Can brother in law force us to sell?

[teaandbuns]

This is long and complicated... apologies in advance, and thanks for reading.

My OH and I bought a house with my mother in law. We paid the mortgage, all bills, looked after everything including her. She provided the deposit through the sale of her own house. Her name was not on the deeds.

Four years on, MIL died. It happened rather suddenly, in late 2017. OH has one brother, resident in the US for donkey's years. They have never been close.

BIL wants his inheritance, which is mostly the proceeds from the sale of their mother's house, and is therefore tied up in our home. She owned about a 36 percent share of the place so we owe him about 18 percent of the total current value. There is no legal paperwork covering any of this (we did consult a solicitor before MIL died but he was making it all so convoluted there wouldn't have been anything left once his fees had been paid) but we are quite clear that we owe BIL that percentage and I don't think there's any argument on that front.

The problem is timing. BIL is well off (owns properties in New York), and as Brexit is obviously knocking the UK economy and house prices, we suggested waiting for things to improve before selling (he would of course benefit from any price improvement). He seemed OK with this at first but has since changed his mind.

We put the house on the market in March, as soon as we realised he didn't in fact want to wait. Things rapidly turned nasty (he doesn't believe we're really trying to sell and keeps suggesting we're up to all sorts, including having forced his mum to sign secret documents in our favour (not the case!)). We remortgaged as much as we could and released £60k, which we offered to give him while we try to raise the rest, but for some reason he refused that. (We owe him about £175k in total.)

He is demanding to be kept in the loop with the estate agents, to know about all viewings etc.

We are at our wits' end. We've never tried to lie or cheat. In fact we worked our bums off getting the house in perfect order for sale. There have been no proceedable offers, and all we're getting is demands to know when he'll be paid. I could of course show him all the emails I exchange with the agents but who is he - who stood back and watched me change his mother's colostomy bag when he visited while she was sick - to decide I can't be trusted and need to prove myself to him? It's bad enough having an unwanted house move hanging over you, plus the worry about where you'll go, without having this man barking demands and accusations from across the pond. You might wonder why if we have nothing to hide we don't just show him the correspondence - but I don't think it would end there. Judging by his behaviour so far, he'd be all over the agents, trying to get the price dropped and running the sale from afar.

We don't have much equity - the house needed a lot of work and we probably paid too much for it - and of course if we do manage to sell we will have to pay stamp duty and moving costs so we'll be limping off with not a lot to show for the last few years.

On top of that we'll be putting our eight-year-old daughter through a house move not long after she lost her live-in grandma - a major bereavement for her as she can't remember a time when they didn't live together and they were very close.

We put the house straight up for sale and have done our best. But all we've had in return is bullying, and it's making us feel like taking the house off the market.

My question is, do we actually HAVE to sell the house right now? The split is roughly 1/5 ownership to BIL vs 4/5 to us, so do we really have to do what he says and be bullied into selling at a terrible time? Even if we sell at the full asking price (which we won't) we'll be losing out a lot. Can he force us to accept a low offer or drop the price until someone eventually buys? What's the state of play?

At the moment we're jumping when BIL says jump - but is that right?

The estate is currently with a different solicitor who is looking after applying for probate, but she represents the estate (and both brothers are executors) so she wouldn't be able to act for us.

We have obviously reached a stage where we do need legal advice and will start looking for another solicitor on Monday. Meanwhile I wondered if anyone could offer their thoughts as I feel like I've read the whole internet and can't find anyone who's in the same situation as us!

Thank you.

If it's down to your goodwill, then he's being rather foolish pissing you off, isn't he?
Has anyone told him this?

OP I think you are doing the right thing in acknowledging the inhertiance due to BIL. Whilst there are those who say "Fuck him" there is written documentation to back up his claim and any dispute over who should receive it will only lead to delay and legal costs that benefit nobody.

Acknowledging he has a right to his inheritance then technically yes, he could force the sale of your home but only through a court order again incurring legal costs, even then I do not believe a court would provide one considering you are actually trying, can prove you are trying and in no way being obstructive.

I think you have been more than resonable in the way you have handled this and BIL is being a dick.
Having said all that, this is a forum and what you really need is appropriate legal advice.

Thanks Bevelino. There's no chance now of a sensible understanding regarding timing as BIL is insisting we sell now - or he'll see us in court. (Not sure what advice he's had that implies he'll have a much of a case, I actually think it's just bluster based on panic that we won't pay him back. Which we will.).

Diddl, no IHT as it's under the threshold. My FIL died years ago and his allowance gets rolled into MIL's.

Based on legal advice I had just the other day from a solicitor about a somewhat similar situation, your BIL has no legal right to a share of the house unless this was all put in writing at the time your mother-in-law gifted you the money for the house or if she specified it in her will, and for that to happen, her name would first have to be on the deeds of ownership, which it is not. But you must consult a solicitor. They are not all arseholes and many will give you free advice since they charge only for 'writing stuff' like legal agreements.

This is bonkers. Why are you doing anything at all? What's he going to do?

They are not all arseholes and many will give you free advice since they charge only for 'writing stuff' like legal agreements.

Can you point me in the direction of one that offers this?

What's your husband's take on this?

'If it was a gift, wouldn't Op & her husband owe inheritance tax on it?'

I would say it was payment for services rather than a gift.

So, there is an invalid will and a 'paper trail' of some sort (letters? written agreements? emails?) between parties (You and BiL?, MiL and BiL? You and MiL?) stating that your BiL is owed a portion of the value of your home when MiL dies. A home that is registered in your names only and has no liens on it regarding this money.

Mum's estate consists of things that she owned, things with her name on them. Since her name was not on your house, she did not have any ownership interest, legally. Your house is not part of her estate. She would have had to file a lien on it to protect the money she gave you, or you and she would have had to enter into some type of contract that upon her death you would pay BiL a certain sum. In essence, the money she gave you would have been a 'life loan', to be repaid to her heirs upon her death.

You need to see a solicitor and fast. On the face of it it sounds as if there is nothing that is legally binding, unless these letters/etc are written in the form of contracts. But if it's just something that says 'When Mum dies, we'll give you some money since she gave us money for our home' then I doubt that a court will uphold his claims. BUT you need expert UK legal advice.

What is the worst he can do if you take your time about paying him his share?

He will obvious continue to be unpleasant but otherwise he would have to take legal action, which is not easy when you are based in another country.

Take the house of the market. Let your BIL try and actually claim for this share. He wants something of you. So the onus is on him to prove he is legally entitled to this share. It will be very, very hard for him to do so in the absence of deeds etc. You are not the ones who need to jump through hoops. Toughen up and stop trying to be the good guys. It makes no difference under the actual law. Grow a spine!

This thread has made me feel anxious. I'm very much in the position of your Brother (in law?) here. My sister and her husband live with my parents and they have stayed I will be entitled to X% of the house value on their death.
I have asked for something to be written up legally but it's always fsismossed, oh your sister and BIL won't shaft you!
This when BIL has said (while under the influence) "what's the big deal, you're the only one with a new Mercedes sitting outside?!"
Happily my parents are both in very good health and I'm hoping I won't have to worry about this for a long time. But reading this thread and seeing some attitudes towards your Brother and I'm concerned!

You hold all the cards. Tell him to be patient or he'll end up with a lot less when it gets to court.

If your bil is threatening court try not to be intimidated as a court will attempt to be fair to both parties. You have demonstrated that you are intending to sell and where there is evidence of you doing so there is not a lot else that can be done as your bil and the court have no control over the property market.

If the timing is not right let the court have clear reasons; and if the Judge agrees they may set a timeframe in which the property should be actively marketed and sold. You would be expected to act reasonably about any offers made.

If bill won’t back down and continues to threaten you with court action he is likely to need his own legal advice, where his lawyer will advise him not only of the strengths of his case, but importantly the weaknesses.

Could you extend the mortgage and pay him his 18% that way?

I'm very much in the position of your Brother (in law?) here. My sister and her husband live with my parents and they have stayed I will be entitled to X% of the house value on their death.

So this is a very different situation? Your parents own a house and half of it (if anything is left) will be left to you, even if they die intestate?
Personally, I would never expect a penny of inheritance from anyone.

All moving expenses should come out of his share and he is entitled to a share of the initial investment from your mother, nothing else.

What if you decide on a time frame to sell the house, get the best offer you can during that time frame, and pay him 18% of that against his share?

If the current market is bad, that works to your advantage as his share that you have to pay will also be comparatively low.

Your mothers will is not valid in the US so to contest anything he would need to instruct a UK solicitor.

You really do need to see a decent highly experienced real life lawyer who has experience of probate and property.

If 175k is 18% then this house is worth almost a million. Worth a thousand or two to ensure you don’t make a costly mistake, no?

@holdupwaitamin If your sister and her husband are living in your parents house, it's quite a different situation. The mother here was living in OPs house. That said; things are always a lot simpler if there are legal agreements and "your BIL won't shaft you" makes it sound like any existing legal agreements go in their favour. If that's the case, I'd expect to get nothing and try to be pleasantly surprised if they do enforce your parents noted but not legally supported intentions. Death and large sums of money seem to bring out the worst in people; even generally good people.

Eek - how messy - get legal advice (before you lose your home or sAnity, or for peace of mind)

OP, just so you know I am a lawyer and understand property law. Other posters are correct in their recommendation that you consult a lawyer in real life if your bil carries through with his threat of court action.

I would let your solicitor tell him, out of good will you are prepared to sell the house & give him half her deposit MINUS the deduction of her share of house renovations. MINUS & half Legal costs & stamp duty.
Remind him that will be deducted from the total !
(you could also include, her share of elec, other bills, food, petrol etc, caring fees)
However, you will not be bullied or harrassed to sell under value.

As everyone else has said, I would get a new solicitor and write to BIL saying the house has been taken off the market. The relationship is shot now anyway so prioritise your own family.

Your brother in law sounds like a vile bully. Fuck him, and look after your own interests. Get advice from a new, well regarded solicitor. I suspect that legally you would not have to pay him anything (and also, why does her providing the deposit equate to you paying BIL 18% of YOUR house's value?)