Will advice

[WillyWaver]

Hi everyone I desperately hope someone out there can help me.

Some time ago, my father passed away. He left my sister property on the absolute condition I received money for a share of it, within a set time frame. Days before this time was up, she asked if I would take the property instead and I said yes. This was around two years ago. I have been waiting for the property to be signed over but never pushed the issue.

Now, she has said she has changed her mind and is keeping the property instead. She has not paid me the money bequeathed and the time frame has long since passed. Can anyone tell me if this makes any difference regarding who owns the estate now? My mother is still alive and lives in the property by herself.

She said she was genuinely confused about what to do...I am stressing that she planned all this so that she could keep the property and the money.

Please help.

Just out of interest, is your mother also your sister's mother? Also, you say you're inheriting a house eventually too. Whose house?

Yes, we are full sisters. I am inheriting my uncle's house. He never married and has no children.

Tbh, I feel my hands are tied. I won't want to upset my mum by causing any friction, and mum said at the beginning she was sure I would waive the money. And I would have done, except now I have been paying rent for years when I could have been building my own house - I am restarting that now.

Sigh...just such a mess. I just can't work out if my sister genuinely made that offer to me at the time, or if it was a ploy to buy time to get the money. If it was the latter, I would never forgive that.

That's not so common and not actually legal! I'm pretty certain no solicitor would have written that into a will because there's no way to enforce it

Completely wrong. It is perfectly acceptable to make a conditional bequest such as this and the courts will enforce it. See, for example, a case determined in the High Court last year. A Mr Hine left his interest in the family farm to be divided equally between his wife and his two sons, John and Philip. However, the gift to the sons was conditional on them each paying £15,000 to his other children, Beryl and Basil, within 9 months of his death. If either of them failed to pay their interest in the farm passed to Beryl and Basil.

John failed to meet the condition so his share in the farm passed to Beryl and Basil. Philip, however, died before his father. That meant Philip's share passed to his children. The court decided that this meant they were subject to the same condition - they had to pay £15,000 to Beryl and Basil. They had not done so, apparently because they did not find out about the condition in time to fulfil it. The judge therefore ruled that the inheritance must pass to Beryl and Basil in accordance with the will.

That is so interesting Prh.🤔 So the house isn't actually my sister's now but my mum's. That is exactly how my dad did it...a time frame that was absolutely the condition that had to be met for her to get the property.

@prh47bridge

I stand corrected!
So, if the will states that failure to follow the instructions in the will within the timescale means the house passes to someone else, how can that be fair for the OP?
Sorry OP, I'm now very confused!!!

So the house isn't actually my sister's now but my mum's

It should be. The question is what your sister, as executor, has done. If she has transferred ownership of the house to herself she has not administered the estate correctly. If it is still owned by the estate she needs to transfer ownership to your mother.

how can that be fair for the OP

It seems odd. It certainly penalises the OP's sister but it doesn't immediately appear to give her the money she should have received. Perhaps the OP's father expected her mother to sort the situation out somehow but I'm guessing.

Thank you so much Prh and Soontobe be. So I need to find out exactly what my sister has done and if nothing then the house goes to my mum. Mum might well decide to leave it to her again but at least that will be her decision that she will make knowing my sister said all along she didn't want it.

Who is the other property you're due to inherit from? Same side of the fsmily? Why you and not your sister?

It's all very odd, but ultimately, if the house issue to revert to your mum if the money isn't transfer to you, then isn't it what happens? She can then leave it to both of you if that's what she wants.

It's my bachelor uncle Dontdisturb...mum's brother. I told mum that I could give my sister that property as a swap, as dsis doesn't live in this area and could sell my uncle's house as there is no sentimental feelings about it, unlike the family home. That way I could have mum's house and live there forever. Mum thought that was a great idea, so maybe if the house goes back to her, that is what will happen.

The idea was she would get a property and I would get a property. But then dsis moved miles away whereas I remained in the area and the will was never changed to reflect that.

How do you know for sure that you'll end up with your uncle's property? Maybe his circumstances will change or he might have to sell it for care fees.

Yes, that could happen. As it stands I know it has been bequeathed to me.