Inheritance Of House

[cardiffgirl]

My Dad has made a will and states he wants to leave his house to us 3 daughters....we will obviously have to re register the house with the land authority ? and will we all be registered as co owners ? The problem is that 2 daughters are out of work ,claiming benefits what will their position be ?Also
A......if the house was sold
B......if it was rented out
It seems like it is going to cause problems to me .....a 3 way split and all with different circumstances

[woofgang]

Well how near death is your dad? If its not imminent, Your sisters might be in work by then and the rules may have changed anyway.

[Mojo-Jo-Jo]

I don't know the details but my dad stated that my mum could live in it if she wanted (they were divorced but still friends and she was with him when he died), or failing that the house would be sold and the proceeds split.
I can't see a fairer way for a house split between various people unless one decides to live in it and buy the others out.
If they did that though, I would expect market value as another beneficiary.

[woofgang]

Mojo??????

[boxtops]

i don't understand your last sentence about market value, mojo?

Cardiffgirl, your dad will have to be very specific in his will that he wants to leave it to you three in equal shares, IMO

[cardiffgirl]

I wish my Dad had gone to a solicitor and had sound advice but he had someone come to the house from a will making company, and how on earth do you ask questions of him about this , it almost sounds callous !

[Mojo-Jo-Jo]

Look at it this way.

If you had a house that was left to three people.
It could either be sold or one person could buy it out.
If I was one of the three who wasn't buying it out, I'd expect the amount I received from the one who is buying it out to be equivalent to if the house was sold on the open market.
That's not unreasonable

[hc4361]

You seem to be more concerned about daughters losing their benefits if they inherit.
The normal procedure is to get the house valued, for ease let's say it is £300k. Each daughter will be entitled to £100k.
If one wants to she buy the others out buy paying them £100k each.

The beneficiaries would lose their entitlements to benefits as they have over £16k.

If the house was rented out then the property would have to be declared as an asset and the rent share as income.

[cardiffgirl]

I agree with your last post......that would be the only fair way, but the 2 that are on benefits (one a single mum) would naturally have to declare it and the benefit agency would stop her money as she would either have a property to the value of x amount or income from the rental which would be divided by 3 ,so either way she could not really benefit from it unless of course by some miracle a job came along enabling her to come off benefit altogether.

[boxtops]

I know you can't predict the future, but is your dad reasonably young and fit. I'd hope you/your sisters wouldn't be on benefit for ever - things might well change before they come to inherit.

[cardiffgirl]

It is definately not a case of losing out on benefits , just making sure we have enough information beforehand so we all know what is likely to happen eventually.

[Mojo-Jo-Jo]

Or...the two that were on benefits would have a nice tidy lump sum that would negate their need for benefits for a while.
They could afford to lose benefits for a while with a one third share of a house.
I'm sorry, but I don't approve of working things to keep benefits where none are needed because the person can fully afford to support themselves.

[boxtops]

I must say I agree with that, mojo

[woofgang]

but if its "eventually", the rules might have changed or your father might have changed his mind, the house might need to be sold, anything can happen.

[Barmaid]

If the house was sold you each get an equal 1/3.
If the house is rented out you should each get an equal 1/3.
(Both after costs etc)

Dad needs proper legal advice since there is a way of ensuring that benefits are protected.

[atalanta]

If the house is worth £300,000 there will be inheritance tax to pay. Unless the father has extra assets which will cover the tax. Then, if the house is rented out, and each heir receives part of the rent, that rent will be taxable income. You should bear this in mind before asking for the will to be altered. The property can be registered with the Land Registry as having 3 new owners so all three will be required to sign if/when the house is to be sold. All 3 would have to sign leases, etc, if the property is to be rented out, and cannot do so unless they are in the Land Registry records as joint owners. Are the heirs all executors as well ?

[aelmpvw]

inheritance tax starts at £325,000