Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

[ZED]

The situation is:
My late mother part-owned an apartment in a 'retirement block'. (I think her share is 75% ... the other 25% is owned by a 'retirement company'.)
Mum's share of the apartment is mortgaged, with massive accrued debts. There are also massively accrued 'service charge' debts (service charge is over £100/week!) Unfortunately Mum had dementia ... she lived in a nursing home during the latter years of her life, and it was during this period that the debts started to accrue.

Mum passed away in January 2010. Her Will states that I am the sole beneficiary. But the fact is that I don't want the apartment and all its accompanying debt/hassle. Even if it was sold within the next few weeks I doubt whether the sale price would cover the costs of the debts. (Anyway, it has been on the market for two years now, without any interest being shown from prospective buyers ... so I doubt that a sale is likely, any time soon.)


I am particularly anxious to sort this out a.s.a.p as the local council has decided to levy council tax on vacant properties, and I certainly don't want to be lumbered with that charge!

So ... can I simply refuse to accept Mum's bequest?

[bluebottle]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

You would be best-advised to consult a legal professional specialising in Probate Law.

[enquirer]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

So ... can I simply refuse to accept Mum's bequest?

Did your mothers Will include a phrase along the lines of ... "and if my son should predecease me, then the property passes to ..." ?

If so, then declining the bequest should be relatively simple.

Are you an executor?

If in any doubt, then as Bluebottle suggests, take professional advice.

[PlanB]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

Who is named as the proprietor (i.e. legal owner) of the property at the Land Registry? Only the owner (or occupier) is liable for any council tax. With the greatest of respect to your late mother a deceased person cannot 'own' property after probate has been granted (did this happen at the time of her death?).

I'm more concerned that the mortgage lender and the 'retirement company' has taken advantage of this situation by adding endless service charges and all sorts of things to the account in the full knowledge that your mother had passed away. I know for a fact that a dead person cannnot hold a mortgage.

My starting point would be to get a breakdown of everything charged by these opportunists and then see what can possibly be written off as unfair

[ZED]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

Did your mothers Will include a phrase along the lines of ... "and if my son should predecease me, then the property passes to ..." ?

If so, then declining the bequest should be relatively simple.

Are you an executor?

If in any doubt, then as Bluebottle suggests, take professional advice.

Yes, there is a stipulation that if I pre-deceased Mum the estate would pass to her grandchildren (my son and daughter).

And yes, I'm the executor.

[ZED]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

I don't know who is named as the prorietor at the Land Registry, PlanB ... I haven't had any dealings with that department. I'm entirely new to this kind of stuff ... basically I just followed the instructions that I received in a leaflet when Mum died ('What to do when someone dies' or somesuch title. I think it was issued by the DWP?) Anyway the instruction was to take the Will to the probate dept, where I had to swear an oath on the bible to say that I am who I say I am.

Thanks for your advice PlanB. The service charges continued to be debited in full, even though Mum was no longer living in the flat. She spent time in hospital; and was then transferred to a nursing home ... so when it became clear that she would never return to the flat, I asked about a reduction in service charges: but apparently the retirement firm have a policy of not allowing service charge reductions under any circumstances. In fact they contacted me last week to say that they were increasing the charge! (NB: This charge includes water/sewage rates ... so it seems grossly unfair that an absent/dead person is still being charged for water/sewage useage!)

I cleared the furniture out of the flat long ago, because of the council tax/empty property issue.

The real bugbear in this situation is that there's a clause in Mum's contract with this firm which states that only they (the retirement firm) can sell the flat ... this is because they like to vet potential new residents to ensure their 'suitabilty' for living in the flats. So in two years they've apparently had no offers for it.

[ZED]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

Can I 'name and shame' please? The housing firm are called 'Retirement Security' (they have a website) and they jointly part-own properties with elderly/vulnerable people in various parts of the UK.

[PlanB]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

I've looked at their website and it raises a number of questions. They list all the items paid for out of service charges. Top of the list is the salary of all staff. If you check them out at Companies House you'll see that eight directorships were Terminated (that can mean resigned as well as sacked) in recent months which is a lot. Does this suggest all is not well? Three of the Directors have the same surname which implies it's a family business. Nothing wrong with that so long as all those on the payroll actually do a proper job for their renumeration.

It says that each resident will receive one and a half hours of domestic assistance (cleaner?) per week at their property. It's unlikely that this has happened since your mother moved out of the accommodation some years ago. Surely she can't be charged for a service she didn't receive. Ask to see the cleaner's time sheets as evidence.

Does the contract provide for a "Welfare Officer" (it usually does in sheltered accommodation) to deal with benefit claims? Your mother should have been entitled to an Attendance Allowance of about £73 per week which is normally paid direct to the company which provides the service. This would have been nearly enough to cover her service charge bill while she was still there. Ask to see full details of all benefits claimed by them on her behalf. While she was living there who dealt with her DWP pension and all her other financial matters? How did the company get paid for these service charges, a DD from her bank account or was someone managing her financial affairs when she moved out - was there a Power of Attorney who could have done a better job at looking after things? You need all this paperwork to established if she has been ripped off.

It's not unreasonable for the contract to say that the company can vet incoming owners, but I don't see why they should have control of the sale. This could be an unfair clause in that contract which needs research. Ask for full details of their efforts to sell the flat. Copies of all correspondence with any estate agents, details of any viewings to propspective buyes etc. They would need to establish that they used their best endeavours to sell it rather than sit back and let the bills mount up for the family to pay or were they hoping to help themselves to the proceeds of the sale

Finally, when did you last visit the property? Can you be sure that it's empty and not being used for a tenant or storage by the company? I'd make a surprise visit to the home to have a look around and start asking some awkward questions if I were you.

[wales01man]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

If this is a dodgy company the OP is dealing with would the best advice be for them to take legal advice?
Until probate is obtained and the estate is sorted various things are still payable from the deceaseds estate by whoever is administering it as for taking something to a probate office and swearing an oath there is a bit more to it than that,the OP really does need some advice researching a company and is directors doesnt solve his problems all it can do is set their minds worrying

[PlanB]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

My late mother part-owned an apartment in a 'retirement block'. (I think her share is 75% ... the other 25% is owned by a 'retirement company'.)
Mum's share of the apartment is mortgaged, with massive accrued debts. There are also massively accrued 'service charge' debts (service charge is over £100/week!) Unfortunately Mum had dementia ... she lived in a nursing home during the latter years of her life, and it was during this period that the debts started to accrue. . . . .

. . . . . . Mum passed away in January 2010.

One more thing, if there is a mortgage on the apartment which hasn't been paid since your mother died three years ago how come the property hasn't been repossessed? That would have saved you all this hassle. Who is the lender and do they know she is no longer alive?

[PlanB]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

If this is a dodgy company the OP is dealing with would the best advice be for them to take legal advice?
Until probate is obtained and the estate is sorted various things are still payable from the deceaseds estate by whoever is administering it as for taking something to a probate office and swearing an oath there is a bit more to it than that,the OP really does need some advice researching a company and is directors doesnt solve his problems all it can do is set their minds worrying

If the OP's mother died over three years ago it's likely probate has already been granted unless the affairs were complicated.

Solicitors charge by the hour for legal advice. Why would the OP pay them to carry out basic research which he can do himself for free if guided by this site on where to look and what to look for? Once the OP has gathered the information it can be given to a solicitor to evaluate.

Researching the facts could give the OP peace of mind at a time when he is already worried.

No one has said the company is dodgy.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

If this is a dodgy company the OP is dealing with would the best advice be for them to take legal advice? Until probate is obtained and the estate is sorted various things are still payable from the deceaseds estate by whoever is administering it as for taking something to a probate office and swearing an oath there is a bit more to it than that,the OP really does need some advice researching a company and is directors doesnt solve his problems all it can do is set their minds worrying

Researching companies and their directors can turn up a lot of useful information, for example ,you could discover that the company being used to provide certain services has the same directors as the company that hired them. Not saying this is the case here, but it's a good example. That's precisely why companies records are in the public domain.

I have obtained a lot of useful info from the company check and company director check websites. :thumb:

[wales01man]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

I said IF this is a dodgy company,
Now if probate has been obtained whoever administers the estate pays the bills and one would presume the OP if entitled to the property accepted it or declined it i may be wrong but i would expect that a solicitor would check any info given to them about a company or anyone as i said researching a company can get people worrying i for one hope the OP gets it sorted but at times doing it yourself does solve the problem sometimes not.

[MissFM]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

If the OP's mother died over three years ago it's likely probate has already been granted unless the affairs were complicated.

Solicitors charge by the hour for legal advice. Why would the OP pay them to carry out basic research which he can do himself for free if guided by this site on where to look and what to look for? Once the OP has gathered the information it can be given to a solicitor to evaluate.

Researching the facts could give the OP peace of mind at a time when he is already worried.

No one has said the company is dodgy.

Absolutely agree that the most cost effective way of using a solicitor is to have your ducks sorted and in a neat row beforehand. It' a bit like hiring a taxi - the clock's ticking and you want it to be going somewhere rather than sitting outside your house while you search for your handbag. For example, even if the solicitor is charged at a mere £100 ph (a modest rate these days) you need to bear in mind that every 6 minute "unit" of his/her time is costing you a tenner.

Luckily, here we can "PlanB" it and get wonderfully insightful discussion, in advance, that sees all sorts of new angles, areas to question and ways forward. (Thanks PB btw for yet another series of informed and sympathetic posts )

[PlanB]

Re: Can I decline ownership of a property bequeathed to me in a Will?

My approach would be to establish whether the OP's late mother has been overcharged and whether these ongoing service charges are unreasonable. If that is the case then some of the outstanding debt which worries the OP may be refunded without the intervention or cost of a solicitor.

The "reasonableness" of service charges can be assessed by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal which can make a binding Decision without the need to go near a court. There's a lot of information about how to do this here:

http://www.lease-advice.org/information/faqs/