Do i have to sell Inheritence?

[Ace2u]

Hi, my uncle left me some land or the proceeds of its sale in his will. Before he died he was going to sell it depending on planning permission being granted to the buyer. My question is, do i have to sell the land? The solicitor seemed to suggest i am duty bond to sell.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

There are two issues here, duty bound and legally bound.

I am not a lawyer, but if your uncle signed a legally binding agreement to sell the land subject to planning being received, then you are legally obliged to sell the land.

If it is the same as a house purchase, unless you have a signed contract, you are not legally obliged to sell it.

If your uncle genuinely agreed to sell it at a fixed price, but had no legal agreement in place, then it is really your decision. The key question here is what would your uncle have done? If he would have sold it, then you should probably do so. Especially if the costs of planning were paid by the potential purchaser.

Brendan

 

[mercman]

There is not enough facts in this post. On the pretence that there was a purchaser waiting to purchase subject to planning permission and it is legally tied up, then yes you are legally obliged to sell. However if there are no ties to the land, and nothing in writing in relation to a sale and third party involvement, you should be able to do what you like.
Again I emphasise that the full facts are not displayed, but on the basis of my second point, I would question the solicitor and the stand that is been made.
In closing a Will in a document of Wishes, NOT a document of instructions.

 

[Hasslehoff]

You need to check the validity of the transaction, so we need more information on the exact paper trail. If you are bound then you or indeed the executor may be sued for damages and breach of that agreement. The court may force you/executor to complete the contract. Interesting though , has the planning permission gone through yet ?? Could you interject the PP ? If there is a contract in place and PP approved you will be bound by the contract to sell but make sure the price is market value and that there are no other terms overlooked in the contract that must be completed by the other side. So for starters ask the executor to see the contract re Statute of Frauds Act 1695 etc contracts of this nature must (underline must) be in writing.

 

[zag]

If your uncle applied for the planning permission and it hasn't been granted yet then there is a good possibility that his estate could withdraw the application before it is granted. That way, the permission isn't granted and you don't face the issue of having to sell or not. However, we are talking relatively short timescales here, so unless your uncle died very recently the permission has probably either been granted or refused by now.

z