No freeloader relatives thankfully but some awkwardness. I’d like to butt in and sort it but it’s not my business.

if the Will makes it clear that the assets should be shared it’s clear cut IMO.
and as pp said nobody will be “homeless”.

@PinkRiceKrispies it doesn't sound like the person in the OP's case is struggling. He goes off skiing 6 months a year and has a convenient place to live rent free during his time back in the U.K.!

And even in cases where one person is on a low income, or has some perceived disadvantage to their siblings, it doesn't really justify the siblings feeling guilty or that they somehow 'owe' the other person something. Circumstances change; perhaps the OP's husband might find himself sick, or made redundant, or some other life changing circumstance could happen to them in future.

I agree it's the OP's DH who needs to drive this (not her) but he shouldn't feel any guilt over simply abiding by his mother's wishes that her estate be shared equally among her children. If it's written in her will there's nothing else to be done anyway and if freeloader brother tried to hold up the house sale he'd no doubt find himself in a far worse position financially anyway because the other beneficiaries could take action. A person can't just block someone's will being actioned! Even if the sibling were to go as far as to contest it, it would be a pointless and costly exercise for him as no way would he win

All very salient posts/views. I agree not my place to be driving this.
I am trying to stay out it, difficult though when it does affect me and my children could benefit from that money, one of whom is saving for a deposit.

£60k would get him a good % of a SO property in an area where houses are £180. He might not need a mortgage and would have a cheap (ish) rent.

And if he loses his job he will be intitled to HB on the rent.

No chance of your DC wanting to take on a joint mortgage to live with their uncle?

I'm only half joking. It's possibly not the worst idea ever and would solve a few problems.

No my daughter doesn't want to move in with her uncle.

The house needs a lot of work doing to it and I mean a lot so, it just needs to go and go quickly

This really isn't a difficult situation though I appreciate it may feel like it.

If your MIL has left her estate to be split equally between her 3 children, then that has to be followed. Any attempt by one child to delay or block will only result in them putting their inheritance at risk because they could end up being financially penalised. The house now belongs to all 3 adult children. That's the law.

I hope your dh shrugs off any misplaced guilt and pushes ahead with the sale. He needs to shift his mindset from feeling in any way responsible for his sibling's life choices and look at it from the point of view that for years now this sibling has had a huge advantage living rent free. He's not being 'made homeless,' he's just having to do what your dh and the other sibling have been doing: paying his way.

If the house is worth 180k his share of 6Ok represents a third of the house's value. That is a good deposit. Could he not buy the other siblings out? This would release their inheritance without trying to get brother out. Would also save the trouble of putting it on the market and selling it. He would only need a mortgage of £120k and with a third deposit and he is working might be a possibility. If the house needs work before it's worth £180k the other siblings could make allowance for that as if selling the work would have to be done before selling which means outlay before you get any inheritance. Would it be worth making the suguestion that your DH and othe sibling would give an extra £5k each to Jim in recognition of the work which would need doing to sell? That way you get your inheritance, you don't have to get him out and whether the work gets done or not is his problem.