Can you force sale of assets to pay IHT?

[Poisedtartanlurker]

Spouse (not mine) owned house & left it to daughters. Surviving spouse has right to stay there until death and house can’t be sold until they die. In the will it was stated that they receive bank accounts (1 is joint, 1 is in deceased’s name), all (3) vehicles ( they joint own 2 of them), all assets in the house. Although it was stated in the will that spouse receives this, can the executer force the sale of these assets to pay funeral costs + IHT, as I understand that these are paid from the assets. The daughters only benefit from the house which probably won’t be available for another 30 years perhaps, so they have no available money, and I understand that IHT is not a personal tax.

I would be grateful if anyone can give some advice on this. Thank you.

There’s no trust it seems.
Hence the issue.

Any bank accounts (including left to spouse but not including joint accounts) cannot be accessed until probate is granted except to pay the funeral costs, funeral expenses are the first priority. Probate won't be granted until inheritance tax is factored in. If assets have been left to the wife (excluding joint accounts) these will be taken into account by the executor and cannot be distributed until probate is granted

I think you need a probate solicitor.

You could try ringing up, this may be a fairly common problem. I seem to remember someone saying they were very helpful and if they don't know they might point you in the right direction.

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Thinking outside the box a little. Would the surviving spouse be willing to downsize? Could the daughters sell the family home, free up enough cash to pay the IHT, and provide the spouse with a home still? It would all have to be put in writing I imagine, to cover off any legal action by the spouse.

The below might or might not apply, if it hasn't been done properly it may be possible to formalise the arrangement with the agreement of all beneficiaries, again needs a probate solicitor to sort it out. That seems to have been his intent even if he didn't get it legally signed off.

'For inheritance tax (IHT) purposes, the life tenant of the trust is treated as inheriting the trust property on the death of the testator. If the life tenant is the deceased's surviving spouse or civil partner the spousal exemption will apply and delay any IHT until the life tenant's death.'

❤️ Thank you, everybody ❤️

In these circumstances IHT is not due on the house until the spouse dies, at which point the value of the house will be included in her estate for IHT purposes. This is a standard process and not at all unusual. There is no IHT for the daughters to pay.

This is only true if the will sets up a life interest trust and the house goes into that, with it passing to the daughters when the wife dies. It seems from OP's posts that the will may not have done that.

Take advice from a specialist STEP lawyer. It should be possible for the beneficiaries to enter into a deed of variation and create an IHT friendly trust for the widow.