Intestate Query

Ms.Jane_Doe

Hello,

my father died last year but he had no will, our solicitor has looked after everything so far without any problems but they have confused me with one thing!

he had a small field in his name only and our solicitor was in contact last week asking for our further instructions but I thought we didn't have a choice,

as far was I was aware it has to be split between my mother (two thirds) and my sister and I (one third between us both)

I explained to them that I just want it done right, that's it doesn't matter who's name(s) it goes into as a will have now been made but I got the impression it was more about extra work on them than anything else!!

Mr. Incognito

Speak to your solicitor.

I am not sure if you are looking for advice or this is a type of rant.

seagull

You don't have to split each individual portion of the estate 3 ways. You would have the option of valuing the land, and one beneficiary taking the entire parcel of land while the other two take a larger cash share. I'm presuming the solicitor wants to know whether you want the land sold and the proceeds split, or if someone wants to keep the land, and take a smaller share of the rest.

nuac

Mod
I agree with Mr Incog and Seagull.
Leaving open for general discussion subject to forum rule

Peregrinus

Seagull is correct. You do have a choice, and the best way for you to exercise that choice is for the three of you - your mother, your sister and yourself - to decide how the estate will be divided up, which assets will go towards the shares of which beneficiaries, and whether assets will be sold and the proceeds divided, or just transferred directly to the benificiaries.

It's not so much that the solicitors don't want the extra work of making decisions like this as that they can't make decisions like this. The estate isn't theirs; it's yours. The three of you are the only people who can make these decisions.

4ensic15

Ms.Jane_Doe wrote: »

Hello,


r who's name(s) it goes into as a will have now been made !!

How has a will now ben made? You stated that there was no will. A will can only be made before death as the testator has to sign it.

Ms.Jane_Doe

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Speak to your solicitor.

I am not sure if you are looking for advice or this is a type of rant.

no, this is not a rant!

Ms.Jane_Doe

4ensic15 wrote: »

How has a will now ben made? You stated that there was no will. A will can only be made before death as the testator has to sign it.

Sorry - I should have explained better,

the house was in both my father and mothers name when he passed so that part is okay as it's now solely in her name. A will has now been made by my mother where my sister and I are the beneficiaries (for the house etc), it was the field that worried me as it was in my fathers name only when he passed, it went intestate but now back in his name if that makes sense and we have to decide what to do next!

our solicitor wanted to put the land solely in my mothers name and then in the will to us both along with the house which sounded great to me until I had read somewhere about this two thirds, one third rule and wanted everything to be done properly, not just what makes life easier for a solicitor!

I did ask him about this rule and he just said it was a lot of effort, too many signatures etc etc

coylemj

Ms.Jane_Doe wrote: »

our solicitor wanted to put the land solely in my mothers name and then in the will to us both along with the house which sounded great to me until I had read somewhere about this two thirds, one third rule and wanted everything to be done properly, not just what makes life easier for a solicitor!

I did ask him about this rule and he just said it was a lot of effort, too many signatures etc etc

I know that things will work out the same in the end when your mother passes away but you need to get the land into your mother's name by a process that avoids legal complications and a potential tax trap.

You and your sister need to unconditionally renounce your inheritance rights to the land. That means that you do not do so in a manner that mentions your mother by name, you will simply be walking away from the rights you have in respect of the land. That will leave her as the sole beneficiary and she will acquire 100% ownership.

If you renounce in favour of your mother, the revenue consider this as an event potentially giving rise to a double tax liability - an inheritance to you from your father and a gift by you to your mother. So as there's just you and your sister and nobody else in line to benefit, both of you need to renounce unconditionally, that is the way to do it.