land/will issue

skyknow

my father died recently and left all the farm and a business to me, i have other brothers and sisters and they got a small cash sum each, i also got the cash sum. mother got the family home and the use of the land till she retires next year.
later i have discovered that my mother is half owner of the land.
what i am wondering is do i get all the land, does my mother keep half, can she will the rest of the land to someone else when she dies, is the will worth the paper it's written on, can my brothers and sisters contest the will now.
money was owed to the revenue before father died, do i pay this as i am the main beneficiary so does it come from the small amount of cash we are all getting, this will then p off the brothers and sisters.
lots of questions, some help please. thanks

Victor

Sorry to hear about your father.

skyknow wrote: »

money was owed to the revenue before father died

This, and any other debt, has to be paid first, before any assets are distributed.

Your father can't will you something that he didn't own. Therefore, the exact structure of the farm ownership will have to be ascertained, e.g. did your father own certain fields and your mother the others or did they both own all of them together or some variation of the two.

Given that you are receiving the farm, or part thereof, engaging your own solicitor would be useful. Don't promise anyone anything until you have had legal advice.

Challenges are possible, especially if a disgruntled person feels you got everything and they got nothing, but they mostly get spent on legal fees.

endacl

Thread ® John B. Keane

skyknow

thanks victor:
i will get on to my solicitor, the debt is a problem and who pays for it, the cash amount we are getting will cover it but that leaves the rest with nothing, 1 bother doesn't think this is right and believes because i am basically getting everything that i should cover the debt.
from what i can see they owned the land jointly,

Really Interested

skyknow wrote: »

thanks victor:
i will get on to my solicitor, the debt is a problem and who pays for it, the cash amount we are getting will cover it but that leaves the rest with nothing, 1 bother doesn't think this is right and believes because i am basically getting everything that i should cover the debt.
from what i can see they owned the land jointly,

Depending on what you mean by jointly you will defo need legal advice.

You need to get your own solicitor.

Do you run the farm or work on it? does your brothers or sisters also work on it or live on it. This is important.

If he left a large farm of land & business to you and only a small cash sum to each of the others I think I can see how the debt would stay with you.

Depending on the size of the debts........... so many variables....... get a solicitor (and be nice to everybody)

skyknow

when i mean jointly, both there names are on the land registary documents

skyknow

at present i do not run or work on the farm, i do have a house built on the farm as does 1 of my brothers, this brother does help out on the farm when asked by mother, one of my sisters is very close to my mother and she helps out on the farm alot.
the debt was tens of thousand but is covered by the cash settlement to everyone. will the revenue take this cash first as it would be the easiest to get at or will land have to be sold to pay for it ?
i guess i am asking these question so when i meet the solicitor i will be prepared for his answers/advice

brian_t

Topgear on Dave wrote: »

If he left a large farm of land & business to you and only a small cash sum to each of the others I think I can see how the debt would stay with you.

Does the executor not pay off any debts before any assets can be distributed.

Sam Kade

skyknow wrote: »

at present i do not run or work on the farm, i do have a house built on the farm as does 1 of my brothers, this brother does help out on the farm when asked by mother, one of my sisters is very close to my mother and she helps out on the farm alot.
the debt was tens of thousand but is covered by the cash settlement to everyone. will the revenue take this cash first as it would be the easiest to get at or will land have to be sold to pay for it ?
i guess i am asking these question so when i meet the solicitor i will be prepared for his answers/advice

The debt will be paid out of any money that's there before any assets are distributed. If there is no cash left after the debt being paid then the beneficiaries get nothing.

Sam Kade

brian_t wrote: »

Does the executor not pay off any debts before any assets can be distributed.

The solictor does that before distributing assets.

sword1

Sam Kade wrote: »

The debt will be paid out of any money that's there before any assets are distributed. If there is no cash left after the debt being paid then the beneficiaries get nothing.

If for example there is 40k cash and four people to get 10k and one getting land worth 200k as well. It would hardly seem fair if 40k was used to pay the debt leaving nothing for 3 people and one getting 200k worth of land?

CIARAN_BOYLE

sword1 wrote: »

If for example there is 40k cash and four people to get 10k and one getting land worth 200k as well. It would hardly seem fair if 40k was used to pay the debt leaving nothing for 3 people and one getting 200k worth of land?

It depends on how the will is written, for example if the will says, land to x and the residue of the estate being cash savings to be equally distributed between xyz then the debt comes from the cash.

If the will instead says cash to xyz and the residue (being land) to x then x covers the debts.

Mind you the wording is different that's not how it is formally worded it's just the conceptual explanation.

Sam Kade

sword1 wrote: »

If for example there is 40k cash and four people to get 10k and one getting land worth 200k as well. It would hardly seem fair if 40k was used to pay the debt leaving nothing for 3 people and one getting 200k worth of land?

I've been in that situation, there was also a big cost transferring the land and the cost was taken out of the money with the person getting the land paying nothing.

brian_t

Sam Kade wrote: »

The solictor does that before distributing assets.

No, I think it's the executor - who may or may not be a solicitor.

Sam Kade

brian_t wrote: »

No, I think it's the executor - who may or may not be a solicitor.

Any inheritance I had it was always the solicitor paid out the debts maybe others do it differently.

Peregrinus

The solicitor acts on behalf of, and on the instructions of, the executor.

(And the executor doesn't have to retain a solicitor, except for any property transfers that may be required; he can do all the other legwork himself, if he wants to.)