Inheritance

[NimbleViewer]

My sibling and I are due to inherit parents house 50/50.

I have no interest in it both emotionally and practically as it is far too big for me. It is ideal for my sibling and their growing family.

Sibling hoped to buy me out but can't afford it. The ideal scenario would be to gift my share to her but she refuses to beholden to anyone else at any stage.

At the time of finalising things, Can I refuse my share and insist it goes to my nieces as my gift, maybe in trust until they are 21 or will this be fraught with problems.

Don’t give it to the nieces. lots of reasons why this is not sensible as the repercussions will last their lifetimes
They won’t be first time buyers so will be penalised when they come to buy.
they might fall out with their mum and take her to court to force a sale to get their share
they might get married and then divorced and their future ex husband will force a sale to get his share
the niece may die before their mother and their next of kin forces a sale to get their share, this may be a grandchild of the sister

That would be an incredibly generous thing to do. Are you sure that you really don't need or want your inheritance? Bear in mind that if you claim benefits, probably unlikely, it would be considered deprivation of assets.

Bite the bullet and sell it, then split the money. It will become a burden and a liability long term. It’s really bad that the parents have put emotional blackmail on you both keeping the property in the family - why? They didn’t think the consequences of that through otherwise you wouldn’t be in the situation you’re in at the moment (which is not very fair). It’ll be a short term emotional wrench for you both, but you’ll end up free of ties and both able to live your lives exactly how you please.

let her live there and rent her your half then - presumably she is paying / rent mortgage now so in theory could afford it?

@TheSilentMajority If the op owns it, she’s liable to CGT if it’s sold plus income tax on rent and maintenance costs. It’s a bad idea.

It is incredibly sad. Selling a family home. If it has been a long held and happy home.

It was my Dad’s dream that his children would inherit the house he loved. And it was a house we had continued to visit for every Christmas, even when grandchildren came along, some of us lived there for various lengths of time. It was a good place for holidays. We used to nod and say what a wonderful house it was, etc.

But it was impractical to keep it as a second home between us. We sold it.

The memories are still as strong, and by now the reality of the house would have started to overtake the romance and sentiment. We sold it as Mum and Dad’s house, memories intact.

Not ‘one of the siblings house with the kitchen wall knocked through and the dining room wallpaper torn off’

If your DSis doesn’t want to be beholden , sell, and she can use her share to put towards something else. Hers.

@BangersAndGnash Why do parents think dc want exactly what they want or owned? I find this odd. I’m a parent and I have a rather lovely desirable house. My DC have their own lives and their own views on where they live. They are adults with jobs and responsibilities. Saddling them with my house would be just stupid. Parents need to think about practicalities and the needs of dc. It’s somewhat arrogant to assume dc think the same as us! Free them to make their own minds up by selling.

Could she pay you a set amount every month to pay you off. So she doesn't need the money up front but you get the value and she doesn't owe you anything has paid its value.

@TryingToStayAwake88The op would still own two houses even with a decreasing share.

I don't see anywhere saying op doesn't want to own 2 houses, just that she doesn't want this one but her siblings does and she's trying to work out how best to give it to the siblings even though they can't afford to buy her out

The tax implications and difficulties of shared ownership have hidden difficulties if you haven’t thought it through based on your circumstances. Giving something away as indicated in the op rather suggests op doesn’t want to retain it. If it’s given away, it disinherits anyone op might care about in the future. That also seems shortsighted.

It's crazy expecting people to keep hold of a family house after someone's died.

Sell the house and split the money between you. If you don't need the money you could give some to her children at important times in their lives. Your sister doesn't want to feel beholden to you and I don't blame her, either.

If you are in a financial position that you could gift your half to her, can you just keep your part as an investment? And have an informal agreement with her that she lives in “your half” rent free and in exchange pays all costs on the property.

When the property is sold (eg if they move) then you get your share.

Can you rent your half out to your db?

I did this with my db. He rented and would never be able to afford to buy, I was in a more fortunate position so agreed they would provide me with rent, four our late parents house. We worked out how much it would cost to rent a similar house in the area, took off a bit, as he is responsible for upkeep of the house. and he pays me half of what we could get if we rented it out. When I die, my half goes to my dc.