Family Fall out problem - Legal advice on property

bayancinal

Hi there,
Can someone help me on this or send me in the right direction.

My father and brother have fallen out (father doesn't see grandchildren, etc). The property my father lives in has already been signed over to this brother before my father passes away.

Although my brother and father don't speak, my brother takes it on himself to move horses at 11.30pm which pass by my fathers bedroom window and frightens him. My brother sends his friends up to the house to collect items of the land but never tells my father. My fathers sees strangers walking around the land and doesn't know who they are.

There is a main entrance gate to the property. Does my father have the right to lock this when he pleases to keep out unwanted visitors? Does my brother have a right to unlock the gate and enter?

Any legal advice would be a huge help!

Jev/N

bayancinal wrote: »

Any legal advice would be a huge help!

I would advise you to read the charter for the forum and seek advice from a solicitor, legal advice of this sort cannot be proffered on here unfortunately

bayancinal

Thanks a million for the heads up - sorry about that.

seamus

This isn't legal advice, but your father has possession of the property and it is his residence, therefore he has the right to determine who is and is not permitted to access the property. This includes your brother.

It can get more complicated than that, but that's the cut and thrust of it - your father is permitted to lock the gates and your brother is not permitted to unlock them unless invited onto the property by your father.

dats_right

seamus wrote: »

This isn't legal advice, but your father has possession of the property and it is his residence, therefore he has the right to determine who is and is not permitted to access the property. This includes your brother.

It can get more complicated than that, but that's the cut and thrust of it - your father is permitted to lock the gates and your brother is not permitted to unlock them unless invited onto the property by your father.

Hold your horses there, that is probably wrong and it is far from being that simple.

The brother apparently now owns the property and there is no information as to whether the father remains on the property as a result of an express legal right of residence or by mere permission of his son (the brother). Either way it may be very difficult to exclude the true owner from his own lands. My advice here is to proceed with caution and to seek advice from your solicitor before proceeding in any manner.

seamus

dats_right wrote: »

Hold your horses there, that is probably wrong and it is far from being that simple.

The brother apparently now owns the property and there is no information as to whether the father remains on the property as a result of an express legal right of residence or by mere permission of his son (the brother). Either way it may be very difficult to exclude the true owner from his own lands. My advice here is to proceed with caution and to seek advice from your solicitor before proceeding in any manner.

That's why I reckon it probably is a lot more complicated than that, and that I wasn't giving legal advice . Assuming the father lives in the house, there may be nothing expressly said about what other parts of the property your father has exclusive access to or what wayleaves/rights-of-way are already in existence.

IANAL, but I would assume that unless specifically agreed otherwise, the resident has full and exclusive rights to the entire property.

A solicitor with expertise in this area would indeed be your first port of call.

dats_right

seamus wrote: »

IANAL

I am!

seamus wrote: »

but I would assume that unless specifically agreed otherwise, the resident has full and exclusive rights to the entire property.

You assume wrong, it is the other way around; unless otherwise expressly agreed the lawful owner and not the resident has exclusive rights to the entire property. Meaning that the resident's rights depends wholly on his legal status i.e. did he reserve an exclusive right of residence or, is he resident only by and with the consent of the registered owner?

If the resident has an exclusive right of residence registered on the title to the property, well then he can enforce his rights even as against the legal owner. But on the other hand, if the resident is in occupation only by the mere consent of the owner, well then the owner can require the resident to vacate the premises and bring legal proceedings if they fail to do so.

trad

Is it too late to suggest that someone sits down with your father and brother and knock thier heads together and try and compromise / reconcile.

One you go down the legal route in a family it usually goes to the grave. Find a family member / friend of both and try and get them to come to some sort of understanding.