Sister inheriting house

[lady_p_gold]

I own my home and have elderly parents. I have no other family apart from my sister. If my parents died and I did not leave a will, would my sister have a claim or inherit my house ???

[funnywebsite]

Maybe, did you want her to inherit the house? I guess she can try and claim the house if you have no other relatives. Not leaving a will though will waste some of it on extra legal bills.

[vehelpfulguy]

If you want to see what can go wrong if you dont leave a proper will, have a look in today's papers for Peter Lawton Harris story (5th December 2005).

You can also search on the web for his story.

He is being evicted from a house he has lived in for 21 years by his own children. He is now homeless.

All because a will was not written properly.

[ursula62]

if YOU own the home as you say in your first sentence then your sister should have no claim on it, even if you have allowed your parents to live there. If your parents own the house then your sister would be entitled to a share, even though it is your only dwelling place.

[dzug]

If you died and did not leave a will, then your sister might have a claim (depending on what other relatives you have).

If you own the house and your parents die then your sister has no claim (arising from your parent's deaths)

[Miss Zippy]

If you die intestate (without a will), then intestacy law provides who will inherit your estate on your death. If you die with no spouse and no children, but your parents and siblings survive you, then your estate will be divided between your parents and siblings equally. If your parents/siblings do not survive you, then the estate will be divided between other relatives such as aunts, uncles and cousins etc. If no family member survives you, your estate goes to the Crown.