Anyone advise re DM's legal position?

[Ruffian]

DM bought a house 30 years ago with her Sister/my Aunt. They both owned a half share of the house and converted it loosely into two flats upstairs and downstairs.

My Aunt passed away last year and left her estate to her 3 children. The only thing she had of value was the house.

What is DM's legal position now wrt to the house? Do my cousins have the same rights as she does - are they considered equal owners or does it depend on the wording of the Will? Can they force DM to sell so they can get the money?

If your mother and her sister were tenants in common they each owned half the house. If that was the case, your mother still owns half the house. Your cousins each own one sixth of the house. They can try to force a sale through the courts assuming your mother is not in a position to buy them out. That does not necessarily mean they would succeed. If they go down that route your mother should seek proper legal advice.

If your mother and her sister were joint tenants the house now belongs entirely to your mother. Your aunt's share did not form part of her estate so your cousins have no claim on the house.

Thanks prh47bridge - they must have been tennants in common as there is no doubt that my cousins have been left half the house.

So legally they might have the right to sell the house without her consent? It's not an issue at the moment but I just think it's best to know exactly where she stands.

She doesn't have the money to buy them out unfortunately. She does intend to sell when she is up to it - she suffered with anxiety and depression when my Aunt died and is just beginning to feel better but a move is of course very daunting.

It's also possible that I could sell my house and use the money to buy my cousins out but I don't want to be pressured into it as it would be daunting for me too!

So legally they might have the right to sell the house without her consent

Only if the court agrees to order a sale of the house. Without a court order they cannot force a sale.

I would check ownership of the house. It is not uncommon for people to misunderstand and believe they can leave half the house to their heirs when they are in fact joint tenants. It may be that everyone thinks your aunt has left half the house to her children when in fact there was nothing for her to leave.

It was definitely half share each - they were quite precise about doing it that way to make sure that when either one died they would be able to leave their share to their children. One of my cousins is Executor so I assume they know exactly what is in the will.

I'm just a bit concerned that they are getting impatient to have the will over and done with and losing site of the fact that it involves DM's home. It's reassuring to know it would be a court process anyway as I highly doubt they would want to spend money on that.

If the house has been converted into two flats, can you not get that formally recognised (planning, land registry etc)? That way the cousins can just sell the flat they’ve inherited and your DM still owns hers.

Have you checked the terms of the lease? Did the agreement give any instructions in the event of one predeceasing the other they can remain in the property.

They haven't been structurally converted - the utilities are separate and there are kitchens and bathrooms up and down but otherwise it is just a normal layout for a house.

Separating it would mean my DM would lose access to the garden and an Estate Agent she had round for valuation said it was worth more as a house than 2 flats as there is a glut of flats in the area.

Whether she owned as tenants in common or as joint tenants would be in the documents from when they bought it, not in the will.

It is worrying that they are agitating about it, and I guess there will be expense on half the house now: share of council tax/ utilities etc.

Gear up OP: if your cousins can’t liquidate the asset they may well try and charge your Mum rent on their half.

Unless the Will said your Mum (and reciprocally aunt) could stay until the end of her life, depending on who was left?

I would check your Mum’s documents from when she bought, and the will.

Wills are a matter of public record: you can look it up.

I take it that it wasn't two separate properties. If there was no clause in the agreement when they bought the house I think your aunt's relatives would have the right to have the house sold and ask for half the proceeds. Were they paying council tax on two separate properties.

Having gone through the process of legally separating a property into two, I personally wouldn’t recommend it unless you have to - we had to when my Mum died. I had to apply for a planning certificate, for which I had to prove it had been used as a separate property for at least four years (I think), get separate utilities supplies and meters installed (most nightmarish planning and project management of my life), get plans drawn up, then apply to have the deeds split which took over 6 months from the point of application. We also had to pay a lawyer to deal with all the paperwork. It cost us nearly £8k in total to do all this so it’s not a cheap and easy option, but it is an option.

Council tax is separated as well and cousin has said they will become liable to pay it from next month.

slackpanther if they try to charge rent wouldn't they incur red tape and tax issues as landlords?

Re Rec Tape: probably!

But they won’t be wanting to pay the bills, like Council Tax, will they?

What about insurance? Buildings and contents?

If the council tax is done seperately, is it two addresses, as if it were one flat?

Have you actually seen the will? I would ask your cousin for sight of it. It might be stated that dm can live there. My friend inherited her df share of a house but it is clearly stated only once x dies or moves.

If it were me, I'd be taking a much closer look at your Mother's purchase documents and at your Aunt's will, as they must have foreseen that there would be problems at the first death, which they might have made some provision for.
Don't be too trusting of your cousins, as they will be giving their own best interests priority.

I haven't seen it, no. Apparently I can order a copy for £10 through the Gov site.

That probably won't tell you if there was any agreement between them , just the ownership.

Yes Ada, that's what i'm worried about really. They were patient initially as my Mother was quite ill with anxiety after my Aunt died - she had already lost her other Sister less than a year before - but from email contact I've had with the executor cousin I sense they are getting impatient and might start quoting legal stuff to put the pressure on. That's why I wanted to find out exactly what rights they had and she has.

I don't think they really thought much about what would happen when one of them died - just probably some vague idea that the survivor would sell up and move into a flat. That was an ok plan for someone in their 50's/60's but not so great for someone in their mid-80's.

I'd check the ownership at the Land Registry if I were you, £3 for the official copy (no plan) and that will tell you for sure how the property was owned as between your mum and aunt.

I think you need a solicitor to sort this out. Your relatives won't want to pay council tax on an empty property. Would it be an option for them to rent their half out for the time being and at least the tenant could pay it. But that probably would work if the two properties aren't completely separate.

Even if they hadn't wanted to consider it a good solicitor would have. Do you know who they may have used, whoever wrote the will perhaps?

My Mother's going to get her documents out tomorrow so I can have a look but I don't have any doubt that they owned it together and had a right to leave their half in a will.

Not sure LIZS, I'll see if DM knows. DM has said her will is one of those WH Smith Forms so it's possible my Aunt did the same, she was famously thrifty!

I don't think anyone can advise you without (you) seeing both the will and the deeds to see how they owned it and what the exact bequest was.

If inheritance tax is involved at all, HMRC are also keen to get their share so that might be an additional pressure.