We are screwed aren't we- inheritance?

[Worldwide21]

I live with my DH in a house with my inlaws- they own the house. My DH has lived there all his life and I have lived with there since we got married. The house is worth about £700000 currently and we were told that all of it, bar £100000 which would go to DH's sister, would go to us. The current will states this.

As a result we have invested a lot of our own money into this house, including a £50000 loft conversion 10 years ago as well as the majoirty of the bills, sacrificing the chance to move out.

My MIL has a volatile mind and may try and change the will after my FIL passes away- he is very frail. Do we have any protections in law if this happens given our investments in the house and the expectation that the bulk of it would go to DH.
Also would I or my children potentially be completely disinherited if my DH suddenly passed away first? My MIL and FIL are unwilling to change the will by putting the house in a trust now and we understand that care home fees may swallow up some of the house if it were needed.

Sorry for the long post.

I believe farms and family businesses are looked at differently, because the person is effectively working for free or very cheaply, so he was forgoing income on the promise of a payoff. The OP doesn't work for her inlaws.

Yes they invested some money in the house, but also benefitted from living there rent free. Unfortunately, no matter what the PIL promise, they have no automatic entitlement to inheritance. I would also think the sister should be pissed off that she is being effectively left out.

OP you should try and talk to your MIL and get her to confirm your financial position with the house. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, maybe tell her you would like your 50,000 investment back as you need to move out and want to use it as a deposit. She may realise that you feel hard done by and confirm that you are set to gain from the house.

Sorry - just saw comment re will but DMIL can always change it

I for one would ever rely on an inheritance - DH & I have always shifted for ourselves - an inheritance is a bonus not a right.

Pardon me saying so, but there's quite a lot of coercion going on there 🤔

I couldn't live like this.

Save for a deposit, move out and cut your losses. You've lived there over the years for a relatively small amount. When they eventually pass away you may get your cash back.

Never rely on the generosity or word of others - you'll only be let down.

So you’ve been living rent free in the house for 10 years and have only spent £50k on it? And you think you should be entitled to inherit the house over SIL because of that?

The way I see it, you’ve paid for improvements on the house in lieu of rent, so you should have no more rights than she does.

For context I have owned my house for 10 years now. My mortgage is just over £700 a month, but let’s say 700 for ease of calculation. So that means I have paid £8400 a year on my mortgage, which over 10 years equals £84000, and that’s before I’ve paid for energy/council tax/tv licence/home insurance/life insurance.

Add to that repairs over the past 10 years, plus groceries, I’ve probably actually shelled out about £200k in all, so I’d say you’ve had it easy. In fact I think that SIL absolutely should inherit half the house.

As for you having rights if your DH dies, nope. You’re not family, only by marriage, so if your dh dies you wouldn’t be entitled to anything.Any inheritance coming your way would be through goodwill only.

@Johnnysgirl FIL's wish is for DH to inherit the house. We never coerced them as MIL wished for 100k to be given to SIL and for her to own the house till death- this is reflected in the will we are simply concerned that MIL may become more volatile in the future or influenced by SIL and change the will further in the future.

To whoever mentioned carehome fees, We are worried about them a lot but have mitigated the risk a tiny bit through half the house being put in trust if one IL dies without needing care. At least something can be hopefully saved.

If you are living there rent free then 50k on a loft conversion is way cheaper than market rent and will be cheaper the longer you stay there. Its £416pcm for the ten years you've had it already.

and you then inherit all bar 100k of the house too? If I was the sister I'd be really fucked off.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/notices-restrictions-and-the-protection-of-third-party-interests-in-the-register

england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/relationship_breakdown/housing_rights_of_cohabiting_sole_homeowners/preventing_sale_or_disposal_if_one_partner_is_the_sole_owner

Presumably they would be arguing that there was a constructive trust created by the investment (loft) + primise of ownership, so part of the home was already theirs and not the PILs to pass in the will. I am NOT at all saying it would work as it's very fact dependent but it would be plausible.

Would they be willing to get advice? It would be much better for everything to be in writing and legally clear now if they are sure on their intentions. It would also avoid any complications if the value of the home needs to be used for care.

People seem resentful at your predicament rather than helpful!

comparison is indeed the thief of joy

you are right to be concerned

however no one here can change your MiLs mind and yes she may use this as a stick to beat you with right until the end

Do you know if PIL are joint tenants or tenants in common?

It seems very unfair on SIL, why is DH being favoured so much? Or is it that the PIL have other assets of comparable value that are going to her?

I think some may miss the point that IL never wanted us to move out. We were thinking about it 20 years ago when we bought our property but they heavily discouraged it so we didn't. SIL wanted to leave herself, of her own volition. SIL never has to deal with the issues of elderly parents too so she cannot be annoyed by the situation thus far.

will we are simply concerned that MIL may become more volatile in the future or influenced by SIL and change the will further in the future.

As opposed to being influenced by you?
Why “volatile”?

What’s volatile about wanting to be fair to her daughter?

ie DH gets 600k/700k of the house; she gets 100k of the house + 500k investments.

@IrisVersicolor I am not too sure but when one IL dies their share will go into trust rather than their spouse so I presume tenants in common?

Yes that’s tenants in common.

@Quitelikeit I think you have summed it up well and MIL will unfortunately hold this power over us till she dies.

I’m sad for you if you felt that you had to live there because the ILs pressurised you to.

But you do own your other property so you could sell that and use the equity on a deposit now.

You might face a drop in lifestyle but at least you would be independent.

Of course the MIL should retain ownership or she could be turfed out of asked to pay rent. The op has made a huge mistake in staying in this house. There’s also the problem of IHT that’s not been addressed. £700,000 will attract it unless wills are written to maximise allowances.

Clearly the op should move out. Hopefully the in-laws leave their money/house to each other and after death of final in-law, the estate should be split evenly between the siblings. It’s not the SIL’s fault she has more. Get the in-laws to pay for their care. Get SIL involved in looking after her parents. The OP has had a good run for 10 years and should now move on snd get a mortgage. It’s like being a cuckoo!

Google proprietary estoppel. It may apply. Seek proper legal advice, as lots of the information on the thread is incorrect.

does SIL know that she is only getting 100K? and is that coming from savings? How does she feel about that?

You worry that she may try to persuade MIL to change her will to leave her half - but havent you been trying the same?

Whether SIL is richer or not is irrelevent. As others say, you have not been paying rent, you have been paying bills that would be the same as if you lived anywhere, apart perhaps for some groceries extra for the PIL. But youve not been paying for a rent or mortgage, so you are definately up on the deal.

You say you have decorated and did a loft conversion - did they NEED to be done, or have they been done because you wanted to do them, and they gave you more space - you mention children, so did this allow them to have their own bedrooms? - This has probably increased the value of the home, but it was unlikely that your PIL would have done it as no doubt had enough space for themselves if you had not lived with them.

Have you both worked? what about childcare - did PIL look after the children or help out? I know you say you organise all the finances, but that again would be the same if you had your own home.

Are you planning to live in the house or sell it, assuming that you did inherit. With half in trust (for your DH?) have you had financial planning advice about care home fees? Its not necessarily protected or could be seen as a deliberate deprivation of assets. Is there enough cash to pay for MIL care home fees if needed? Or will the house need to be sold anyway, in which case is SILs £100K protected, as thats a set figure, rather than an asset, and will need to be released

What a way to live. You are in a terrifying situation. I don't know how you sleep at night.

So what if your PIL 'never wanted you to move out'. Why do you have to dance to the beat of your drum? My MIL has made all sorts of daft demands over the years. Including wanting to name our first child. We didn't do what she said because we are adults.

Where is the detriment to the op, living rent free for 20 years and spending only £50k on a loft conversion?

@NettleTea we are assuming that FIL may not need care or not for very long as he is very very frail now. That half would go in trust and I don't think it can be used for MIL fees as it was never her half anyway.
However I am well aware if FIL ends up in a carehome we could lose everything.

@kerosene20 thank you for this info. Will look at this and ask a lawyer when I see one.