My sister is one of three siblings. In December we lost our father. My sister lived with our father and they had bought a house together two years prior to his death for about £400,000.
We hadn’t realised that it had been bought in both their names despite her only contributing £15,000 to the deposit versus our father’s £150,000 deposit.
He sold the family home to free up funds and downsize to the property and as she’s never worked full time, she had to move with him as she couldn’t afford to move out.
While we wouldn’t want to see her homeless, it seems very unfair that we miss out on all inheritance just because she had her name put on the house without our knowledge.
Our father was poorly so we suspect it was to protect her living arrangements once he passed. But other than being grossly unfair, is this legal?
Property inheritance: Sister and late father bought a house together so where do the other siblings stand (Stock image)
Tanya Jefferies, of This is Money, replies: This must be a very difficult time for your family, and please accept our sincere condolences on your bereavement.
Regarding your inheritance from your late father, it is unclear from what you have told us if your sister will end up owning the entire property she bought with him.
We asked a lawyer experienced in this area, who explains what you need to investigate in terms of how the property was owned, your father’s will if there was one and other matters.
You are in the best position to know the chances of coming to a fair agreement over sharing an inheritance with your sister.
But it seems sensible to get legal advice to explore your options before getting into a dispute, which might not be easy to repair, when you all must be grieving your father.
Anna Sutcliffe: Where there are concerns about a property transaction, you can seek to obtain a copy of the conveyancing file
Anna Sutcliffe, contentious probate partner at FBC Manby Bowdler, replies: It is clear that there is a lot to unravel here.
You state that the property was purchased in the joint names of your sister and your father.
The equity in the property appears to be around £165,000 but it is not clear what other assets may be in the estate.
The steps to take and matters that should be explored are set out below, and as you will see this type of case can be complex.
You should therefore seriously consider consulting a solicitor with experience in this area before you do anything else.
It may be that matters can be resolved amicably between you and your sister either through correspondence and discussions or a more formal mediation process.
However, a great deal of time and expense can be saved by seeking specialist legal help at the outset.
Check the ownership of the property
The first step is to obtain a copy of the Land Registry Title to see what further information can be gleaned as to the nature of the property ownership. This is a quick and inexpensive process.
If the property was owned as joint tenants, then your father’s share of the property would automatically pass to your sister upon his death.
If the property was held as tenants in common then your father’s share would pass in accordance with his will. If there’s no will, the rules of intestacy apply. The Government has information about intestacy here.
You will also need to find out how much the family home was sold for and whose names that property was registered in.
It sounds as though there would have been money left from the sale – potentially significant sums given that this was a downsizing exercise.
So, you will want to find out how much money was left and where it has gone.
The downsizing might have been part of a considered inheritance plan.
In respect of the new property, you will want to know whose name the mortgage is in and how the mortgage payments were made.
Did your late father leave a will?
You need to take steps to establish if your father made a will.
If you and your siblings don’t know whether there is a will but are aware that your father used a solicitor for other matters, you could contact that firm first or undertake a Certainty Will Search.
If there is no will, your father’s assets would pass in accordance with the intestacy rules, as explained above.
If there is a will and it was drafted by a professional, you or your solicitor could request a copy of the will file and see whether the issue of the property was discussed and whether that makes matters clearer.
What other matters should be explored?
Where there are concerns about a property transaction and questions to be answered, you or your lawyer can seek to obtain a copy of the conveyancing file from the solicitor who handled this at the time.
The file will hold the documents and records of what happened during the transaction, and can help you explore what instructions were given and what your father’s intentions were regarding the property ownership.
You can find out whether a Declaration of Trust was prepared, which would confirm the ownership shares.
Ideally such a declaration would be registered at the Land Registry, but this is not always the case.
The questions you and your own lawyer might want to consider are was your father advised competently and have his instructions been properly implemented?
If not, it may be that there is a claim to be explored in professional negligence.
You will also want to consider whether there was concern about your father’s mental capacity when the sale of the family home and purchase of the new property took place.
This could be further investigated by seeking to obtain medical records as you say he was ‘poorly’, so it may be that he was vulnerable or his decision-making was impaired.
