Would love some opinions/experience of splitting estate between siblings

[Pruni]

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Gosh. Sounds pretty complicated.

I think the only solution is to split everything fifty fifty. You are siblings after all, if not you will have a battle over your Fathers estate. Which after a bereavment is the last thing you will want.

Why can't it be equal?

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I agree, it sounds very complicated - the best thing to do would be for your father to leave everything 50/50 and the house to be sold immediately upon his death but to appoint Executors/Trustees (can be the Solicitors who make his Will) to deal with the whole Estate/sale of house etc and basically just give you and your brother a cheque at the end of it all. That way, you don't even have to write to your brother let alone speak to him!

Oh I see. So if you both owned half of the house, he would want to sell it and you wouldn't?

Dunno if it's possible, but in my family - in America - we have trusts set up for what will happen to my father's estate in the event of his death. It's basically a means to minimise inheritance tax.

There's no obligation to split things 50-50 between siblings. In fact, there's no legal obligation to bequeath one's offspring anything at all. As far as a 'battle', that's entirely dependent on how well the estate is set up.

With a trust, a trust can be incorporated, like a business (at least, it can and was in my dad's domicile state, Texas), so it's actually the business trust that inherits, rather than an individual - although individuals can act on behalf of the trust: buying and selling things, drawing income from the trust, etc.

Could be a way round any sticky issues.

The fairest way would be to allow your fathers will to split everything 50/50 but with a clause in it allowing you first option to keep the house. In the event that the market value of the hosue exceeded the cash available then you would have to buy your brother out (eg house worth £350, cash of £250 so you would pay your brother £50k to even things out).

However, this structure is fairly poor from a tax planning perspective depending on the age of your father, and it would probably be more tax efficient for you to be gifted the house upon the death of your grandmother (so it does not fall into your father's estate). This would leave your father's exempt amount to be utilised by the cash gift to your brother. Again it may be possible to word a clause in your father's will in such a way that the cash sums to you and your brother are linked to the market value of the house already gifted to you (and it would be the value as at the date of your father's death which is truly relevent). However if you followed this route you could not be impelled to give your brother any shortfall in the difference. You may choose to, out of fairness, but the will could not compel you to I think. Of course there is more to share because the house will not have been part fo your father's estate for IHT purposes (I assume he won't be living there).

Afraid that this is one of those instances where by paying around £250-£500 in legal advice now, you will save an awful of pain and money later.

Your grandmother and your father can leave what they want to whom they want. There is no obligation, either legal or moral, to ensure that an estate is split equally.

Would you want to keep the house or sell it? If the latter, then you could always just give your brother what you consider to be a fair share if the house turns out to be worth more than your fathers cash estate.

If you ensure that solicitors deal with it all, your brother should have no reason to contact you.

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Pruni, Just to say that there is n't any clearcut date, but if you're effectively saying that the house wouldn't normally have come to you unitl the death of your father, then that would be the equitable value to be split. As others have pointed out, almost anything goes!

Don't see why it has to be split at all. I mean, it's her house to do as she pleases with. If she wanted to give it away, that's w/i her right.

All this 'fairness' stuff doesn't really have any play w/a person who 1) has never shown himself to be worthy of others treating him fairly 2) certainly wouldn't play fairly w/any inheritance that came his way.

I'm certain a good solicitor can see all the options and is WELL worth the money. That's what they're paid to do.

We're all very pleased w/how my father chose to apportion his estate - which is his and my mother's to decide what to do w/- but having an impartial, competent adviser was worth its weight in gold.

Of course, I couldn't imagine squabbling w/my only sibling, my dear sister, over money or things. That's just sad and disgusting.

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Exactly, Pruni! Does your gran know his character? I mean, honestly, if I had an adult grandchild like that, I don't know that I'd leave them much or anything at all. Not like he'd even be grateful, or use the windfall as the golden opportunity it is and cherish it and put it to good use. I'd probably leave their 'share' to a worthwhile charity.

I think your brother has to accept that your dad's estate will be your dad's to do with as he wishes, so if the house ends up being worth more than the money that your brother gets, tough luck.

Honestly, most estates do not get divied up fairly. I realised this after my mother died. She loaned lots of money to my brothers but said that she would adjust her will to make sure I got a fair share in the end -- but she didn't make any such adjustment at all. I moaned about this to my dad, and he said it had been the same with his siblings (he is one of 10 over 3 marriages). Asking around, I think most estates don't get divided equally, it's very hard to really do it. I think that in your situation, either you agree (in your dad's will) to a 50-50 split of the house sale proceeds, or if you really want to keep the house for sentimental reasons, go with the early inheritance gift from your dad for sentimental reasons. You can't have it both ways.

It sounds like your brother is the sort to contest the will in almost any event, so get the will drawn up tight, whatever you do.

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Pruni - sounds dreadful. Did you say earlier - how far away does he live from you? Just wondering about how physically accessible you are for intimidation....

Pruni - O have gone thru this process with my sister and you are so right to want to make sure things are cut and dried between you and your brother and that you are not tied to him. What you must remember tho is that the value of your father's house for estate taxes will be its value at the time of his death unless he has gifted it to you over 7 years before his death. If he dies within 7 yrs of gifting you the house then you will be liable for tax on it if his entire estate, ie including the money he is leaving to your brother, is over the inheritance tax threshold which is currently about £275,000. IHT has to be paid very quickly after death, so if it were to qualify you would have to think if you would have the cash to pay the tax and not have to sell the house to pay it. Btw, your dad is not allowed to gift the house to you and then continue to live in it free, if that what he is planning to do. You really need to get professional advice about this - £100 for a solicitor now to advise your dad on the most efficient way of planning his will will reap rewards at the later (much later I hope) date when his will comes into force. Good luck - it's horrid thinking about these things, but far better if they're sorted out ahead of time. CAT me if this doesn't make sense!

My understanding of scottish law is that even if there is a will - it can be contested and siblings can demand an equal half of the estate no matter what will says. I have a vague memory of being taught this at school and was one of the many differences between scottish and english law.

You should get some legal advice on this now to make sure that you know what the situation will be.

My father is a lawyer and he has seen so many family relationships get severely damaged after inheritance disputes that he said that sometime he thought that the best inheritance he may leave to hos daughters was to leave us nothing!

Now, seriously, if you are getting into all this stress just at the though of inheriting the house, I can't imagine how it would be if you start having problems with your brother after it. It may be wiser just to let go and ask your granny to leave the house to your father and for your father to write a will specifying that everything he has get sold and each of you get 50% of the money. It seems to me the fairest and less problematic solution considering what you have said of your brother.

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Pruni if the house is first bequeathed to your father, and he then gifts it to you then you would have to charge him a full rent if he were to live in it. As I understand it this would not apply if your grnadmother bequeathed the house directly to you (ie it was never owned by your father), so overall this is the more tax-efficient.

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