Partner to live on in Family Home

[Roxanne]

Hello

Our Mam died recently and left the house, no mortgage to my sisters and I. Two live abroad. I'm the only one in Ireland.

In her Will she made a provision that whilst the house was left to her children her Partner could live in it as long as they wished.

This has left us with a huge amount of questions.

Is there legal precedent on how this works?
Can we sell the house?
Are there rules her Partner need to adhere to - example can they rent rooms out, renovate the property, who's responsible for maintenance.
What if they hand it back to us in 10 years time in disrepair?
Who pays the utilities and the LPT and house insurance?


The Solicitors handling Probate have made it clear they are not handling anything else...
So we are stumped.


We also at this point are unclear as to her Partners intentions.
I know that will take a conversation but we don't really know them.
And I'm the only one in the country!


Thank you in advance
R

 

[DannyBoyD]

IANAL

Its relatively common; known as a life interest.

The resident is responsible for bills, maintenance, property tax etc., yes they can rent a room if they wish.

You inherit the property on this persons death; you dont own it until then so you cant sell.

My understanding is that it's possible to buy out this life interest if they agree.

 

[Dr Strangelove]

Make sure all siblings insure the house ASAP.

You are the ones with the insurable interest now.

What if they hand it back to us in 10 years time in disrepair?

Try and work out an arrangement with them for upkeep costs but there may come a point where you need to step in and pay money to preserve value.

 

[Roxanne]

IANAL

Its relatively common; known as a life interest.

The resident is responsible for bills, maintenance, property tax etc., yes they can rent a room if they wish.

You inherit the property on this persons death; you dont own it until then so you cant sell.

My understanding is that it's possible to buy out this life interest if they agree.

So who "owns" it! What if they don't maintain it?!? This is a nightmare.

 

[jpd]

You and your sisters own it but your mother's partner has the right to live in it until they die.

As it was pointed out in an earlier response, you can offer to buy the life interest for a sum of money in which case they three of you will own the house outright and can sell it or use it as you wish

 

[DeeKie]

You don’t really know the partner? Are they elderly or in good health and do they live in the house now? You have to consider the situation a tenancy but as you are not getting rent and their is no tenancy agreement beyond the will you should talk to them and agree the ground rules in a kind and reasonable way. That’s what your Mam would have wanted as she thought was a good idea to allow them to live there.

 

[Annieindublin]

We had this planned for my FIL’s house. His partner was to have a life interest, we were all happy with that, after all he could have left it to her outright. It was his to dispose of as he wished.

Your mum likewise. I wouldn’t see it as a nightmare, unless you have some prior knowledge that this person will live in it for 40 years and trash it?

Respect your mums wishes and just talk to them, agree maintenance, they may well be happy to do a lot, they may be really well off with other options or they may be elderly infirm and broke… or anything in between. You have an inheritance, just not yet.

What I would suggest is that you agree with the other heirs about paying for repairs and insurance and LPT. Split the bills between you and keep track of any costs.

 

[Dr Strangelove]

What I would suggest is that you agree with the other heirs about paying for repairs and insurance and LPT.

I would unilaterally take care of building insurance, not contents.

First, OP is the one with the insurance interest, not the partner. Second, unpaid insurance means the house is uninsured if the worst happens. It’s not like utilities which can be repaid in arrears.