Update to AIBU to refuse Aunt's fwb claim on her estate.

[Sleepneededprettyplease]

Posting here because it is where I put the first thread.

A brief summery is that my Aunt died and her FWB is trying to say that he is entitled to part of her estate because she had asked me to allow him to stay in a house she had invested in for me. Anyway if you want the full story feel free to read what I put on the first thread.

Anyway the main thing is that he is now sueing in the courts. I need a bit of a hand hold please. My lawyers have suggested getting a barristers opinion so I am just waiting for that. I wouldn't even mind if it was possible to just go to mediation but he wants the house for the rest of his life and won't consider anything else.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5505433-aibu-to-refuse-aunts-fwb-claim-on-her-estate?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

Is that the same as the early dismissal my lawyers were talking of? I will ask them about this.

People always say home insurance on these threads but they rarely cover stuff like this. The insurance companies couldn’t afford to offer it for £150 a year or whatever it if customers could access tens of thousands of pounds for legal fees whenever they needed to.

@Sleepneededprettyplease the advice from your lawyer surprises me. Do you really need to waste money on a barrister at this point?
He's suing you but claiming to be a dependant of your aunt. It is your house (being gifted is irrelevant) that you have allowed him to live in whilst she was alive. Surely any case against you would have to be around a de facto tenancy i.e. without a formal agreement?
Which would need to be resolved via end of tenancy notice/eviction processes. Suggest you check that out without delay so if that's the case you can give him Section 8 notice before it no longer exists from 1 May.

The stupid thing is he won't take money. I would be willing to pay him off in reason. Say a years commercial rent as a lump sum or something. He however wants the house and I won't budge on that.

Presumably lawyers know he won’t win, and won’t want to waste time on a frivolous case?

A fair chunk certainly. Hopefully not the whole lot. It has already cost in the thousands.

He is deluded. He wants the house. Hasn't even talked money or bitten when there was a maybe.

If he has lawyers who are accepting deferred payment maybe they think he has a solid case?

Is he sitting on some evidence - written communication from your aunt that it was her intention and will that he be housed in that property for the foreseeable?

I don't know that they would take precedent over a will however? But if he can prove he is a dependent does that mean he has a case? In the same way that children / spouses presumably can't be excluded from wills if they have a history of financial dependency on the deceased?

I really don't know, just throwing out potential issues/ questions.

I don't know how much the house was worth it was probably 15 to 20 years ago so houses were cheaper but he said the case was never settled so no one won or lost but he said there was no money left so they both walked away with nothing. It sounded like spite really,, the other person just didn't want him to get the money. It was a colleague so I don't know the details just know he was broken by it.

We already have the court approval to evict him in a few months. He actually agreed to this before it was to be heard in court in return for a bit longer. The papers have been court approved and everything.

The barrister opinion is on a minor detail to check it can't derail things.

If you’ve offered a settlement and he’s refused it, that will count against him if the court rules in your favour.

Well seeing as he has had to put in his evidence when he filed none of it seems strong to my lawyer. They still aren't worried. A few statements from friends saying they thought it was to be their (him and my aunt) home together. I have already proved that my aunt didn't live their though. Bank statements showing he is dreadful with money and spent about 80 grand in the past few years living beyond his means.

I don't understand how it works to be honest but he said that the rest of his money is mostly owed to his lawyer.

Only a few years ago and there is quite a lot of equity. The lawyers fees will certainly eat into it though.

He might be going down the financial dependency route and I don't know... possibly if he was always been terrible with money and subsequently reliant on her maybe that unfortunately strengthens his case?

Not formal so it doesn't count but the lawyers said meditation wouldn't work until he was more realistic.

He is claiming dependency but she didn't give him money so it is just the housing which technically came from me.

Op I read your op he’s being a twat entitlement at best. I can’t believe he’s still trying it on tbh. He is obviously delusional I hope you get it sorted out soon before he costs you even more money. People like this make me sick they just think they can do whatever they want and fuck everyone else. Greedy bastard.

Who owned the house during your aunt's lifetime - did you have legal title when she was still alive?

I don't think it technically matters whether cash changed hands or not just that he was being maintained in some way on an enduring basis. But if you had legal title before your aunt's death he probably has less of a claim.

I held legal title. My aunt bought the house in my name as an investment/ attempt to reduce inheritance tax. She however retained some benefit.

It sounds like if she still held beneficial interest and a trust arrangement she could potentially still be considered the true economic owner, especially if she was working an angle on the tax side of things.

If he can prove dependency the courts would have to try to prevent him from becoming homeless perhaps. I don't think that would change your ownership but he may gain the right to live there for a period of time.

I think I'd be taking very seriously the fact that he has lawyers who are happy to have deferred payment - to my mind that suggests they feel quite confident and there's a bit of a red flag there for you?

The size of the estate and your existing financial and housing circumstances might also come into it, perhaps?

I guess if there was a huge estate the courts might feel that it is reasonable that he can continue to be housed as he was previously?

It is why I am worried. My lawyers don't seem to think he has a leg to stand on and yet...

The cheeky fuckery of the man, he didn't even live with your Aunt. Since he had independant means at one point, but claims to be broke now, could your lawyer bring that up in court since he refuses to make any financial disclosures?

He’s unlikely to find a good lawyer unless he pays upfront. This is not a standard ‘no win no fee’ insurance claim. I’d be surprised if it gets very far. He was not married to her, is not a blood relative and is not named as a beneficiary of her estate, so he has no basis for a claim that can stand up to scrutiny.