Siblings and inheritance

[ShawleyNot]

Posting for advice/opinions/ anything really. My dad passed away many years ago and everything went to mum. My sister (plus her husband and two children) moved back to the family home during lockdown - was supposed to be temporary but became permanent. They moved for financial reasons at the time but since found jobs and are earning money... and just stayed, it worked for them so no one questioned it.
My mum passed away earlier this week and the Will says that everything is split between me and my sister. There's not a lot apart from the house, but she is insisting that mum wanted her to have it and live in it and we can't sell it.
What rights do I have? On one hand id feel completely awful to kick her out, on the other hand she can afford to rent or her half if we sold it would pay for a sizeable deposit, but she's insisting she needs to stay.
I don't "need" the money but we're not particularly well off.

Half the house is yours.
She can get a mortgage to buy your house out, or she can move out and take half the money from the sale, or if you want to become a landlord you can rent her your half - but you're under no obligation to do so.
Full stop.

she is insisting that mum wanted her to have it and live in it and we can't sell it.

if that were the case, it would have been left solely to her.

I'd say a hard no to renting. I've seen at least two bad situations on here where the sibling in the house; 1) stopped paying rent, or 2) wouldn't move out later when financial situation changed for the sibling. Plus it'll be preferential rent, an expectation that you pay to do up her house etc etc. Deal with the problem once only by selling her your half. If she won't buy it, that's on her. If they can't afford a mortgage then they.wouldn't be able to afford the rent either.

Don't get into a renting situation OP. Who would pay for house maintenance costs? How would you manage a dispute if you have different views on the nature or scope of work or who to use to carry it out? What if your sister refuses to pay for maintenance costs? What if your sister says she'll handle this side of things and then expects to have the house upgraded in ways to suit her with you paying half?

Renting could be a nightmare.

Even if she destroys the will, won't the starting point be 50/50 to each sister?

(Not a lawyer/solicitor)

Seek legal advice and tell her so.

She's purposely making sure she gains whilst you miss out on what you're entitled to.

If only things were as simple as some posts in this thread seem to suggest. You need to see a solicitor and get legal advice in order to make sure you get your argument in line first and potentially avoid a problematic situation.

Your DS is already in residence, the title of the house will pass to both of you as tennants in common on the land registry, split 50/50 unless otherwise stipulated.

If your sister refused to move you could go to court for an order for sale, which is normally granted unless your sister made a good argument against.

If she engages a solicitor they would likely be looking to see if there is a case for proprietary estoppel in her favour.

This would require her to demonstrate that a promise was made to her (which can be verbal, not written), that she acted in some way to her detriment, financially or otherwise by living there (ie did she provide care/support during covid) and did she come to rely on that promise.

Its then up to a judge to rule on the case, this may be over-riding the will and granting her the property, or leaving it 50/50 but giving her leave to remain, rent free or at an agreed rent. or of course finding against and making an order for sale.

She is resident in the house, and owns half of it, so any idea of asking her to naff off is naive unless she is not that clued up herself.

You just have to hope that she can be persuaded to do so before talking to a halfway competent solicitor, otherwise its the long haul!!

I would just say that you stick to the will. Say you'll get three independent valuations, pick the middle one and she can buy your half of that. Otherwise it goes on the market.

@frozencarlotta

Starting point would be 50/50 between living children

Get legal advice immediately. Depending on the value of the property there may actually mean that there is inheritance tax to pay as well and it might not be as simple as your sister buying you out.

I am so sorry for your loss but equally if not more sorry that you are being put in this awful situation by your sister. It is very telling that she has already laid out her cards! I disagree with another poster who said to leave it a few weeks. I suggest nipping it in the bud immediately.

I am so sorry about your Mum @ShawleyNot

I do, however, think this shouldn't wait until after the funeral, to see a solicitor. Where is the original Will ( not a plain copy, but the original)? This matters - and even more importantly, who is the Executor? If a solicitor is the Executor, there is unlikely to be a problem, because the Solicitor will be dealing with the Will and will do so exactly as the will stipulates. If your sister has the original Will AND she is sole Executor, then you really need to see a Solicitor as soon as you can.

Unfortunately, inheritance after a death causes major, long-term relationship problems, within families, far more often than you might realise. My sister went into my Mum's House and helped herself to many things she wanted, even although I was the Executor and asked her not to, because I had the responsibility of making sure some of the (possibly valuable) books and paintings were properly accounted for, and the gifts listed in my Mother's Will went to the right people

Please, please -I know how hard it is when you are dealing with a death of a loved one, already - but speak to a Solicitor as soon as possible

Sorry you lost your Mum, OP.

It must be a terrible blow for your sister, but that is the circumstance she found herself in and the risk of moving into your Mum’s house.

What is your own living situation? Your DSis is being outrageous if she thinks it OK for you to rent a home while she lives rent and mortgage free in a house that was willed to both of you!

You say your half would be a good deposit so I assume you don’t currently own? There are significant disadvantages to you should you choose to rent your half to your DSis. You would lose your first time buyer advantages (stamp duty relief) when you did come to buy, and as the house is not your residence you would be liable for Capital Gains Tax when / if you sell.

So I would say tactfully but calmly to your DSis and BIL that now they have jobs etc they could look at buying you out, or say ‘if we sell we can both get the deposit and head start on the houses that suit us best’.

Tell her you know it is a wrench for her because she has lived in the house but your Mum treated you both equally and you can’t let your own family rent while she stays.

But don’t start pushing practicalities or rushing her yet. Nothing can happen til you have probate anyway.

The question then is how it gets to the market, if the sister says I don't want to sell my half, then it can't be marketed as no estate agent will touch it. It also potentially devalues the OPs half to £0 notionally as it can't be sold.

The remedy in that case is for the OP to go to court for an "order for sale" which would force the sister to sell her chunk, unless of course she makes a convincing counter argument, even if ordered to leave she could play it out until eviction, and realistically it can't be marketed if you have someone refusing to leave as it won't conveyance unless the buyer is willing to accept the sitting resident and costs to get them out.

If neither sister lived in the house the situation would be much, much simpler - as it stands she is in residence, she might leave if asked nicely, or she could wait it out and it will be a court decision.

You say you don't need the money. I think it's a bit shit to kick your sister and her family out for pure financial gain.

Do you have children?

DO NOT RENT - because in addition to what this poster says - you'll need to pay tax on the rent AND you have some liability for upkeep of the property.

As others say - keep it legal. She buys you out or the house gets sold.

The thing that's been tugging at my heartstrings is that she said "mum wanted me to have it until the kids were older".

@ShawleyNot - to add to my previous post, I should have said, it is possible that your Mother never said this at all and your sister knows how to play you. IF she did say something like this, my immediate thought would be that what your Mother probably said was something along the lines of telling your sister that it would be good for her and her children, to stay with Your Mum until the children are older. Your Mum may have been thinking that she would still be around herself. And maybe your Mum was enjoying the company, and having someone around who might be able to help her as she got older? Which, sadly, is no longer the case

Your Mum didn't change her will, after all! What age was she?

Yes correct that a person can make a claim if they were relying on someone (ie living with them) and they were left out of a Will but here your sister has been left half the house so that shouldn’t apply.

She needs to buy you out of your half if she wants to stay put. If she can’t do that the house has to be sold she can use her half of the sale proceeds towards her housing

But thats her estoppel claim right there..

mum wanted me to have the house....she made a promise

I moved in with mum during a difficult time and supported her... my detriment

Its my home now... I came to rely on the promise

Oh and its the kids home too my lud.

all three of the requirements for a claim met, plus some emotional baggage, would it be successful, maybe, maybe not, you really, really don't want it to get to that if you can solve things a better, more amicable and less costly way.

My advice would be find a good probate solicitor and make it her problem then she can be the “bad guy” putting the Will into effect and not you.

The sister doesnt need the money either- both her and her partner have jobs. Its a bit shit of her sister to suggest she gets ALL of her mother's estate and her sister gets absolutely nothing- how is that fair? Most parents want their estate divided equally, not everything going to one and other child left out completely and if the mum did truly want this then WHY isnt it in her will? Or, are we just ignoring legally written wills now and going on the words of someone who stands to gain everything?

that claim would be very weak. The will is a legal document reflecting mums wishes. If mum had wanted to leave the house to sister she would have.

Courts are reluctant to override a properly drafted Will made by a testator with capacity. Also sister has hardly been left out like an orphan in the storm - she will get half the property!

I don't disagree, its a weak claim, but a claim none the less - my point is that the sister in residence doesn't have to go quietly as some posters suggest - she can make it bloody awkward and protracted.

This will end up costing her financially if she's not careful.

My advice as per my first post is to see a solicitor ASAP, the most equitable solution in my mind is for the sister to take a mortgage to buy out the OPs interest in the house, which as she and her DH are employed and have 50% equity should be no issue, this is of course ignoring potential inheritance tax which may/may not be an issue.

Sorry for your loss. Your sister and her husband are now in exactly the same position as any other couple who have to house themselves and their children, except that they will have a substantial sum of money to put down as a deposit. Presumably they will have been able to save some money while working and not paying rent?

@mangochops yeah you're right. I just couldn't imagine arguing over money with family.

depends if you want any relationship with her moving forward, but you could say well I'm moving in now as its half mine or we sell it - your choice

Well if you don't want to have to kick her out, then at the very least she should be paying you half of the current rental value each month, until such time as she either buys out your half at whatever the market rate is by then, or you agree to sell it. She can't just live in it for nothing long term, denying you access to your share of the value.