Late uncles will?

[astraman]

My uncle recently died and left his 50% share of the family home and his assets to his son including personal cash which hasnt shown up in the will and a car and land which is listed.As my aunt is still alive can he give away half a house and does she not have a right to a claim on any land car or personal cash which was all obtained during the course of there marriage.

[bednobs]

surely if there is a will, then the persons wishes should be followed?

[Ethel]

It depends how the house is owned. If it is owned under a tenancy in common, in law the widow owns the whole on her husband's death and he cannot will it to another.

If it is owned as joint tenants they both own a specific share - unless stated otherwise it will be 50/50 and he can leave his half to whoever he pleases.

As for his personal assets - provided they are his, he can leave them to anyone.

[MustafaTickl]

It's the other way round, Ethel. Tenancy In Common is specific individual shares which can be disposed of as a person wishes. Joint Tenancy means survivor takes all.

[Ethel]

Course it is! I am a silly moo.

Apologies for the error. :)


*I did know really, honest injun*

[astraman]

Does this mean that even if my aunt signed and agreed to give her husbands 50% away before he died that as long as she is living she can change her mind.The people who asked her to sign this were the main beneficiaries and did not explain to her what she was signing.Thanks for your helpful answers.

[YJ]

There seem to be a few issues here.
(1) If your uncle and aunt owned the house as "tenants in common", then he can give his 50% away as it's completely up to him. BUT, if they owned it as "joint tenants", then the instant he died, she owns 100% and it doesn't matter what the will says (because, in a joint tenancy, the house goes to the survivor and doesn't form part of the estate that passes under the will).

(2) If your aunt has signed something giving away her share of the house, then the effect of that will very much depend on what she signed. If she gave it and didn't receive anything in return, then it is quite possible that this would not be legally binding. You need to get her to talk to a solicitor. If she can't afford one, your local citizens advice bureau should be able to tell you where your nearest free legal advice clinic is - they might be able to help. Directory enquiries shold be able to help with a telephone number for the citizens advice bureau.

Even if your aunt doesn't own the whole house, she might still have a right to occupy it, under the family law act. A solicitor could tell her more about this.

Good luck!

[MustafaTickl]

As you can see, astraman, it is crucial to your problem for you to be able to say whether your aunt was a joint tenant or a tenant in common. If the title has not been transferred to others yet you can easily find out by going to

http://www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/

and proceeding through the "property search" section. You need to see (and copy) the Register only which costs �3. If the words "No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court." are there then your aunt is/was a tenant in common. If they are not there then she is a joint tenant.

[gardener2]

If something has 'not shown up in the Will' then you should address your concerns to the executor. If the deceased wife has been excluded from the Will she could make a claim under the Inheritancy (Provision for dependants) Act 1975 irispective of the house ownership.
See a solicitor ASAP as there are time limits for claims.