Oh fuck what is going to happen?

[notahappybunny7]

My mum has passed away. She has left everything in her will to me(house paid(220k and about 50k in savings)
no other siblings off my mother but my dad has 4 more(no relationship with them)
they're married have been for 40+ years but he’s a twat who’s never worked properly, my mum has grafted her arse off to pay mortgage and ct, he has paid utilities and food, well the basics my mum alway bought her lunches and any luxuries. No joint accounts ever.
I’m not money grabbing it my mum wanted this for me and my daughter, to better our lives, he is saying he’s not moving and will contest the will. What will happen?

These threads about inheritance are always ridiculous. A few kernels of knowledge and expertise and loads of incorrect assertions and utterly misleading rubbish. The only really helpful guidance is to seek legal advice from a solicitor.

@Fleur02 Really? There are many posts where the posters are comparing this and a situation where a non-working wife may be excluded from an inheritance, and calling the OP heartless for wanting to deprive her dad of his home so she can benefit from its sale.

Just read the thread.

Without any proof, in law they're exactly the same thing.
You need to engage a solicitor to sort this out I'm afraid.

What’s your point? The law doesn’t care about which partner wasn’t working, and the fact is that her father is registered blind and aged 77, which does tend to restrict the jobs available.

Her wanting to evict him is not in question.

Sadly the law doesn't work on the basis of marital discord, unless it is part of Unreasonable Behaviour in divorce or a prosecution for violence or abuse.

It's too late for any of that. No matter how horrible he was, how little work he did, they did remain married. You don't get reductions in an inheritance for 'bad behaviour'. It's all too subjective. Where would it end? 'He didn't wash up enough, put the bins out, tidy the house, do a day's work in 40 years.

Not relevant.

Again, sadly, the Mum appeared naive and was possibly misinformed about her intentions to leave her house to OP. She should have divorced him when she could have.

@Fleur02 The point? Are you missing it or me? The point is you said you couldn't see any posts minimising the dad's abusiveness and the OP being subjected to that as a child.

It won't affect his claim but the point is you said you couldn't see those posts where posters were 'attacking' the OP.

Where are people sticking up for an abuser? You said you can't see those posts.

@Fleur02

There are plenty. Posters having a go at the OP for wanting to turf a semi blind 77 year old man out of his home.

@notahappybunny7 not read all the posts but have read yours.

IANAL but I do have some experience of potential scenarios. My advice is to be pragmatic, accept you are not going to be able to sell the house unless your Dad agrees.

I have a relative who was left the property they lived in in 2014 since then they have not paid a bill. Gas and Electric are now on meter’s but the debt such as water, service charge etc. are still building up. Your Dad could end up doing something similar.

In your shoes I would be looking to do a Deed of Variation so your Dad has a life interest in the house but is responsible for bills and maintenance. I would include the option to move your Dad to more suitable accommodation paid for by the house sale but in your name. I would also consider including gifting him £10k of the £50k on the understanding it is to be used to pay the bills etc. e.g. you hold it on his behalf and use it to pay the household DD. All of this can be specified in the DoV.

This is a reasonable solution which could reduce legal fees as you may be able to achieve it through mediation. It means you still own the house and as your Dad’s health deteriorates you may be able to move him to more suitable accommodation.

Yes he is getting more than the will specifies but as others have pointed out in law he has a strong case to contest the will.

A final thought, had your Mum not left a will your Dad would have inherited the first £270k I.e. your Mums whole estate.

As hard as it will be a DoV compromise may be the most cost effective solution.

That hardly qualifies as "sticking up for an abuser", as in - justifying the abuse.

So what?? She's not here asking for your thoughts on her relationship, she is asking where she stands legally. When her DF starts a thread asking for support then feel free to pile on her, but for the moment this type of input is not warranted. This is not AIBU

Wills are always a horrible thing, brings out the worse in people, feelings of injustice, and pound signs brings out the green eyed monsters like nothing else.

Regardless of ill feelings, and injustice, the law is the law.

My aunt recently died, my uncle only 2 months before her (both ill), one of the first things my Aunt did upon his death is change the will they had both drafted up together after 40 odd years of marriage and left everything to the one family member she liked the most (circa 500k)

Its caused no end of issues with people.

@notahappybunny7 the other thing I meant to say is whilst the house and money are important there will be sentimental items of nominal value. For example photos, pictures, jewellery, even kitchen equipment that mean something to you.

As executor and beneficiary I would be looking to see which of these I wanted. I know it sound daft but I know there is a pair of spoons of my parents that I want for sentimental reasons - no one is going to ask for those or go to court over them.

I would be looking to see if I could have some of these now as in the long run they contain precious memories of your Mum.

Who is the executor? You or a solicitor?

The executor needs to get on with executing the will as stated. If he chooses to contest, he might have a case and may be awarded something as he was a dependent. Ideally your mum's will will have explicitly stated why he was excluded - most advisers will recommend this, giving a nominal amount or including a letter as it helps a lot when someone you would expect to inherit is excluded from a will.

He might not bother actually contesting though if he is super lazy!

As someone who has a vile, abusive alcoholic father (I'm not using 'DDad' on him) I completely get the anger and hatred you feel right now. I am waiting for my father to die so I can dance on his grave. I am just relieved that my DM saw fit to divorce him years ago. He has literally pissed through his half of the savings and home from that time.

However the law stands as it is. your father will be entitled to part of your inheritance and you could lose everything in court fees. A deed of variation as @Sisterpita suggests seems the logical solution. I hope you manage to get through this.

OP you sound shocked and angry. What you need to do is to take a very deep breath, then call a solicitor.

Explain that your father was abusive, that your mother left everything to you. Explain that you see his desire to contest as part of a continuing pattern of abusive control.

Then let them advise you on what rights your father may legally have, and whether you ought to settle or contest.

He's already stated his intention to contest the will. No normal person would be "super lazy" enough not to.

That's wrong. Under English law you do not have to leave anything to your spouse.

@CatusFlatus you are correct however it is clear the OPs Dad was a dependent and so can make a claim against the estate because no provision was made for him.

It doesn’t sound like your father has the motivation to contest the will so I think that bit should be straightforward. However, he will probably refuse to leave so you’ll need to get advice on how to evict him at some point.

OP you sound shocked and angry. What you need to do is to take a very deep breath, then call a solicitor

Absolutely - and preferably, before you do, re-read InfiniteTeas steallar post at 10:45

The shock and anger are perfectly natural, but a legal expert with no emotional involvement will be able to cut through this to the facts - providing you listen to them of course

There's a big difference in effort required between saying you will contest and actually doing so.

Obviously. But I wouldn't count on someone meekly allowing their home to be sold from under them because they were too lazy to do anything to prevent it.
That just won't happen.

Especially not when the father has four other children, any one of whom may be hoping to inherit a share of this in due course.

I also think OP has to be concerned that the home could be clawed back to pay for his care if he needs a care home. The will, as I understand the situation in the UK, might be seen as defrauding the state.

OP just has to get her head around the fact that on paper the situation looks very different to the courts than it does to her. Legality and morality have nothing to do with each other.

a) Is it clear though?
b) Contesting a will on the basis of being a dependent is not the same as the OP's father being entitled to 50% or more because he was married to the OP's mother which is what a lot of posters are saying

OP there's a lot of confused and wrong advice on this thread. Some are either ill informed (and therefore shouldn't be commenting) or are enjoying stoking the drama.

You need to pause, stop catastrophising and get actual legal advice from a solicitor who is in full possession of the facts. Nobody on here can provide that. Your situation is not straight forward, probably more so in practical terms than legal ones, but you can get it sorted by staying calm and rational. Try to take the emotion out of the situation as hard as that is. Good luck.