Elderly dad’s options for home

[propertyquestion]

Hi there, NC for this. I wondered if someone can explain the basics to me. Dad lives in England and has been married to his late wife for 40 years. A very devoted husband the entire marriage. She has now sadly passed. The property they lived in was hers, as tenants in common with her daughter, who is herself now in her 60s.

My dad seems to think the daughter will inherit his home for the last few decades and isn’t particularly bothered about this, doesn’t understand the difference between tenants in common vs joint tenants and is quite consumed by grief.

My understanding of tenants in common is that his wife’s share of the property should pass to her heirs, which should be him, unless a will says otherwise I suppose?

How does probate work and how can I ensure he is treated fairly in this process and does in fact receive half of the property if he is entitled to it? He is quite vulnerable and I don’t want him taken advantage of (but don’t want to interfere too much). Apparently they had a solicitor but “she has died now”.

Should I advise him to get his own solicitor seperate from his daughter in law’s to go over will and property? Or does the whole thing just get automatically sorted by the courts.

thanks in advance for any advice :)

I believe if she died with no will your dad inherits the first £270,000 and half of anything after that. And he can apply for letters of administration (like probate but for intestacy). I’m not sure what happens if he’s not capable of applying for letters of administration.

Its important this is all done right as he may need the £ for care costs or he may need to decide who to leave his share of the house to.

What does the will say?

I would say he needs his own solicitor. And he needs to review his own will to see if it still reflects his current circumstances.

Thanks all. I feel that the will might give her share to her daughter (based on what he has said about her assuming the house is hers) but I haven’t seen it nor do I know whether it was rewritten after they married. It’s too soon to ask him really. But I am assuming if will is all in order then that’s that and he gets booted out of their home once it’s sold? It seems like an injustice to me!

It also doesn’t seem very tax efficient given she would be paying a lot in IHT whereas he wouldn’t pay any!

No, that is not necessarily that. If the will does not make adequate financial provision for him, he may have a claim under the Inheritance Act.

The Will could give him a lifetime interest to remain
it’s what mine does

Ok so you don't know what the will says.

As tenants in common:
you can own different shares of the property,
the property does not automatically go to the other owners if you die ,
you can pass on your share of the property in your will.

It all depends on what his wife's will says then - she may have left her share to her daughter or to your father if they had mirror wills. He does need to know.

If you feel that the daughter is amenable then I would speak to her and say that you just want to clarify what the death/will means for your father in terms of the property. Will she discuss do you think?

You say daughter in law, but surely it’s his stepdaughter? What is their relationship like?

Why do you think there is a possibility of the property being sold? Surely they will just continue to live there together for the rest of your father’s life.