# Looking for advice on inheritance from Mother.



## fogfurn (25 Jan 2013)

hi there looking for some help please. my mother recently died and left 8 of us the home place with an equal share , now the house is worth no more than 100000, as its small and in a housing estate. i havent a clue what to do next, what do we do about inherintance tax second home tax , are we liable to these taxes and also one of our siblings we know will definitly not contribute in any way , he did not even come to his mothers funeral( a lot of bad history there please dont ask me to explain) please any one able to help.


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## Joe_90 (25 Jan 2013)

Have you engaged a solicitor to deal with probate and have the house transferred into the 8 names.
Capital Acquisitions Tax is due on inheritances but there is an exemption of €250k so you are well under the threshold.  No return is due.

What do you intend to do with the house rent it or sell.  If you rent it the income tax returns will be due.


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## fogfurn (25 Jan 2013)

thank you for reply, no we have not engaged with a solicitor yet, so we do need to transfer house into eight names then is that what probate means, we are all going to discuss the house after months mind, is it worth renting will it have expensive tax implications for us cant see we would get much rental for it


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## Importer (25 Jan 2013)

I dont want to rain on anyone's parade here but I am familiar with a few cases like this, and my very strong recommendation to you in this case, is 
not to consider any other outcome to this inheritance, than to sell the house !!!!

A house with eight owners is an extremely challenging scenario to manage and by all accounts, it seems that you already have one renegade.

The Executors of your mothers will are the ones in charge. The Executors are your mothers representatives and they are the ones responsible for carrying out your late Mother's wishes as laid out in the will. The Executors are responsible for gathering your mothers assets together and protecting them while under their control. The Executors are empowered to handle everything. The Inheritors have very little say.

Before you can distribute your mothers assets, you must get permission from the courts to do so, You need to go through a process known as Probate. Normally a Solicitor will handle the probate however it is possible for a non-Solicitor with a good Administrative bent to handle the probate on a straight forward estate. Beware the Solicitors costs if you decide to engage one.

The value of the estate is quite low so its unlikely that you will have any taxes to pay.

Wishing you the best of luck


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## Dermot (25 Jan 2013)

Importer has given a very strong recommendation to sell the house and I could not agree more.  If you all hold on to it I can guarantee that there will be nothing but grief. I appreciate that it is the family home that you are talking about.  There is no point in I going on about examples of how holding onto the house by the 8 of you will cause problems. It will. Best of luck and sorry about your mothers death.


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## browtal (25 Jan 2013)

Best advice already given by other contributors - sell.  browtal


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## fogfurn (26 Jan 2013)

Thanks dermot as much as it hurts but I do agree with you thanks again


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## noproblem (26 Jan 2013)

fogfurn,
by any chance, would any of the others be willing to buy the place. It would simplify things for you all i'd imagine.


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## Palerider (26 Jan 2013)

Firstly there is only one mammy for all of us and the loss of your own is deeply personal, please accept my sympathies.

It is reasonable to expect differing views with 8 in the family, you have not mentioned Dad so I assume he has also passed. The Executor wields the power, suggest a family meeting and ask if anybody is interested in buying the old family home, If so suggest the Executor gets it valued and let those interested know the valuation, interested parties can then tender privately bya  certain time in a sealed envelope direct to the Solicitor handling probate, that is the fairest way.

If nobody is interested then suggest that the house be put on the market and disposed of, as mentioned above any other way will in time be beyond messy even with the best will in the world, parden the pun.


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## Dermot (26 Jan 2013)

The same thought crossed my mind as Palerider suggests about a member of the family buying out the rest and I have mixed feelings on it. Yes it would be nice to have it remain in the family so to speak and on the other hand would an "auction" between family members cause friction afterwards. I am not saying it would but it is a possibility. OP would be better placed to make a call on that. If you go for a tender/auction within the family make sure that it is made clear before hand that the price offered is supported with proof of ability to pay in full within a specified period otherwise that bid cannot be accepted. Once again best of luck. If you can do it discreetly find out what options the rest of the family have in mind for the house before you go making a full open proposal to the rest of the family.


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## fogfurn (26 Jan 2013)

Thanks for reply yes our father is also gone now 14 years yes there is one family member that would be interested and the only that could afford to buy to buy house but maybe not at market value but I don't think we would mind that we will discuss all at months mind and I will seek more advice my sister is the exchequer of the will,please keep the advice coming


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## Vanessa (2 Feb 2013)

I agree with all. Sell as soon as you can and get whatever can be got. Otherwise what will happen is some family member will occupy it (just to keep it safe you know !!) and then hope that they will get it all as a result of a last man standing arrangement .
Keeping it will only lead to arguements about the property tax, insurance, electgricity etc and who will pay for these. If some memeber of the family wants it let it go at a fair price for a quiet life


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## fogfurn (5 Mar 2013)

Hi all thanks for your replies. Firstly I need more help.one of my sisters (sister 1) is exchequer of will,she agrees with everything I say but has not the heart to do anything.sister 2 is doing things making decisions without telling anyone and only checked with me because I spoke up to her and as most of my family agreed with me they kept quiet. Sister 2 says that her son and partner will be moving into house in few weeks and only texted me to see was that ok.so here is what I would like they can move in ANC as his mother said to him rent free and for 12 months. I don't mind that but I want them to sign something with conditions and if they decide to stay after 12 months they should pay rent. I have nt said this to sister 2 yet, but have sister 1 she agrees but wants me to organise it but do I have the power because she's the exchequer. So any advice.


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## Importer (5 Mar 2013)

I think you have already received good advice on this thread but it doesnt seem that you are going to pay much heed to it. Now you're back for more advice........

My strong advice is - DON'T ALLOW YOUR NEPHEW TO MOVE IN RENT FREE
This is sure to end up in the mother of all family disputes sooner or later.

The best advice is to put the house on the market and get it sold


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## phoenix (5 Mar 2013)

Having been through something similar on both my own side and husbands side of the family, heed the advice you have been given here and sell.  I would agree with not letting your nephew and his partner move in rent free.  Recipe for bad feeling amongst the family no matter how close you think you all may be.

Wills and inheritance do funny things to families, even the closest families. 

Without wishing to appear harsh, your sister the executor of the will, needs to step up to the mark and take on the responsibility you mother left her with or else you and the others could find yourselves in a difficult position.

Wishing you all the best whatever you decide but the advice given here is worth significant consideration.

P


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## fogfurn (5 Mar 2013)

Yes I agree with the advice here but I'm on my own I don't know what to do my family has always been seretative and you would fear things second hand I'm the only one that is speaking out. I tried to arrange a meeting and ended up havin to speak my mind in a pub of all places. My sister the exchequer will give out about other sister behind her back but never to her face and that's the way it has been in my family and I'm just sick of that way. Some of them might agree with me but when I spoke up in the pub no one said a word


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## Dr.Debt (5 Mar 2013)

If seven out of eight siblings are happy to give the house to a nephew, rent free, then I cant see any point in fighting it. As others have already said, it will most likely lead to trouble eventually but there's not much you can do about that now. You are just one voice and none of the others appear to back you up. If there are others who agree with your standpoint, then presumably they would have come to you (privately) by now. If that hasn't happened it's best that you just go with the flow. That's democracy for you. You are not the Executor, You have already given your oppinion. There's nothing else you can do. Your nephew hasn't even moved into the house yet and there is already disagreement. This cannot work in the long term but unfortunately, you are the only one to see that.........My final piece of advice - If your nephew does move in, insist on having a rental agreement and charge him a nominal amount, even 1 euro for the year. This is important. A person living in a house without paying rent may eventually acquire rights to the property and I'm sure you don't want that.


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## Padraigb (5 Mar 2013)

An estate is not managed on democratic principles. It is for the executor to make the decisions and carry through on them. But the executor cannot do just what she likes: she has a duty to everybody to get best value, and to do the business without undue delay.

Fogfurn, your sister does not seem to understand her responsibilities. If she allows your nephew to live in the house rent-free she is failing in her duty to get best value for the estate. Further, she is creating a circumstance where it becomes difficult to sell the house. Tell her that. Tell her that if she recklessly reduces the value of the estate, she might have to make up the shortfall out of her own pocket. Advise her that the best way to get out of an awkward situation is to get a solicitor to deal with the estate.


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## Importer (5 Mar 2013)

@PadraigB - I think you are confusing things here.

The house has been left to the eight siblings. The role of the executor is to take out probate and have the property transferred into the eight names. The role of the Executor then ends. The Executor remains in control of the property until probate has been granted but then the decision making is split eight ways. As far as I understand it, there is nothing in the will about selling the house. The Executor has not been given the power by the will to sell the house and that is the crux of the problem here. The ultimate decision about what must be done with the house is at the discretion of its eight owners. The Executor could of course prevent the nephew from moving in but that only defers the issue until probate is granted.
If the will had ordered the house to be sold and the proceeds to be split eight ways, that would be something different.


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## Padraigb (6 Mar 2013)

I think we would have to see the will to be sure about what the executor's particular responsibilities are.


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## Bronte (6 Mar 2013)

fogfurn said:


> Sister 2 says that her son and partner will be moving into house in few weeks and only texted me to see was that ok..


 

NO NO NO.  Don't let this happen. 

What your sister is angling for is possession and ultimately ownership.  That's my read of the situation.  When it comes to wills it seems to bring out the worse in people. 

I think the majority of posters have told you the correct way to go is to sell the property.  If one sibling will buy the rest out than fair enough.  If they want to but cannot afford to do so, then my advice is still to sell.  

Eight people are impossible to deal with.  

Please tackle your executor sister, to support her in the decision to sell and be open and honest to all your siblings on what you want to see happen.  I'm sure they all too want their share, and nothing wrong with that.  It's just people are naturally a bit emotional at the moment and don't want to be seen to be mercenary.


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## fogfurn (6 Mar 2013)

Thanks all I'm at work now and when I get home I will put up the wording of the will


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## fogfurn (6 Mar 2013)

Thanks bronte. I agree with you would it be best for me to organise a meeting with all family as soon as and put all our cards on table  and your right about my sister that's exactly what she will do


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## fogfurn (8 Mar 2013)

Hi all have contacted family to a meeting and all seem keen to talk now. Here is the wording of will.  'I give devise and bequeath my house at ??????? Together with all the rest residue and remainder of my estate unto my eight children ??????????????????in equal shares absolutely.


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## Padraigb (8 Mar 2013)

Wait and see if one of our legal experts joins in the discussion. I warn you that I am not one of them.

It does not look to me as if your sister, the executor, is required to transfer the house into a joint ownership by the eight of you; I thinks she is entitled to sell it and share out the proceeds. Like others in this thread, I think it is the wisest course of action.

I gather that your sister has not yet applied for a Grant of Probate. This might take a few months. She can not sell the house before she has the Grant. She can (presumably with some co-operation and assistance from other family members) get the house ready for sale. In the period between death and finalising the matter (either selling the house or putting it into your joint names) only she has any legal right to make decisions about how things are to be done. She can't do whatever she likes because all decisions must be made in the best interests of all the beneficiaries equally.

I think it would be wise of her to keep everybody in the loop by sharing information and listening to everybody's views. It would be good if everybody agreed on the best course of action. If that does not happen, she must make the decisions. That's what I meant when I said earlier that this is not a democracy.

It would be very risky to allow anybody to live in the house without a watertight legal agreement that involves payment of a proper rent and a commitment to co-operate with the sale of the house. That is very difficult to achieve.

Good luck with your family meeting.


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## fogfurn (9 Mar 2013)

Well we all talked the majority agreed with me and the minority reluctantly agreed.there were tears, but we talked. My nephew will pay rent and sign contract for twelve months and then we will talk again about selling. Thanks all for your help.


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## emeralds (12 Mar 2013)

Who will he pay the rent to?


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## fogfurn (13 Mar 2013)

Set up a joint bank account and pay by standing order


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## Bronte (13 Mar 2013)

I know you're in a very difficult place now fogfurn and I'm sorry for that.   Best bet is to have one account for dealing with the rent and paying all related charges etc.  Keep all receipts.  I assume there's no mortgage so the PRTB is not so important but you should register all the same.


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## fogfurn (13 Mar 2013)

Yes agree and will. Thankyou


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