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Inheritance

(5 Posts)
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Hastler Tue 10-Jul-12 08:13:48

My mother passed away nearly 6 years ago leaving her half of the house Dad now occupies to me.
The property is worth about £330,000 so my half is about £165,000.
In addition I lent my father £35,000 4 years ago and took a charge over his half of the property taking my total interest in the house to £200,000.
The £35,000 plus interest is repayable on his death or him going into a nursing home.
My father has now announced he is getting married to a lady 13 years younger than him.
I know Dad could will his half of the house to her hopefully less the £35,000 plus interest.
As the lady is likely to outlive my father will I have to wait until she passes away?.
I am not happy with this as I am now nearly 55 and will be a gran myself in September.
I realise it will not be pleasant for her to be thrown out of the house if my father passes away before her but they are making redundancies where I work and they are looking at people aged 55+ first as they will get an immediate pension.
I do not need the money immediately but it would not be pleasant for me if I do not get my money at some point in the future.

Hastler

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JessM Tue 10-Jul-12 08:23:50

Hastler that does sound difficult for you. I think you need to talk to your solicitor because they would be able to tell you the answer to your question straight away. Worth spending the money on this now to avoid a lot of worry and possible future confusion.
I do know that any will your dad has made will become invalid when he marries so getting him to come along to a solicitor and draw up a new will that he can sign on marriage, clarifying your interest in the house, would be to your advantage.

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Hastler Tue 10-Jul-12 09:46:14

Hi JessM

I really think you are right but I do not know if getting a solicitor involved will cause conflict which I was trying to avoid and I will make an appointment.
My name is on the land certificate as a half owner so I do not think there can be any doubt I own half of the property and the charge also shows on the land certificate.
Really what I am worried about is getting my hands on the money at some point.
The other concern is the responsibility for the maintenance of the property.
A few weeks ago Dad and myself received a bill for £350 in respect of our share for repairs of the joint drains.
Also I may have to insure the property if the future wife will not pay so I am really concerned the house could become a money pit to me.
As it happened Dad paid for the drain repairs and has just paid the insurance for another year but I was legally liable as an owner of the house for the share of the drain repairs even though I do not live there.

Hastler

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Annobel Tue 10-Jul-12 10:10:58

Hastler, have you spoken to your dad about this? From what you say, it sounds as if you are on pretty good terms with him. If you were to see a solicitor, perhaps you should take your dad into your confidence before you do it and explain your anxieties.

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AlisonMA Tue 10-Jul-12 13:48:54

Hastler I agree with the others, you need to get legal advice, it will be money well spent. Do some lawyers still offer a free first visit? It may be that your father wants to leave you more than half the house, have you seen his will? As Jess says, his will will be invalid from the wedding day so he will need to make a new one.

What is the new wife bringing to the marriage? Does she have a house? I think your father would be very upset at the thought of you both having problems after his death so would probably be happy to have it all settled now.

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