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Original poster

Help please - DH been left a house in a will

26 replies

LowMaintenance101 · 27/11/2016 20:16

Hi everyone.
I'm really hoping for some advice. My DH and his siblings have been named in a will. They are the sole beneficiaries of the will and a house is involved.
Has anyone been through this?
We are just wondering what the next steps are, in practical terms.
Does a solicitor deal with everything and then they just end up with a cash amount, or do they have do instruct an estate agent? Any pitfalls they should be aware of?
Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
homebythesea · 27/11/2016 20:19

The property will be transferred into the names of the beneficiaries. This will be done by a solicitor appointed by the executors. Then the beneficiaries need to decide what to do with it. Easiest is sell and divide the proceeds equally. More difficult if one of the beneficiaries want to live in it (so must buy out the other interests) or if selling will be difficult and therefore renting out looks a better option

mumblechum0 · 27/11/2016 20:22

Who are the executors? They are the ones who deal with selling/casing in all assets, paying any IHT, funeral expenses, debts, bills etc and then splitting the net proceeds according to the will.

the first step is getting the grant of probate and doing the tax return. There's lots f helpful guidance on the gov.uk website.

Original poster
LowMaintenance101 · 27/11/2016 20:25

Thank you for the reply homebythesea. The deceased is a long absent parent so there is no way any of them would want to live there. I can't see them renting it out either for the same reason.
So really I think my question should be, what are the practical steps involved in selling the property?

OP posts:
Original poster
LowMaintenance101 · 27/11/2016 20:29

Mumblechum0 - that's a good question. We known very little so far so I'll let them know that they need to ask. Thanks for answering.

OP posts:
Babyroobs · 27/11/2016 21:30

My dh is currently going through this too and nothing seems straightfroward. there are 3 siblings ( one living abroad). The house has been on the market a number of months with absolutely zero interest. SIL thought she might want to live in the house but then chops and changes her mind. BIL abroad has not been in touch for months and the others are reluctant to contact him as initially he was pushy and difficult and upset SIL. Thaey have already paid a massive inheritance tax bill and now it looks like the house won't sell for as much as originally valued.
I have tried to get dh to push for a quick sale even if it means significantly reducing the price, but he and SIL's latest idea seems to be to take it off the market for a while ??. The whole thing stresses me out now so I'm keeping out of it !
Hope you have more luck than our situation !!

Babyroobs · 27/11/2016 21:36

And sorry I didn't answer your original question. I think they got 3 estate agents to values the property for inheritance tax purposes ( not sure if that applies to you? ). They spent a long time sorting out the house ( there was a lot of a stuff to sort). Then they just got a few different estate agents to come round and chose which one to go with. I don't think you have to pay council tax if the house is empty. If the house eventually sells, the money will just be slit 3 ways after any estate agents bills and outstanding utility bills are paid.

Original poster
LowMaintenance101 · 27/11/2016 22:32

Babyroobs - that sounds like a nightmare! I don't think inheritance tax will apply here. It's a modest house from what we can gather. How awful that you have to pay it up front based on an estimate of the value!
Families can be so trying - really hope your situation gets sorted quickly.

OP posts:
Babyroobs · 28/11/2016 13:09

Yes this house is a very modest ( small and needing modernisation )house too, it's just that it's in Greater London so I guess that's why the prices are so high. I don't think you have to pay Inheritance tax up front if the estate doesn't have the cash to do so. I just hope some of it can be recovered if the house doesn't sell for what it was valued at !!

PestoSwimissimos · 28/11/2016 13:19

Babyroobs

you do

gillybeanz · 28/11/2016 13:28

The executors will deal with probate and when this is done and all assets released the beneficiaries of the house will be named.
The beneficiaries will then sell the house and split the money accordingly minus estate agents fees and solicitors.
I think this is it, but I was also an executor so not 100% sure where executor ends and beneficiary starts iyswim.
Either way, you all have to agree what to do with the property, one of you could suggest buying the others out, but they don't have to agree to this.

gillybeanz · 28/11/2016 13:32

it depends where you live for council tax. Our LA allows a discount but it isn't free unless you are having major restructure work done, externally as well as internally.
If this is the case, take photo's of the work being done and you can have up to 6 months free, in some LA's.

Original poster
LowMaintenance101 · 28/11/2016 15:04

Thanks so much everyone. Really appreciate the advice. Sounds like they really should know who the executors are. It's all come out of the blue so they are a bit shell shocked at the moment

OP posts:
TondelayaDellaVentamiglia · 28/11/2016 15:07

i'd imagine the solicitors with the will would be executors...I think that tends to be a default unless the deceased named anyone else.

Original poster
LowMaintenance101 · 28/11/2016 15:50

Thanks Tondelaya. I wasn't sure if that was possible or not. This could well be the case. As far as we know the deceased had no other family

OP posts:
EllieMentry · 28/11/2016 16:00

Yes, the executor should sort out probate.

I've just been executor for and beneficiary of a parent (been a tough year) and we had the same legal firm doing probate and then conveyancing for the property we were left.

As we were selling straight away, they didn't change the name on the deeds - just left it as the estate of the deceased.

We got three estate agents' valuations for probate purposes, and our buyer was happy to go with those valuations. Be aware that sometimes agents 'value low' for probate (according to our legal firm), so you might want to get another valuation once probate is through. That wasn't the case for us in the event but worth bearing in mind.

Original poster
LowMaintenance101 · 28/11/2016 16:24

EllieMentry - sorry to hear that. It's so tough having to deal with things like this when it is a loved one who has passed.
Thank you for the practical tips though. Very much appreciate it

OP posts:
kath6144 · 28/11/2016 16:42

You need to find out who the executors are. Has your DH been told officially that he is a beneficiary and by whom? Solicitors are only the executors if the deceased names them as such in the will - it is not a default setting. Equally they could have got a friend or such to be Executor!

Either way, the executor will deal with probate, including getting house valued, then will sell the house and all proceeds will be included in estate as a whole. There may be cash too. Do you know if your DH is a beneficiary of whole estate?

Original poster
LowMaintenance101 · 28/11/2016 17:03

Kath - DH has been told by the solicitor that the estate will be divided equally between himself and siblings and that the estate includes a house.

OP posts:
MiracletoCome · 29/11/2016 20:43

I'm executor for DMs house jointly with a solicitors and I had to do all the estate agent stuff like get the valuations and get the house on the market. Has your DH seen the will. DM gave me a copy of hers so I knew I was executor.
Even though there is solicitor as joint executor I am doing the selling part, the solicitor sorted out the probate and paperwork but I deal with the estate agent and empty the house, all the normal legwork of a house sale.

StorminaBcup · 29/11/2016 20:49

I was left 50% my df's house in his will and I was also the named executor. As pp has mentioned the house will have to be valued for probate and any tax due is paid up front. You can get a loan for this and then pay it back from the estate once probate is granted. I obtained 3 estimates and took the average but there's nothing stopping you taking the lowest value. Most of the agents will give a lower value if they know it's for probate.

MiracletoCome · 29/11/2016 20:51

DM was under the impression the solicitors would deal with everything. She kept saying to me, don't worry, the solicitors will do it all. I think she would turn in her grave if she knew the stress and bother I have had Sad

jbee664 · 29/11/2016 20:59

My OH went through this last year. They'll also need to arrange clearing the house out too which is obviously quite a distressing task - some estate agents say it's best to keep furniture etc in for viewings. We cleared all personal bits like clothes etc and then after it had sold we called a charity removals company who came and took all the big items away. The solicitor then dealt with the sale and transfer of the money between the siblings.

jbee664 · 29/11/2016 21:01

For the non house money that was left, the solicitor sorted this relatively soon and this was transferred to the siblings following probate.

jbee664 · 29/11/2016 21:02

But yes, he had to deal with house sale and estate agent etc - solicitor only dealt with the follow up finances bit when the house was sold.

SheepyFun · 29/11/2016 21:18

One thing to be aware of is that this means your DH now (part) owns a house, so he no longer qualifies as a 'first time buyer' under any government schemes. It turns out that 'first time buyer' really means 'first time owner'. You may already own a house, in which case it doesn't matter, but when we were looking to buy, it meant that we didn't qualify for a stamp duty exemption the gov't had in place for first time buyers at the time (my DH had previously inherited part of a house, which was sold).