Dealing with the estate of my late mother

[Tracey Robertson]

Dear All

My name is Tracey Robertson and sadly my mother passed away in January this year. Although she had never re-married after my parents divorce back in 1985, she had a long term partner who she has been with for 23 years, tragically my mother developed meningitis back in July 2003 and her partner who is a lovely guy went on to act as her career and was paid disability living allowance and a careers allowance to help pay for her needs. My mothers benefits stopped immediately as they were then passed on to her partner. There is now a little battle going on between my brothers and my mums partner/career in the fact that he has been living in the house with our consent and we have had no problem in him continuing to do this as long as their we're no financial costs to ourselves, he has maintained that he will pay for all bills and any repair work etc. my mother did not have a will and therefore died intestate leaving myself and my 2 brothers. There has been a lot of debate as to who actually receives the estate as I first thought it would be me and my 2 brothers, although my mums partner has suggested that he could in fact claim 50% of the estate if he wanted to. I was thinking of changing the deeds on the house from my mothers name to the 3 children but didn't want to be doing anything illegal or treading on anyone's toes if you know what I mean. Although my mums partner did stay there on several occasions before her meningitis, he has only really had post directed to him at the house since my mums illness. Is there anyone that could let me know who is legally entitled to the estate before I take things any further. Thank you so much for listening, I do have a tendency to babble on a bit but would very much appreciate your comments.

[Tracey Robertson]

Re: Dealing with the estate of my late mother

Sorry I did mean to say that I have in fact been granted letter of administration along with 1 of my brothers xx

[bluebottle]

Re: Dealing with the estate of my late mother

Hi Tracey and welcome to Legal Beagles.

If the Letter of Administration has been issued, that makes a difference. It may be wise to consult with a legal professional specialising in Probate Law, if only to save any problems further down the line.

[MissFM]

Re: Dealing with the estate of my late mother

Hello Tracey,

I am so sorry that you have lost your Mum.

I do think that her partner is incorrect in saying that he has any claim to her Estate in the absence of a Will and it would certainly be a good idea to seek legal advice on this.

He would not, for example, have been entitled to her DLA except as appointee (ie it would have been paid to her, for her use, not to defray expenses for anyone else).

However much of a nice guy he is, please seek legal advice as soon as.

[Sapphire]

Re: Dealing with the estate of my late mother

There is no such thing as 'Common Law husband/wife' and if your living together and one of you dies then it doesn't automatically pass to the survivor.
I know this for a fact as we were having our wills professionally drawn up and were advised that although we bequeathed each other the house/business etc the survivor would then have to pay inheritance tax on it, so basically you'd inherit the house but in order to keep it you'd have to pay tax, which in our case would mean that that it would have to be sold to pay the tax first then start again, so we got married and made each other secure.
What I'm saying is that without a will your mums boyfriend has no rights, all he can rely on is the generosity of yourselves.

[enquirer]

Re: Dealing with the estate of my late mother

she had a long term partner who she has been with for 23 years ...

Was he financially dependent on her?

My mothers benefits stopped immediately as they were then passed on to her partner.

Such as?

... he has been living in the house with our consent and we have had no problem in him continuing to do this as long as their we're no financial costs to ourselves, he has maintained that he will pay for all bills and any repair work etc.

You will need a written agreement to this effect. You mention a 'battle', yet say it is 'with our consent'. So what's the problem?

There has been a lot of debate as to who actually receives the estate as I first thought it would be me and my 2 brothers, although my mums partner has suggested that he could in fact claim 50% of the estate if he wanted to.

Normally, it would be the 3 children, although you should be aware that he could contest it. The reference to 50% would only apply if they were actually married.

I was thinking of changing the deeds on the house from my mothers name to the 3 children but didn't want to be doing anything illegal or treading on anyone's toes if you know what I mean.

You must change the name[s] on the deeds. If the Land Registry entry is not up to date, you lay yourself wide open to all sorts of trouble, including major fraud.

Although my mums partner did stay there on several occasions before her meningitis, he has only really had post directed to him at the house since my mums illness.

This suggests that although he looked after her whilst she was ill, and is now living there, he didn't do so previously. Is this correct?

As this has the potential to turn ugly, it would be wise to sort this out, and quickly.

[wales01man]

Re: Dealing with the estate of my late mother

Benefits do not get passed on DLA stopped upon death the partner gets benefits on his own entititlement unless theres some fraud?

[MissFM]

Re: Dealing with the estate of my late mother

tragically my mother developed meningitis back in July 2003 and her partner who is a lovely guy went on to act as her career and was paid disability living allowance and a careers allowance to help pay for her needs. My mothers benefits stopped immediately as they were then passed on to her partner.

Tracey

I am also perplexed by this - please could you elucidate? :confused2:

The only entitlement a carer would have, per se, is to the carer's allowance - not to your mother's benefits.

Was your mother under the Court of Protection (due to mental incapacity) perhaps?

Did her partner have an Enduring Power of Attorney?