Brother living in house inherited by me and my sister

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uncleoswald

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Long story short, a house was left in my and my sister's name. However it was intended that our brother live there for the rest of his life. For various reasons the house wasn't left in his name just mine and my sister's. My brother pays no rent, has limited income, and no sort of agreement was put in place, it was just expected to work out by an optimistic parent. So now what are our options to best protect ourselves? Can my brother pay nominal rent? Is a Right of Residence an option?
 
What are you trying to achieve? What are you trying to protect yourselves from?

Are you happy enough for your brother to live there rent-free for the rest of his life?

I presume that the will did not give him a right of residence?

Who is paying the Local Property Tax, Insurance and other costs such as maintenance?

Brendan
 
uncleoswald said:
However it was intended that our brother live there for the rest of his life.
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Was this explicitly stated in the will or was it communicated to you separately/unofficially "off the record"?

If it wasn't in the will are you and your sister happy to facilitate this even if not obliged to do so by the will?

Who was executor and did the probate solicitor give them any opinion on this issue?
 
I am happy for him to live there for the rest of his life as he'd likely either be on the street or living with me or my sister if he didn't have the house which honestly is not an option. Long story short he has been a bit of a disaster area but the house has helped him get his life turned around somewhat so I don't want to upset that.

I am paying the property tax but he has already sank the rest of his own money into renovations.
Dr Strangelove said:
So your parents explicitly excluded your brother from the will but……

It’s hard to square these two statements.


Does your brother have an income or any other assets?
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It's complicated family stuff. Partially for CAT purposes, he has already received money for a house that was squandered. And there is also an estranged wife that meant my parents didn't want her to have any claims to the house. Intentions were all good just very naive. Does he have income or assists? Sporadic and not to be relied upon.
The will made no mention of it and no legal advice was given at the time.
 
uncleoswald said:
I am happy for him to live there for the rest of his life
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So what are you trying to protect yourself from?

I don't know if he could acquire squatter's rights or adverse possession and then sell the house, squander the proceeds and move in with you.

You and your sister probably need to do up a lease and charge him a nominal rent so it's clear that he is a tenant and that he does not acquire the house by default.

But you need to discuss the specifics of the situation with a solicitor. Maybe the solicitor who did up the will who would be aware of the family dynamics.

Brendan
 
Good advice from @Brendan Burgess above.

I think you’re doing the right thing here by your brother and fair play to you.

I would add that it is critical that you and sister continue to insure the house as you are the ones with the insurable interest.

Your brother may outlive you all, so you should be clear and honest with your own families about the arrangement. Make sure your own and your sister’s wills are aligned. It would be a pity if issues were being stored up for another generation.
 
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There are too many variables and insufficient information to be able to steer you and your sister correctly in this case.

"I am paying the property tax but he has already sank the rest of his own money into renovations"

Does the money he has sunk into the property give him some equitable interest in the property? How much money is involved? Was there any oral agreement or did he just plough ahead with renovations? Is the amount quite large and was it marital money? Could his estranged spouse have a claim as a consequence of this? Lots of questions - but outside the scope of this forum, I think.

"You and your sister probably need to do up a lease and charge him a nominal rent so it's clear that he is a tenant and that he does not acquire the house by default"

The future of rent regulation is not clear - but putting in place an 'official' lease at a nominal rent seems like a really risky idea. It may bring about a transfer of capital value to your brother; he may end up with a saleable lease (i.e. a lease with security of tenure and with a rent that cannot be raised). I would not recommend this course of action.

Assuming that you, your sister and your brother are all in complete agreement as to the outcome that you want to achieve, the safest way to achieve this is for you and your sister to have your solicitor advise you and for your brother to have his own solicitor advise him and for the agreed outcome to be implemented in writing and ideally registrable in some way against the title (depending on what is agreed) CAT will play a part in determining the optimal agreed outcome.

"Make sure your own your sister’s wills are aligned."
Yes - but do not rely on this. Wills can be changed. They can be challenged by a spouse or a child. You need an agreement that is contractually binding upon all of the parties and their heirs\assigns.

Making things (as close as possible to) 100% bulletproof will cost money; You may instead decide to accept some risk and opt for less comprehensive arrangements that will probably be alright; Detailed legal advice will help you decide what you want to do. If you tell your solicitor that you want to be 100% protected, expect to pay for it. Between the two sides, I would budget for fees of €4k+VAT -€2.5k on yours and €1.5k on brother's side. That might be on the low side: there is a long-tailed business risk for any solicitor in taking on this work and if the solicitor is wise, he or she will price accordingly.
 
A big issue I think is the estranged spouse. Assuming they are still married, what if any rights does she have or will she try to enforce ? At some point they might need to divorce if one them wishes to remarry. Or if either of them pass away, will they have family who might chase down any potential estate ?
 
Brendan Burgess said:
So what are you trying to protect yourself from?
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I guess I am trying to protect myself from any costly issues that may arise down the line. As you say either him claiming ownership, or if he let the place fall into disrepair and I was liable, That is why I was thinking a Right of Residence might be an option, it can just be his for his life to maintain and then, if I live longer, I can reclaim it as an asset.
He sunk quite a large amount of money into it, probability a fifth of the total cost of the property. Don't think she can claim anything, it came from a legal payout he received since estranged.
Dr Strangelove said:
I would add that it is critical that you and sister continue to insure the house as you are the ones with the insurable interest.
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House is insured but by me. This is one of my concerns, I don't want to have to keep insuring a house I don't live in.
If it's not in hoi name can she have any rights to it?
 
I think you need to fully clarify that she does indeed have no rights. If your brother gains some she might also.
 
Now that your parent is dead you and your sister need to regularise the situation and ensure you have all your ducks in a row. Has probate been granted, all bills paid and the house transferred to your names? Any money your brother sunk into the house was probably by agreement of your brother and parent so any claim he could have made on the estate is probably passed by now.

Since the property belongs to you and your sister it is your responsibility to insure and pay the LPT.
You should either draw up a rental agreement with your brother or a contract giving him the right to reside in the house until he dies. Your solicitor will advise you which is best to protect your interests into the future. You may decide to let your brother live there as a caretaker maintaining the property for you. You may decide to pay full market rent but plough the rent back into maintenance. You may decide that the right of residence is sufficient. You will need to consider what happens if your brother moves out, if he gains a partner etc.

But the sooner you put a proper agreement in place the better all around it will be. Alternatively offer to sell your half to your sister, or buy her out to remove one layer of complexity from it.

There is lots of good advice in this thread. Ensuring your brother has legal advice independently will be very helpful.

It sounds as if your parents wanted you and your sister to “mind” your brother for the rest of his life and gave you the house as an asset to do this. Perhaps selling the house and giving your brother a gift yearly to help him rent elsewhere might work out? The question for you and your sister is do you want to take on this responsibility or not? If your brother outlived you both, you will end up out of pocket every year as your asset, the house, will be unsaleable until your brother dies.

Best of luck - and it might be a lesson to everyone else not to make complex wills or promises. Selling the house and dividing the money equally among all children seems the simplest and does not bring issues to the current or next generation.
 
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