Division of belongings according to intestacy law

[LegoTherapy]

In a house that is rented out by another family member to the deceased and all the furnishing and contents belong to the deceased, how would the contents be divided up according to intestacy law? There are 4 children with 2 being adults and 2 under 18. One of the adults wants to continue living there as she lived there with her mum. She naturally wants the contents such as furniture and white goods to stay. How can this be done fairly for all 4?

Intestacy rules would say equally between all DC, but if one was living there, unless there's something of particular value or importance, I'd leave the house as it is. Moving/selling the stuff would likely be more trouble than it's worth.

The one who wants the things need to pay a market value to the others, unless they are antiques this isn't likely to be very much.

As all the contents are second-hand they will have a surprisingly small market value, so the other three children need to take that into account - their 'fair share' is unlikely to be much, unless the furniture is sought-after antiques. And even then it might not be as much as they expect.

I regularly attend my local auction house, and quite a bit of what they handle is house-clearances. What do I mean by small market value? Sofas for £10 - £50, Dining table and 4 chairs for £20 (if they sell at all) fridge-freezers/ cookers / washing machines / tumble dryers for £20 - £30. Dining tables, sideboards, display cabinets frequently don't sell; or are bought by landlords for £4 to furnish their student rentals. It breaks my heart when I see a beautiful mahogany table go unsold and you suspect it will become firewood.

Specific examples - I bought a beautiful wool rug for £12 that must have cost the owner £250+ to buy new. A bookcase for £15 that I would estimate at £150. Coffee tables for £5. I did pay £80 recently for a good solid bookcase/display cabinet with glass doors - something similar from a local furniture shop is £800.

Second-hand furniture sells for far, far less than it cost to purchase new, even if the item is only a couple of years old and in good condition.

So, for the adult child who wishes to stay in the house with all the furnishings, I think it would be fair for their siblings to be realistic about the value of the furnishings. It would be fair for the adult wishing to retain the furnishings to pay their siblings in lieu of their share of the furnishings. You all need to make a list of the contents and their realistic market value (remember - not much at all). Discuss the items of sentimental value, and apportion fairly.

It would also be a good idea for the siblings to consider how much it costs to have goods transported. Generally I can get stuff in the back of my car, but a couple of years ago we had to get a man&van, his £60 fee was more than the cost of my purchase. So whilst there may be a temptation to say 'well I really need a new fridge so I'll take that', it could cost them dear to transport.

However, the siblings should be able to have their share of belongings if they want, due to memories. It isn't fair for the resident sibling to keep it all and stop someone else having the sewing box or coffee table or chest of drawers.

Meh

Best and fairest way is to sell up and divide

its irrelevant that one person wants to carry on living there. It’s just tough luck.

Although to be honest you’re not going to get much for the belongings so you might as well just leave it there for the sibling still living there

They should be divided fairly between the beneficiaries. There’s no reason they should all be left for the occupier of the house unless the 3 others want this to happen. Or the 3 might want to take a few items each and leave the rest.

Knowing how difficult it is to move things like washing machines, fridges, sofas, mattresses etc and the cost of van hire, I’d probably be reasonably pleased that resident sibling wasn’t asking other siblings to split the bill and labour of having to clear the house and putting right any damage caused to the rental during the process of moving them. I wouldn’t be squabbling over the value of second hand white goods and furniture, just requesting that all siblings come to an agreement over any sentimental items, photos, jewellery etc and split them fairly.

Can't you all just sit down and choose anything that is special to each person and take those items individually, it's not worth arguing about a second hand washing machine, whoever is renting cannot have everything, that's not fair.

High value stuff sure split it evenly. Like PP said don’t worry about stuff under £50 or so

I think it’s mainly collectables that are worth anything. There’s not much of a risk value and nobody is going to be fighting over the dishwasher or anything. It was how you divide things as equally as possible when a lot of items will be staying in the house for the one who is continuing to live there. I hope they can work it out between them with no fall outs.

I'd get anything valued then see if anyone actually wants them, if not sell them and divide the proceeds equally. The white goods and furniture are best left there, it always seems to come down to money,

"One of the adults wants to continue living there as she lived there with her mum. She naturally wants the contents such as furniture and white goods to stay."

"Collectables" are not "furniture and white goods". The adult who wishes to continue living there doesn't need them in the same way they need a bed to sleep on and a fridge to keep food in.

These 'collectables' may be valuable so it would be best to get them independently valued. But be aware that what was spent collecting them may be unrecoverable - it depends what they are. Maybe the four siblings could discuss whether they wish to sell them and split the proceeds, or to split the items between them if the are of sentimental value? And if splitting the proceeds, the adult wishing the furniture etc could take a smaller portion to take account of that?

I think you would pay someone who is a house clearance specialist to come and survey the contents and give a realistic value for all of it, and the person who is staying in the house is required to pay all the other co-inheritors the appropriate fraction of that amount. If they cannot do so as a lump sum immediately then interest should be added as they pay it off in installments.

House clearance people will charge you to dispose of goods. You won’t get any money from them.
I’d advise choosing something sentimental each and having anything of value professionally valued before it is sold, or one of the siblings buys the other out.

Thank you all. I’ve passed this on but I suspect they will take a few items of sentimental value or just things that they like and the rest will stay in the house until it is probably eventually sold. There’s maybe £5000 of collectibles. The furniture and white goods are worth not a lot. I doubt it will be divided equally but that’s up to them.