Family asset trust query

[Billoddiesbeard]

My mother died 9 years ago and as part of her estate 50% of her property was placed in a family asset trust for me and my brother.The trust is registered on the deeds of the house.

Her husband, who owned the other 50% was granted a life interest in the property and is entitled to live there until he dies or decides to downsize.

He has recently put the house up for sale I believe he wants to buy a smaller property but he went NC with me and my brother after my mum died. (We weren't ever close he was my mum's 3rd husband and they were only together a few years before she passed. He was a good companion to my mum and they had great holidays etc before she died, but he chose to concentrate on his own family, understably and we all drifted apart over the years)

The house is now worth significantly more than when my mum was alive.
I would like to know if mine and my brothers 50% of the property, put into trust, is the amount the property was worth on the date my mum's estate was settled circa £450k or Would we be entitled to half the sold price £740k?

I have contacted the independent trustee, noted on the will, but he has retired and the trust has been moved to another solicitors who have not responded to my query.
Thanks in advance

The trust owns 50% of the property. The value of that 50% goes up and down with the value of the house. If there is no mortgage and the house is worth £740k, the trust's portion is worth £370k.

Thanks for replying. This was my assumption but my brother seems to think it's the value at the time the trust became irrevocable.

I just hope the independent trustee bothers to respond at some point!

@Billoddiesbeard make sure you let the Estate Agent know you have a beneficial interest in the property.

Your brother is wrong. The trust owns 50% of the house, not a proportion of the house that represents 50% of the value at the time it was set up. The trust benefits from an increase in the property's value just as much as your stepfather.

Is there a need for the estate agent to be made aware the house is jointly owned by the trust? I would expect the independent trustee to contact us, as beneficiaries, once the sale is completed. Am I being naive?

Thank you for the clarification.

@prh47bridge so sorry name change fail on my previous reply to you🤦‍♀️

@Billoddiesbeard based on personal experience I am saying let the estate agent know asap. So yes you are being naive.

It is much easier to make one phone call to the estate agent now than having to try and recover your share of the money when it has been incorrectly paid to your mums h husband.

You have not yet spoken to the independent trustee. What happens if they never get in touch?

The money won't be paid to the estate agent so there is no need. The solicitor dealing with the sale on behalf of the husband should receive and distribute monies in accordance with the ownership details

If the trust is registered on the deeds of the house the solicitor acting on behalf of Stepdad would be responsible for making sure 50% was paid to the trust in the same way that if there was a mortgage on the property they would pay the mortgage company before any monies were paid to the seller.

@Spirallingdownwards I agree but at this stage the op doesn’t have contact with the trustee and doesn’t know if the appropriate restriction is on the Land Register.. The op is NC with the other owner and so is unlikely to have the solicitors details.

One phone call to the Estate Agrnt alerts them to the fact there is more than one party with a vested interest in the property being sold.

Very easy to go to the land registry website and pay a couple of quid for a copy of the deeds to check if the trust's interest is registered. (If it's not, you can register an interest, I think)

I'm quite surprised the house can be put on the market without the trust knowing, but it might be allowed under the will, I suppose.

Was the Land Registry informed when the trust was set up? You say your step father has gone NC, do you honestly believe he's going to contact you to give you your share? Of course he isn't, he shouldn't even be selling the house. You'll need to move quickly OP. Do you have any way to find out who his solicitors/conveyancers are for the sale?

The land registry are aware the trust has been set up. I have previously downloaded the deeds and the trust is definitely on them.

I have found out which company of solicitors are holding the trust.
I have been in contact with them but they are yet to reply to my query.

Under the terms of my mother's will he is allowed to sell the house to down size or go into a care home etc. The trust definitely can't be used against any care home fees but I think he can use the trust to invest in another property......this is what I am waiting on a response from the solicitor/trustees about. The independent solicitor trustee has to act in mine and my brothers best interest......I just hope they will as I'm led to believe a court case wold be potentially very costly.

I don't expect a response is likely until the house is sold. As it stands nothing has actually changed until a sale is made 🤷‍♀️

I know someone with a similar trust in place. The surviving partner has moved twice and used the funds to invest in another property. This is precisely why I will not buy with my partner. The DC of the deceased have no relationship with the step parent, their parent died 15 years ago.

Please persevere in contacting the solicitor. Only they can really advise. We don't know the exact details of the trust and it is actually possible that the share was capped at a value or something or is the 50pc that you believe. All these details will be clearly written down in the trust and the solicitor will have an obligation to distribute monies according to this

I agree you need to keep trying to get a response from the trustee and to be reassured they are on top of this.