Dispute over house left in trust

[annpow]

Hi guys,

 

I'm just trying to get a bit of advice for a friend of mine who's mother has recently passed away.

 

He has lived with his mother all his life and has been her carer for the past few years.

 

The house they live in was left in trust by his grandmother, his mother and one brother were named as trustees. The house was left for his mother to live in as long as she wanted, after this the will states that if the house is to be sold the monies are to be divided equally between all four of her children, or her children's children if their parents are deceased also.

 

As it stands there is one surviving sibling, but both siblings that were named as trustees are now deceased. Two of the deceased siblings both had two children, my friend is the only son of the other sibling.

 

The questions that I have are:

 

1, If the will was to be dealt with by the trustees are the siblings of the trustees now the ones responsible as the last remaining son was not named in the will as a trustee, only mentioned as to he should get a share of the estate. This son thinks that he should be the one to deal with it, but is this legally the case?

 

2, My friend is still living in the house it has been his family home for around 20 years, and he is entitled to a quarter share of the house as stated in the will. His remaining uncle is keen to force him out and sell the house. My friend wants to continue living in the house but where does he stand legally?

 

Thanks

[reallymadwoman]

I think your friend needs proper legal advice from a solicitor experienced in dealing with probate and trusts. Obviously it won't be cheap but he may qualify for legal aid and it appears there may be quite a large sum of money plus his home at stake.

 

I'm sure there are people on the forum who could attempt to answer your questions, but this is one of the situations where I would suggest that relying on advice on an internet forum is not the wisest course.

[annpow]

I think your friend needs proper legal advice from a solicitor experienced in dealing with probate and trusts. Obviously it won't be cheap but he may qualify for legal aid and it appears there may be quite a large sum of money plus his home at stake.

 

I'm sure there are people on the forum who could attempt to answer your questions, but this is one of the situations where I would suggest that relying on advice on an internet forum is not the wisest course.

 

I'm just trying to get an idea for myself really, he has been to a solicitor who wants £2500 up front before he will take on the case

[sequenci]

Hello there,

 

As far as I can see, the Trust would have activated when the grandmother died. The trust property at that point would have passed to the beneficiaries - so long as they are cleary named within the trust instrument. As you've mentioned it appears that the your friend has a 1/4 interest in the property. The uncle could apply for a sale of the property - the court would need to weigh up the needs of all with an interest in the property.