Contesting probate?

[chickencuddles]

It's an inheritance once! My mum passed away in February of this year, and there was no will. The solicitor is dealing with probate and this should all be wrapped up in the next few weeks. There is a house, and some cash investments.
My understanding is that with no will to say otherwise, the estate will be split between myself and my brother. My brother still lives in the house and has severe mental health problems and is an alcoholic. I dont speak to him anymore as he is aggressive/emotionally abusive towards me (I've got another thread on this).

I've just heard from his ex-girlfriend (who he has been harassing over the phone for quite some time) that my mum apparently said he could have 'everything', but this was never written down in a will. Apparently she said this because she thought that I was able to look after myself, both financially and emotionally, but because he was mentally unwell and hadn't worked for the last ten years he should have it all. I was planning, once probate had been granted, to have a discussion with him about selling the house and ensuring that he had more than half of the total assets, if necessary, to buy himself a small flat, and invest the rest of the money wisely. It is a fairly substantial estate, and half the total would be enough for a single person to live on, frugally.

My question is, does he have any claim to the entire estate, since there is no will, and his share will enable him to buy a smaller property outright?

The issues I have between myself and my brother are extremely complex, but I'm not sure they are relevant in this context. Happy to share more details if required though. Many thanks for reading.

(NB there is no inheritance tax due as my father passed away when I was a child and so his allowance was transferred to my mum.)

I’m no expert but can’t see how he could possibly contest it with no evidence.

He has no claim to the whole estate without a valid will.
Nor would I be offering to give him more than half.

What if he has something like a text message from her? Presumably that wouldn't count? He was very manipulative and used to constantly try and turn people against each other.

If she wanted him to inherit the house she would have written a will saying so. That's what a will is (sorry I know you know this but this is how to explain it!) Really sorry for your loss and your situation.

A text message is sent from a phone. Impossible to prove who actually sent it. Let the solicitor get probate granted it should be straightforward because the intestate laws are pretty established and clear, though I don’t think that will be the problem, getting him out of the house to sell might be a whole other issue.

No, with nothing documented officially then there is no claim.

We've had a similar event this year in our family. One sibling contested that the deceased (who died intestate) had promised everything to them. The fact is they'd told lots of people everything would go to them or be split evenly amongst all their nieces and nephews - most people took it with a pinch of salt.

Sorry about your mum. Been in a similar situation. No he won't be entitled to more than half the house. I would advise that you use the solicitor to communicate with him about selling the house (solicitor fees to come from Estate).
You might have to apply legally to get him out (TOTLA or TOPLA?)

I'm my situation I didn't use a solicitor, and my sibling just carried on being obstructive, abusive and constantly moving the goalposts.

A solicitor can set the tone and expectation that this is what is happening (property being sold), and you can avoid some stress and negativity.

Remind him that although contesting inheritances sounds all fine and dandy in TV dramas, it's actually expensive, and in his case, as pps have pointed out, futile.

A few years ago my friend 'contested' it was a murky situation. And it cost a lot, it was taken on as a contingency agreement.

But he won in the end.

I don't think your brother stands much chance with no will. But I'm not legally qualified.

It’s definitely to your advantage that there
is no will! A pity for him that he doesn’t have the funds to buy you out of your share of the house, because his mental heath will doubtless deteriorate if he’s made to go into a poky little flat (instead of the house where all his memories are). And may have trouble with neighbours etc. But if your mother had wished otherwise, she needed to have set that out clearly in a will.

Thinking morbidly though, if your brother is also advanced in years (50s?) and with his alcoholism likely to limit his lifespan, is there an argument to be made that you could let him stay in the house for the rest of his life? Thinking as much about the likelihood of it increasing in value as an asset as the years go by by. He could pay you rent for the 50% share that he does not own, or you could organise lodgers for the other rooms so that you are getting some income from the property too.

Thinking morbidly though, if your brother is also advanced in years (50s?) and with his alcoholism likely to limit his lifespan, is there an argument to be made that you could let him stay in the house for the rest of his life? Thinking as much about the likelihood of it increasing in value as an asset as the years go by by

Because I'm sure an alcoholic with severe MH problems and who is aggressive/abusive to OP will be just fine about doing maintenance, repairs and paying rent and dealing with lodgers; and even if he is capable of doing repairs he might not bother.

50 is advanced in years now?

Yes I take your point that the brother may not be capable of keeping the house going. And OP may well want to severe all ties.

Regarding his lifespan, it depends how advanced is his alcoholism. Here’s the first search result I found:

”Results
Life expectancy was 24–28 years shorter in people with alcohol use disorder than in the general population. [..]

People with alcohol use disorder had higher mortality from all causes of death (mortality rate ratio, 3.0–5.2), all diseases and medical conditions (2.3–4.8), and suicide (9.3–35.9).

Conclusion
People hospitalized with alcohol use disorder have an average life expectancy of 47–53 years (men) and 50–58 years (women) and die 24–28 years earlier than people in the general population.”

He's only mid thirties, although he is drinking so heavily who knows. But he has totally destroyed my mum's house, and I don't see that he should have any right to live in a big family house that he doesn't maintain, when he chooses not to work. He has devalued the property so much in the last year, the rooms are covered in dog poo and wee, the toilets don't work anymore, the whole place has fallen into disrepair. I've tried to offer him support with organising a housekeeper, counsellor, physiotherapist etc. but he told me where to go, and that he would sort himself out. That was a few months ago. I just need to sell the property and cut my ties with him. I'm very prepared to take him to court to get the house sold. The whole thing is exhausting!

You say it's a substantial estate but the home is in a big state of disrepair. Does that mean there is a lot in savings? If it's somewhat equal to the house, could you inherit the savings and him the house? Take the money and leave him to it.

He does not have a claim. Does he have access to money to even afford a solicitor?

He can quite easily stop probate though so be prepared for that. Do you have legal cover with your home insurance? Get some advice.

Has the solicitor dealing with the Estate raised it with him?

He could potentially makew a claim under the Inheritance Act for reasonable financial provision given she was providing him with a home at the date of her death. You'd need to receive specialist advice about this if you're worried, but he'd have 6 months from date of grant of probate to lodge a claim.

This happened to my partner when his dad died leaving his gambling addict brother who had sold everything bar the kitchen sink to feed his habit. Their poor dad was sat on a deckchair.... he would very rarely let him in (unless it was for money and food)
Probate went through and it was a 50/50 split after funeral costs. House was sold.
I still remember how mean people where to my dp as they thought he was turfing his brother out. They were such a private family- their mother had died in her 40's- and he delivered food, paid two sets of bills and basically ran around for his dad and brother and worked full time.
His brother is still a pain. But an independent pain.

Thanks all. The value of the house/cash assets is quite different and most of the value is in the house. It is a fairly substantial 4 bed detached house in the South East, selling it would enable him to buy a small property outright, in his own name. He is unable to buy me out, which would be the ideal solution. I'm not sure how much he has devalued it, I'm hoping a big cleanout, new carpets and repainting will bring it back to life, but I haven't been inside since the day after my mum died as I needed to go and get paperwork to do the admin. My brother won't let me into the house now.
I don't think the solicitor has had any contact with him, as he doesn't check post and just throws it out.
My understanding is that once probate is granted I can get the cash assets released, and as I am executor they will be released to me. I can then have the conversation with him that the house will need to be sold. If he will speak to me. I don't feel like I can properly deal with my grief over my mum until this situation has had a line drawn under it. I particularly want to get into the house to get access to photograph albums, especially as my dad will be in the pictures too, and I only have a couple of photos of him as he died when I was 13. I just hope they are somewhere safe and my brother hasn't done anything to them.

I would have a plan for if he doesn't play ball. This has happened to my good friend. It has taken years and a massive depreciation of assets.

Oh dear I really hope that doesn't happen here, he would ultimately be the one who loses out. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to hold onto all the cash funds as part of my share, effectively withholding it from him, so financially he will have to agree to sell the house, as he obviously can't afford to maintain it or heat it. Gah!