# No will - what happens to the land



## aweyeah79 (28 Feb 2013)

Im looking advice my late uncle has passed away the last from his family and through all the yaers not one of them made a will parents  passed  to 3 siblings no wills for anything
There are a number of sites and 3 dwellings 2 of which are derlict and one functional house then sites that are used to rear cattle
This has now passed to myself and 5 siblings 
I need advice on how we can legally get this willed , whats the procedures and what are the likely costs ??


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## Brendan Burgess (28 Feb 2013)

Hi

Why is it passing to you and 5 siblings? I assume he had no children. Do you have no cousins? Do you have any dead cousins with children? 

You can apply for a "Grant of letters of administration" to the [broken link removed] You do not need a solicitor for this. 

However, when you are transferring the land into your own names or selling it, you will need a solicitor. 

So it might be a good idea to use a solicitor for the lot. Ask the solicitor for a quotation up front.


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## aweyeah79 (28 Feb 2013)

Hi Brendan

No there are no cousins just me and my brothers and sisters - do you know probates costs as I have been told that to go down the root of legally willing the land into our names probate and land search fee will be very expensive

What happens if we just leave it .. does this evetually just go back to the state ?


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## Dr.Debt (28 Feb 2013)

You say that the land has been passed on through a few generations.
Did your Uncle have legal title to the land ? In other words did he take out probate when he inherited the land ? and what about the person that he inherited the land from, did they take out probate when they got it ?

If nothing has been done when "previous owners" took possession" of the land  you might have a fair bit of sorting out to do.

Depending on the value of the property you may have some CAT taxes to pay. 

I think you should talk to your Uncle's solicitor to get an understanding of what needs to be done.


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## Bronte (28 Feb 2013)

Brendan Burgess said:


> So it might be a good idea to use a solicitor for the lot. Ask the solicitor for a quotation up front.


 

Absolutely you need to see a solicitor.  And he is obliged to give you a letter outlining the likely costs.


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## Brendan Burgess (28 Feb 2013)

> What happens if we just leave it ..



You are not obliged to take an inheritance, so you could just ignore it. I would guess that some neighbours would probably try to establish rights to the land over time.

You are entitled to the land, if you are the next of kin. 

If you just leave it, but continue to use the land, it would become very messy over time. 

While you are all getting on well together, you should sort this out now. Maybe sell it and distribute the proceeds. Maybe one buys it from the others.  Families  often fall out so don't try to sort this out in 10 years when you are no longer speaking to each other.

How much is the land worth?  It should not be that expensive, unless the title is a complete mess. But even still, I can't see it being more than a few thousand euro.


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## aweyeah79 (28 Feb 2013)

Hi Guys
Thanks for advice I appreciate it 
As for relationships they have already been sabotage with some refusing to Ever hear tell of selling or getting it legally willed
No probate has ever been paid , some of the dwellings my uncle had legal title I think two of them but other dwelling and fields im not so sure of.
Its all so messy , I would have thought the best thing would be to get all Titles and probate sorted and what was left sell and divide equally but of course tahts too staright forward .. pity there was anything left as it brings out the worst in some people


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## mf1 (28 Feb 2013)

This is not at all that unusual. Nothing like property and money to bring out the worst in people.  

So, this will simply fester into the next generation and beyond  unless, and until, somebody ( as in a member of the family who has a legal entitlement to do something)  does something about it. Once you have a clear and concise set of facts (!)  it's not that hard for a solicitor to work out who might be entitled to deal with the Uncle's estate. And how much it would cost. And how much trouble the whole ghastly mess would cause between relations!

Simple really. 

mf


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## seantheman (28 Feb 2013)

aweyeah79 said:


> pity there was anything left as it brings out the worst in some people


 
Yer damn right, walk away from it now before it destroys you, just pretend there was nothing left.


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## aweyeah79 (28 Feb 2013)

seantheman and MF I think walking away is the best option and may it bring them all luck !!

Quick Q .. My uncle had my name on his bank account ... morally I will divide equally but legally what could be done ?
My view was settle land up ie get the title of land in all our names but others dont want the hassle but eagerly want the easy ready cash !

Im torn on just give cash and forget about land or wait until its all legally sorted and if any balance of cash divide 6 ways as you can imagine the sensible route has not gone down well with some !!


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## Brendan Burgess (28 Feb 2013)

That probably puts you in a good position to take the lead role in sorting out this mess. 

You should apply for the Letters of Administration. Convert the lot to cash by offering them for sale. If any of your siblings want to buy the land, let them. Otherwise sell it all and move on. While it is there  it will be an open sore.


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## Bronte (1 Mar 2013)

aweyeah79 said:


> My uncle had my name on his bank account ... morally I will divide equally but legally what could be done ?
> 
> My view was settle land up ie get the title of land in all our names but others dont want the hassle but eagerly want the easy ready cash !
> 
> Im torn on just give cash and forget about land or wait until its all legally sorted and if any balance of cash divide 6 ways as you can imagine the sensible route has not gone down well with some !!


 
Ah so you hold the upper hand.  How about paying nobody anything until they all get their senses together.  Money in any case could be used for solicitor willing to take on this fine mess with no less than 6 people in disagreement.  

In relation to morals and bank accounts.  Sounds like you're the only one trying to sort out this mess and I'm guessing that's the reason your uncle put you on the bank account.


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## Dr.Debt (5 Mar 2013)

Let's just develop this story a little bit in a hypothetical way.

Let's suppose you decide to split the cash and do nothing at all about the probate  and bringing the title up to date. Let's suppose that you and each of your siblings has two children each and these twelve children of the next generation inherit a portion of this holding in the same way as you did. You now have 12 owners instead of six and on and on it goes......................

The only hope you have of getting this sorted out is NOW. This holding has no marketable value without a proper title.

In my view the solution depends somewhat on the amount of land and its value.If the value of the property is relatively low, then maybe there is an argument for doing nothing. If its relatively valuable, I would take it on and get it sorted. Showing some leadership now might not make you flavour of the month, but you might get some acknowledgment later. You're in control of the bank account so that really puts you in the driving seat.

We had a farm like this in our family back in the 1950's. More or less the same thing happened. The farm was eventually seized by the high court to defray death duties and taxes that had built up. Relatives are still talking about how this farm was lost needlessly.

I think you need to find out as much as you can about the title of the different parts of the holding. Ask a Solicitor to quote you for getting it sorted out and then make a decision on whether its worth it or not.


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