Would Appreciate any Advice Please.

[Topseyt]

I just need some pointers please, and am hoping that this is the place.

The scenario is this:

A person makes a will, and leaves their house to their three children when they die. They do not stipulate in the will that the house should be sold, just leave it that title passes equally to the three remaining children (all now adults).

In practical terms, in order for all of the three "children" and their families to benefit from the inheritance the obvious and most sensible solution is to sell the house, take off all costs and divide equally three ways.

What would the legal situation be if one of those "children" decided to move into the house, refusing to leave and so obstructing the sale?

Where would the other two stand legally on this? Can court orders be obtained to oust someone who will have one third title to the property?

I am describing a hypothetical situation at the moment, but it is one that we may possibly find ourselves in in the near future (hoping to be proved wrong there). We want to keep as much family harmony as possible.

I'm not a legal person but I believe if the will does not specify that the occupier can live there then it can be sold but if the owners can't agree it might have to go to court and would cost ££££.
I believe mumblechum is a mums netter who is a legal bod and does wills as her day job.

That is what we are concerned about. Hope mumblechum notices this then.

I'm just trying to be prepared as much as possible for a situation IF it should occur in the future (and I know the characters concerned very well indeed).

Who are the executors? They have a legal duty to maximise the value of the estate and execute the testator's wishes in accordance with the will.

If the person (let's call him A) who is likely to move in, does so on the testators's death, and is an executor, then that is likely to be in contravention of his duty to the other beneficiaries.

If there is a disagreement about whether the house should be sold and A sticks his heels in and refuses either to move out, pay rent, and/or buy out the other beneficiaries (all of these options should be explored first), then the other beneficiaries and the other executors will have to make an application to the court for an order for sale. The costs will be considerable and may not come out of the estate.

If it would be possible for you to raise this sensitively with the testator then you should do so, suggesting that they add a codicil to their will specifying that they wish the house to be sold. The chances are that the standard wording "I give my residuary estate to my trustees to retain or sell...." is in at the moment, so a quick codicil specifying that their wish is that the house be sold on the open market and the net proceeds divided equally would get around the problem.

Thank you mumblechum1. "A" is fortunately not an executor. The executors are my husband and his sister. "A" is their brother and known to be volatile.

Unfortunately the testator (their mum) is now terminally ill and at present declining quickly, so raising the issue again looks unlikely now. She is currently in hospital, and with some signs that cognitive powers may be becoming impaired, which would complicate matters anyway.

We are hoping that "A" simply decides he wants his money and everything can thus go ahead as planned. That would be logical, but he isn't always logical.

I don't know the exact wording of the will. My husband has seen it, but I haven't. I may ask him this evening. I guess you are probably right in surmising that it is probably standard though.

We will have to hope that common sense prevails. We have only ever talked in terms of the house being sold, so there is hope. However, knowing the way "A"'s mind works, there is always an element of doubt.

Sorry, just come back to say I got part of that wrong. Hubby has just corrected me and said they have all been made joint executors (including "A"). The rest, as far as we know is correct.

The state of health of the testator definitely makes it now look unlikely that any more alterations to the will can happen.