Inheritance nightmare - charge against the house

[DoneOver]

My step dad has died. His will leaves me and my siblings my mum's house. (She died first, house nothing to do with him.) However we have now found out that a while back he put a charge against it which gives most of the house value to his own daughter. (not my mums child.) Clearly mum stuffed up by dying before she wrote her will. But its very unfair, is there any legal redress at all?

However his will has trumped that

No it didn't.

From what you have described it sounds like he was left a life interest in the house with it then passing to the children. If that is the case it doesn't matter what it says in his will. The house is not his to leave. In that situation the daughter's alleged charge over the house is also invalid. If he was the trustee he was required to act in the best interests of all the beneficiaries, not favour one over the others. If he was not the trustee he had no power to agree a charge over the house. Get proper legal advice.

@HollowTalk

Bloody hell, your poor mum trusted him and he betrayed that trust.

It’s ridiculously common. Far more so than you’d think.

Get legal advice you may have a good case as it seems his will does not trump hers so definitely get it sorted, what a slime bag he is.

I agree, he didn't own it so can't put a charge on it. Get thee to a shit hot solicitor and get your share as mum intended

solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/
look under wills & probate & your area
if your mum left him life interest he cannot do this he didn't own the property who was a lifetime tenant basically sounds like he has diddled land registry I bet & that is a crime!!!

It seems to me OP, that either your Mother's will didn't say what you think it said or it wasn't properly executed.

However, the fact that you first felt your mother failed to write a will and then that she failed to rewrite it, does add an element of doubt. If she did leave her husband only a lifetime interest, why did she need to rewrite the will?

You need some legal advice. Have you seen your Mother's will? Who executed the first will?

If you owned the house, he can't have put a charge on it. Even if he lived in it. Are you sure he wasn't left the house, with her saying in her will (which would later be overridden by his, obviously) that she wanted it to go to you when he passed?

Yup, happens. The dull grey bastard my mother married left our family home entirely to his stupid lumpen kids because Mum didn't have a will after the abuse he gave her.

& very important did she write the will before she married your step father? because marriage trumps old will
do you have a copy of your mothers will? Wills these days are registered so you should be able to get a copy

What do you mean by "she died before she re wrote her will"? The will will have been revoked on their marriage, if it was written prior to it?
So she died intestate.
You need legal advice, because it sounds as if it actually did belong to your stepfather after your mum's death.

When exactly did she make the will - before or after she married?

If it's afterwards (I hope it is) then the house isn't his to put a charge against it.

If it's before, then he inherits the house.

Your posts sound quite confused actually, op. You give the terms of your mum's will, and then say she intended to re write it. What did she intend to change?
How would those changes have benefitted you?

Is the charge an occupation charge so you can’t kick him out? The house is still yours and siblings.

Sorry for the confusion, Im very confused about it all so not expressing myself very well. So yes she had a will that she wrote just after marrying step dad....when she realised she was terminally ill she said she wanted to re-write it, but she died very quickly. Im wondering if she realised it wasnt watertight/didnt say what she intended/or simply had changed her mind about something/who bloody knows. I have seen it and its pure legal goobledygook and I dont understand it. Im guessing he did inherit the house...he always said the house was in trust but can find no evidence of that. So I assume he has inherited it...then put a charge against it for his daughter...then left it to us in name only. Im kind of clarifying this in my own head as I write so sorry again for anything that is muddled. As I said, given how quickly he set up the charge I reckon he did it in case we disputed the will. Seems to me that theres not a lot we can do therefore. Git.

Really, take some advice. If the house came to him as her husband, you would have been very unlikely to win any appeal and if you had, the charge would have made no difference.

If he owned it (which he must, to have granted the charge or indeed to leave it to anyone) there was no need to register a charge to divert the inheritance to his own daughter, he could leave it wherever he liked.

What exactly does your Mother's will say about the house? Your mother obviously did intend that his daughter had a share. Presumably they had been together for a long time , they were married and he lived in the house so actually, it's hard to argue that the house was nothing to do with him. You wouldn't make that argument about a wife.

What was his daughter expecting to happen after he died?

The house was either left to him or it wasn't. If your Mum made a new will after she married then that should be perfectly legal and above board. If she didn't make a new will the marriage would have cancelled her will. People do tell their families things and that doesn't always reflect what was written in the will. I'd certainly seek legal advice if you don't understand the will. It will be worth it for your peace of mind.

As Viviennemary says people do often tell their families to expect one thing and do another, it happens more than you'd imagine. Just because it didn't work out how she told you, doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't what she intended.

The charge thing is odd though.

Please just get a solicitor to read the will and do it ASAP and find out where you stand.
MN do not know all the details, so the advice is not legal advise.

@DoneOver - You keep saying it wasn't watertight but you haven't said anything that suggests it wasn't. Do you know what it actually says? If you reproduce the relevant clauses here there are contributors who will be able to interpret it for you. If you don't have a copy you can get one from the Probate Registry.

However, the fact that he said the house was in trust plus the things you have said about your mother's will strongly suggest that her will gave him a lifetime interest in the house. If that is the case he did not inherit it, his will did not trump your mother's will and the charge is not valid.

Please get proper legal advice before his daughter defrauds you out of your rightful inheritance. From your posts, that is what appears to be happening and you seem to be accepting that. You should be fighting it.

It sounds as though before marriage her will have him a life interest, but the marriage changed that.

How long were they married before she died, OP?

Op what do you mean a charge over the property? Did she lend him money? A charge is usually security in return for a loan.

Which would indicate she lent him money he used the house to guarantee payment, so basically she bought it off him to a certain value.

If he left the house to her in his will it would work just as well, a charge is something very different.

I think you need to try to understand what this is, but it would appear to me, she’s basically bought the house from him and given him money to live off, and she’s now owed from the estate.

To do so he must have inherited the house, you can’t accept a charge against something you don’t own.

Please get proper legal advice before his daughter defrauds you out of your rightful inheritance

Wow, you went nuclear there, she has not written anything to suggest she’s being defrauded, he might have been lying about the trust, or he might have meant partially. The op doesn’t even seem to know what her mothers will said.

No solicitor is going to accept a charge over a property which the deceased didn’t own. For your suggestion to work the solicitor would also need to be corrupt. It’s highly unlikely.

Speak to a solicitor asap. A charge is placed by a mortgage company etc not an individual. If the home passed to you from your mum with him allowed to reside in it until his death then he cannot get a charge put on it. If she left the house to him and requested he leave it to you then that's different. A solicitor shouldn't charge much for an online consultation plus tell them they can handle the house sale and they may be cheaper

Please get legal advice to review your mums will. I know it’s not cheap but presumably you can split the cost with your siblings.

At least get a copy and post parts of it here ( change names obviously ) and people will point you in the right direction.