Anyone Know?

trudij

trudij

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Who you go to to change the names of a house owner to one person? After a scare two weeks ago, mum and dad have decided to put the house ( currently in joint name) into just one - but do they have to go through a solicitor or do they just walk into the building society?

any ideas??
 
If they own the house as "joint tenants" (legal phrase, doesn't mean if they rent it) ownership automatically passes to the surviving owner on the death of the other without having to process wills etc.
 
If they own it as tenants in common , another legal phrase then the share passes by will or intestacy - I can't think of any reason why they would do .

If there is any suggestion that this is being done to avoid a claim being made against one of them it won't work if the transfer is at a preference or undervalue.

They should definitely take advice whatever the reason.
 
Thats what they want to change it to being - "tenants in common". At the moment it is in joint names,with it going to whichever one survives the other, then to me and my brother. What they are worried about is my 3 half siblings trying to get a look in - they have been told that if they become T.I.C. and name the others with a token inheritance ( £100 between them or whatever) - they then cant contest me and Iain ( the only offspring of mum and dad) getting everything else.

Dad very nearly died 2 weeks ago, so its all brought it a bit more real in his mind.....
 
They need to take the advice of a solicitor but personally I think that their fears are groundless. Also the "tenants in common" route is not always the best one to go along. It shouldn't cost a lot to get legal advice but it's certainly worth it (far more than listening to people like me :D ).
 
trudi - unless your half siblings are " maintained " by your parents then they are very unlikely to have a claim under the Inheritance ( Family Provision ) Act 1975. This Act means that spouses and civil partners and those that are financially dependent may make a claim if they are " cut out " of the will .

I doubt that changing from joint tenants to tenants in common would make much difference to that claim if there were to be one. In fact it might make things worse.

I assume that the idea is if one dies then only half the estate will be subject to challenge rather than the whole estate . I am not sure that is logical.

That is just a view off the top of my head though. I advise strongly that you get them to go to a solicitor as everything turns as always on the particular facts of the case .
 
Trudi, a good solicitor (that specialises in Wills, Estates and Probate) is definitely the right route to go, and making sure your parents Wills are fully up to date - perhaps with you and your brother having a copy. Your parents can specify if they have particular people that should not benefit. As far as I know, as Ardross states, unless the half siblings are financially dependent on your parents, they would find it difficult (if not impossible) to contest any Will.

A solicitor will clearly cost a few pounds, but with some good, sound advice, and backed up in writing, I am sure you can all sleep a little more soundly at night

I do hope your Dad is OK now.
 
Good luck to your Dad Trudi.

There is no way your half siblings can contest the will if you and your brother are the benficiaries. However, if your dad died intestate, then they WOULD be entitled to something; so it's important his will is up to date.

The main point about changing the ownership of the house from a joint tenancy to 'tenancy in common' is that this might save a lot of death duties. If half of the house is owned and bequeathed to you two on the death of the first of your parents, then his/her estate will be almost halved in value. If it goes to the other spouse, and then the value is quite likely to be over over the limit for paying inheritance tax. Of course your parent would have to trust the two of you that you wouldn't book the other surviving parent out of the house!

Get legal advice. Even the citizens advice bureau might have the answers.
 
Originally posted by Headstrong@Oct 17 2006, 01:22 AM
Good luck to your Dad Trudi.

There is no way your half siblings can contest the will if you and your brother are the benficiaries. However, if your dad died intestate, then they WOULD be entitled to something; so it's important his will is up to date.

The main point about changing the ownership of the house from a joint tenancy to 'tenancy in common' is that this might save a lot of death duties. If half of the house is owned and bequeathed to you two on the death of the first of your parents, then his/her estate will be almost halved in value. If it goes to the other spouse, and then the value is quite likely to be over over the limit for paying inheritance tax. Of course your parent would have to trust the two of you that you wouldn't book the other surviving parent out of the house!

Get legal advice. Even the citizens advice bureau might have the answers.
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Headstrong - you may have a point about inheritance tax but there are other ways to avoid that (i.e you go beyond severing the joint tenancy and create a discretionary trust ( the terms of which stop the booting out ) and of course the estate would have to be worth over £285,000 ( unless it has gone up yet )

You are wrong I am afraid about the making of a will - the Inheritance ( family Provision ) Act 1975 can override wills , if insufficient provision is made for a spouse or civil partner and anyone in the family who was maintained by the deceased.

I would not advise anyone to go anywhere near a citizens advice bureaux for such advice . Go to see a solicitor.
 
Thankyou everyone - Dad is fine now - apart from his new teeth (the paramedics knoked his front two out when they put the tube in him!) hes not impressed that he cant whistle any more!!

They are off to find themselves a solicitor this week - Their one is in Gillingham, and as weve been in Poole for 27 years, its about time they got one!!! From the sounds of things it wll all be ok anyway - as long as they are named somewhere on the will I dont think they can contest it?(or have i been watching too much Judge Judy type programs??!!!)

all this for an estate worth about £2.50 :rolleyes:
 
Trudi, sometimes it's not about the valuation :D but making sure that your parents wishes are adhered to. You would be astounded how many people fail to make a Will when it can be done fairly quickly and depending on which solicitor, at a reasonable cost.

Money is the root of all evil, and there are so many family fall-outs, when a loved one passes away, purely based on who should get what and who said what to who etc etc. Losing someone is traumatic enough but with the added upset of siblings, or half siblings at war with each other, it can be a very upsetting time for all involved.

Making a Will, that can always be updated if necessary, offers peace of mind to everyone, especially your parents so they are right to bite the bullet (or suck it in your Dad's case! :blink: ) now so that you can all get on with your lives with one less thing to worry about. Your Dad can then concentrate on getting better and getting some dentures fitted! :P
 
Originally posted by Ardross@Oct 17 2006, 08:53 AM
you may have a point about inheritance tax but there are other ways to avoid that (i.e you go beyond severing the joint tenancy and create a discretionary trust ( the terms of which stop the booting out )
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While I agree with you, it must be pointed out that for over twenty years the Inland Revenue has tried to argue (not always successfully) that, where a share of the house is in a discretionary trust it is not always held on a discretionary basis at all, but is held for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse.
 
Quite so Brian. The IR has tightened up a lot in its interpretation of such trusts lately thanks to Gordy's hatred of the middle classes.

I was assuming that the half siblings were NOT supported by Trudi's father in any way. I feel quite strongly about all this as my mother left her will so as to causde as much family dissention as possible, in which she succeeded brilliantly, with my sister now not speaking to anyone else in the family! See a solicitor, it's essential, esp if the house is worth more than the In Tax limit - as so many are now.

I only suggestedf the CAB in case Trudy or her family are a bit skint... They do have people skilled in these very common legal questions to advise. I've found them helpful in the past.
 
Originally posted by Headstrong@Oct 17 2006, 03:59 PM
Quite so Brian. The IR has tightened up a lot in its interpretation of such trusts lately thanks to Gordy's hatred of the middle classes.
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Facts - not a lot to do with Mr Brown I'm afraid, though I'm sure that certain sections of the press would have us think so. As I said above The Inland Revenue has contested will trusts including the main domestic property for over twenty years. They have done so, in fact since 1979.

That's eleven years under Thatcher, seven under Major and nine (so far) under Mr Tony.

And, unless I've forgotten someone, that's under five Tory Chancellors before Brown - Sir Geofrey Howe, Nigel Lawson, John Major, Norman Lamont and Kenneth Clarke.
 
Originally posted by BrianH+Oct 17 2006, 03:36 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (BrianH @ Oct 17 2006, 03:36 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Headstrong@Oct 17 2006, 03:59 PM
Quite so Brian. The IR has tightened up a lot in its interpretation of such trusts lately thanks to Gordy's hatred of the middle classes.
Click to expand...
Facts - not a lot to do with Mr Brown I'm afraid, though I'm sure that certain sections of the press would have us think so. [/b][/quote]
I was talking of the specific changes proposed inthis year's Budget; See

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtm...19/cmwill19.xml
and
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...9/ntrusts09.xml
and
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...0/ntrusts10.xml

I feel Gordy is all too keen to take charge of spending the money amassed by the world's workers, esp that of the middle classes, rather than allowing them to dispose of it themselves!
I agree that other Chancellors have targeted these trusts, but not in quite so purposeful nor sweeping a manner as he has tried to do this year.

I think the press was quite right to call attention to the consequences; already taxed income should be for the earner to dispose of, not the Chancellor.
 
Oh dear, I am well aware of the Budget recommendations. Those concerning trusts did not affect Discretionary Trusts or what are being called "Nil Rate IOU Trusts" which are relevant to the topic.

What were affected by the Budget, with some later amendments, were Accumulation Trusts and Maintenance Trusts, which are not relevant to this discussion.

To be fair, it looks as if the Telegraph, and I must say it's unlike them, may have jumped the gun in its first piece.

I can assure you that I paid close attention to what was said both on Budget day and in the following weeks.
 
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