Equity release - 1 parent has died

[PaperHalo]

My FIL and MIL released 50% of the equity on their home some years ago. They can live in it until both pass away. FIL recently passed away. SIL and her husband also live in the house with now just MIL. They are now worrying about what would happen if MIL passed away, SIS and husband would have to move out? The 50% equity would be about £62,500 to buy back I estimate but not sure how such schemes work. SIL and husband both have significant debts and CCJs from previous relationships and so can’t buy the house.
I feel as though my partner and I could afford to buy the house so they can all continue to live there but have no idea how it would work? Would we have to buy the house outright and MIL gift us the equity? Would the equity release company have something to say about it? Can we just buy the difference and MIL keep her 50%???
There is a big difference on the stamp duty from £62,500 to £125,000.
Honestly don’t know where to start...
Does any one have any experience or advice?

Can you find the contract for the equity release agreement and read the terms and conditions?

Your starting point needs to be to establish the precise details about the loan and the terms & conditions.

Most importantly you need to check if they were making monthly interest payments to service the loan, or if the interest was being rolled up and added to the loan, which would mean that there may be a lot less equity left than you think.

If they borrowed 50% of the value of the property then the repayment due will be a lot more than 50%. There may well be very little value in the property once your MIL passes away.
You need to look at the paperwork.

These schemes as very worrying, if it’s been some years then there’s every chance MIL owns very little of the house now. You need to find out the current position to assess your options

My DM took equity release of £30k on her house a few years ago. Her last annual statement showed a balance of £55k. It seems to increase by about £5K annually. It’s a total con. Basically its a secured loan on a property with a massive interest rate. So, when your DM either has to go into care or dies - whichever comes first - the property has to be sold at market value to pay off the debt. If there are others living in the property that are not dependents of the deceased they have to vacate the property.

I know someone’s whose parents realised about 20K a number of years ago. The interest was astronomical. When the bungalow was sold the £20 debt had reached over £100k.

I would guess that the additional cost to pay back the equity released (if even possible) would be a hell of a lot more than it’s probably worth.