Death & wills huge problem please help.?

Question

My grandad is 80 now. He has not written a will. However my nan wrote a will and said she wanted her share of the house left to my grandad BUT when he dies she wants it split between all of us.

My grandad is being bullied and no longer wants to leave it to all of us, he wants to leave it all to charity but some family members are saying "you cant nan says when you die its ours" Surely once its been left to him he can do what he wants with it and they cant do this too him? They are threatening to fight him in court, I said I dont care its upto him its his money and surely now nan is gone she has no say in how he leaves his estate?

Answer 1

Your Grand -Dad can make another WILL & no-one need know just yet what is in The Will

Answer 2

once it's left to him he can do what he likes with it. if he dies intestate it is likely to be shared out. the only other way is if your nan only left grandad a life interest in it then it was to be shared out.

Answer 3

It depends who this "they" is that you're throwing around so much.

It's possible that your Grandad is being subject to undue pressure.  That could spark a Court case.

But a clearer view of all the players and who is saying what to whom would be required to make any sensible projections.

Answer 4

There is a lot here which you don't say. Were your grandparents joint tenants (i.e. owning the whole house jointly) or were they tenants in common (the shares of the house being divided between them)? Did your nan leave her share to your grandad in trust, with the proviso that it would then pass to the rest of the family? Even if she did not spell it out, it is possible to read the existence of an implied trust into these circumstances.

Leaving all that aside, however, while your grandad continues to refrain from making a will, the family as a whole has nothing to get steamed up about. If your grandad dies intestate (i,e, without making a will), then the rules of intestacy will apply and the property will be split up among members of the family. Since your nan is already dead, that means that it will be divided up among his children and, if any of them has already died, their children would get their share.

All the family has to do is leave your poor grandad alone and they will ultimately get what they want. Unless, of course, they goad him into making a will leaving the property elsewhere.

Edit: If your grandad so chooses, he could perhaps make a gift of the property to the charity of his choice during his lifetime on condition that he is allowed to live in it for the rest of his life. He would need to take legal advice on how to set about it. If the property were no longer his, then it would silence those relatives.

I am glad that in you he has at least one decent relative.

Answer 5

There are a lot of possible issues here, not the least of which are capacity and undue influence, but let's touch on the most basic part of your question...

...it *is* possible to leave what's called a "life interest" in a piece of property.  This is actually very common between spouses where the house is in one name only.  Traditionally, you'd see something like "to my wife for life, remainder to my son", meaning that the wife would get the house for the rest of her life, but when she died, the interest that he conveyed to her would dissolve, and the remainder gift (to the son) would vest.  Somebody with a life interest in a piece of property cannot dispose of it, in a will or otherwise, at least without the consent of the remainder beneficiaries.  (It's a trust relationship of sorts.)

When you're talking about shared ownership, it gets a lot more complicated.  If they owned the house as 'joint tenants', then regardless of their wills, the last survivor automatically takes full title.  If they owned the house as 'tenants in common', and one willed a life interest to the other and passed on, then the other maintains full ownership of his own half, but is only a life tenant of the other half.  Once he passes, the half he owns fully can be dealt with according to his will, but the other half is dealt with according to the will of the predeceased.  The likeliest end in this scenario, if they leave their shares to different people, is that the house will be sold and each party will take their share of the proceeds.

Answer 6

Poor Grandad. It sounds as tho they can`t wait for him to die  - not exactly what you want to hear when you are 80.

The way your Nan left the will, has left him sitting in a hornet`s nest.

If I were him, I would be tempted to leave another will anyway, and leave another hornet`s nest for the hornets to fight over.

Do he use a computer? He can make a secret will online if he wants, legal and at small cost.

Answer 7

What a charming family. Grandad can leave his property to whoever he wishes and the family cannot "take him to court and fight him".  It's his will, he can do what he likes.

If you are as caring as you appear to be, arrange for him to see a solicitor to get this sorted out.  If he's a bit frail now, most solicitors will gladly come and see him at home and take his instructions.  Inevitably, there will be a charge but it will be well worth doing so that Grandad can be reassured that everything will be done as HE wants, not someone else.  He can also usually appoint the solicitor as Executor, which will avoid the dreadful family infighting.

Answer 8

Let's deal with the facts ok, set all emotions aside.

his wishes will not be honoured unless he states them in a certified and witnessed will or other certified and notarised legal document (fact).

Intestate means that upon his death the estate goes to the probate court and after all debts and taxes are paid remaining monies are distributed to living claimants.

I would talk to him and seriously urge him to make a will.

Read your edits : make an appointment with a lawyer (solicitor) drag your dad along and get it sorted. end of.

Answer 9

If your really this concerned you should probably bring in a lawyer to read her will and talk with him about what he wants/can do.

Answer 10

That's what money does to people.

Answer 11

if its in your nans will then i suppose its in stone, and its true money is the root of all evil!!!

Answer 12

Talk to him about, make peace, say you don't really mind what happens.

Other than that it would appear that you have no control over the matter.

If it's any consolation, your family are probably acting like this because they're still grieving over your nan- they want the stuff for its sentimental value.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.