A sticky inheritance one

[Wheretheresawilltheresawanker]

DH has 3 brothers. I’ll call them BIL1 and BIL2. Their DM died last year leaving 4 properties. They were bought in the 1950s/60s when the area was basically a slum but are now worth A Lot of money.
Property 1 is the biggest and potentially most valuable but hasn’t been updated since the 1960s and isn’t really habitable atm (and is empty)
Property 2 is slightly smaller than property 1 but in better condition. BIL1 has lived here for 15+ years
Property 3 is in the middle in terms of size, condition and value. It’s now been sold to pay off the whopping IHT bill.
Property 4 is the smallest, worth perhaps 50% of 1&2. It’s pretty shabby and needs a refurb but is basically fine to live in. DH & I live here with our 2 small DC. MIL left it to her grandchildren - our 2 DC and BIL2’s son. BIL1 is unmarried and has no DC.

BIL2 who has never been particularly stable has gone completely off the rails since MIL died. His wife kicked him out after catching him cheating. He moved in with BIL1 but is refusing to pay any bills. He has stopped going to work at the business he owns with his STBEW. He has refused to help with any of the probate, won’t pay child maintenance towards his DC, has discovered a love of clubbing in his 40s and brings back a parade of 20-something girls. Full on midlife crisis!

DH’s dream is to do up property 1 for our family. It will cost a huge amount but we can just about do it. BIL1 wants to improve property 2 and keep living there, ideally without BIL2. God only knows what BIL2 wants. We offered to effectively buy him out by switching shares in properties and topping up any shortfall. He’s now insisting he will buy us out from the proceeds of his divorce. Except we know from SIL that he’s ignoring the divorce petition and their assets aren’t worth that much. He’s being constantly obstructive and offensive, keeps threatening to “take us to court” and we’re at our wits end.

We’re seeking legal advice but I just wanted some MN collective wisdom on how best to proceed.

I agree I would sell all the properties as it will become a long drawn out battle any other way op

@CalmFizz don’t even get me started on the will! You’d think someone with a multi-million pound property portfolio would have a proper will. But no, it was written on the back of a fag packet while MIL was in hospital. Already caused various other problems I won’t bore you with.

MIL wanted all properties to be kept and looked after by 1 brother each plus 1 “for the grandchildren”. No trust in place yet I don’t think - we’ll advocate for 3 brothers plus SIL as executors. We’re only planning to stay in p4 temporarily until we can move into p1.

Definitely don't share a property with BiLs. My DB owns a share of DM's home and blocks DM from making any changes like adding a conservatory because he doesn't want his share to be reduced.

@mrsm43s we’re only planning to be here temporarily while we refurb p1 but I can see it dragging on for a couple of years so will look into a rental agreement - I’m sure SIL will welcome some funds for DN as deadbeat dad is no longer contributing

@AnthonyCrowley we’re only here as a temp solution while we refurb the other property as it’s round the corner so will make things easier and in a much nicer area, and catchment for DC starting school next year. Plans were set, we moved a month ago then BIL2 changed his mind. A lesson in why it’s a good idea to cut all financial ties!

@GnomeDePlume joint ownership seems like a good idea in theory but I’m learning is really not good in practice! Sorry your DM and DB are having issues.

The house your BIL lives in ...
Does the value come to what he is owed?...
If so he gets that...
If he owes, he gets a loan... Sorted.
Your selling your house.. good.
Rent house 4... Place money in account for all children...
Second brother.... How much is he owed....
Would the money from your house buy him out?....

Hang on, have you started the refurb? Who’s financing it? Are you sinking thousands of your cash into a jointly owned asset? This all seems a bit up in the air decision making.

It sounds as though the problematic BIL is unlikely to renounce himself from the process. Your husband and BIL1 could theoretically apply to the court to remove BIL2 as an executor, it’s legal under the Administration of Justice Act 1985 (Section 50). This would likely have to go through the High Court. For this to work, you must demonstrate that BIL2 is negatively impacting the management of the estate, friction or hostility amongst the brothers will not be sufficient to achieve this. You must be able to categorically demonstrate both that his management is harmful to the estate and as a result the welfare of the beneficiaries is being badly affected. This usually cannot be done within a year passing since the deceased died, and must be preceded with an Alternative Dispute Resolution.

What would I do? I’d advise you go with this latter option, the ADR, first, and use the same lawyer as your BIL1 to do this. It will create a united front, and increase the pressure on your BIL2 to acquiesce. I’d get the SIL to appoint her own solicitor - separate to that of your BIL2 - to represent her interests and those of the grandchildren. That solicitor should work with yours in the ADR against BIL2. I suspect that this will lead to him renouncing himself, or more likely - he will simply support your plan to buy him out.

Another point to consider. Will BIL1 go on to have children, potentially, in the future? If so, would it be fairer to rent the property bequeathed to the grandchildren and split proceeds accordingly under a legal agreement?

@mummmy2017 properties 1 & 2 are worth around equal so can swap shares. We could potentially buy BIL2 out but now he’s saying he wants to buy us out, with non-existent money from the divorce he’s refusing to engage with

@CalmFizz no we haven’t started refurb yet - we thought we just needed to finalise agreements once property 3 sold, then BIL2 changed his mind. Not proceeding with anything until it’s all sorted legally, but decided to move because it’s much better living here than in old house (which is fine but in a crap area and far away)

@sergeilavrov thank you very much for this. I’ll look into the ADR. He’s mostly at just being a pita rather than actually harming anything, but I can see things escalating.

BIL1 may go on to have children; we spoke to counsel who advised that the will should be treated as referring to MIL’s existing DGC rather than infinite possible future grandchildren that 3 sons could produce! But it’s defo contestable. We were planning to refurb and rent out property 4 and keep the funds in trust - DN is a teenager so will benefit sooner from either having somewhere to live or a regular income from rental.

Your lawyer is of course correct about the will, but if it solidifies the alliance between yourself and BIL1, it may be worth considering reframing it as a bargaining chip. You will want a united front in an ADR (which can be done before he harms anything, no conditions for that to take place other than dissatisfaction!) Good luck with it all.

@sergeilavrov thank you, your advice is really helpful. I’ll start researching. And we are prepared to negotiate with BIL1 to keep him happy. The one good thing that’s come out of this clusterfuck is that it’s brought DH & BIL1 closer together.

Ultimately though, bil2 hasn’t done anything wrong as of yet. He’s entitled to 33% of the jointly shared assets. Is there a way of that happening with your husband owning property 1 outright and your bil1 owning property 2 outright? Because as much as it would be lovely and cosy for your family and bil1, can you appreciate how unfair this scenario is towards bil2 if you were in his position?

@calmfizz yeah it’s really tricky with 2 houses between 3 brothers. Initially BIL2 said he didn’t want anything to do with property 1 but wanted to stay in property 2, whilst refusing to pay any bills. Then he said he didn’t want anything to do with any of it and wanted the money to move away. Which seemed to give everyone what they want. And suddenly he’s done a complete u-turn! It’s the shifting sands that make it so hard to be fair. And it’s compounded by the brothers’ deep attachment to the properties and dislike of each other (well BIL2 anyway)! They really really don’t want to sell everything as their DM drummed it into them that the properties are everything.

Unless you are trustees for the GC I'm not sure you can legally make alterations or rent out property 4. I would check and get everything in writing before you make a move. I would sell all properties and divide the money proportionally or you could end up giving most of it to solicitors.

Why would OP need to be trustees for her own children? The intestacy rules provide for OP to get the first £250k of her husband's estate. the only thing we think we know is in trust at the moment is the proceeds of the life policy. OP can find out and take control of the rest of the estate but so far has not indicated she is willing to take the steps that I and others on this thread have pointed out to her she needs to take.

@Collaborate - You've confused this with another thread. In this one the OP's MIL has died leaving a will appointing her three sons as executors. The OP is in no position to take control of the estate!

Sorry! They all seem to blur in to one at some point!!

*chastises self for not reading from the start of the thread again.

*Looks for MN edit button