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Hi, I am in the middle of an ongoing issue regarding a family estate. Really complicated and hideous, but I have one current issue and I am wondering if anyone can help?
There is a life interest in possession trust in the Will of a family member, for what was the family home. Left by a parent to an adult child who has a disability. Which is fine. I am happy that this is in existence.
Clauses in the Will state that the person in possession of this life interest is responsible for 'the basic maintenance and repair of the same'.
And then the Will states that the trustees are responsible for 'the insurance and structural repairs and improvements'. Exactly that. Nothing else.
Towards the end of the Will it states-
'the standard provisions and all the special provisions of the Society of Estate and Trust Practitioners (STEP) 2nd Edition shall apply'.
Now, the Solicitor acting for the executors is claiming that they need to spend a very substantial sum of money immediately, due to the 'maintenance and repair requirements of this property' and that
'such is the state of repair of the property' that further large sums of money will then have to be borrowed against the property to fund other works, 'in the near future'.
I am a remainderman in this property and am shocked at this. The property is in good general order and does not need any serious money spending on it now, and certainly nothing that would require a large lump sum immediately and then further substantial sums. A new central heating system and disability bathroom have recently been installed for instance. The kitchen is a bit dated (but so is mine!) but that's about it. The roof and windows are in good condition.
If there was a need for this expenditure I would agree to it, as I may one day inherit a share of the property. However, without going into the details, we are of the opinion that the executors are attempting to waste as much money as possible, for their own reasons, targeting family members (the beneficiaries) with whom they have fallen out. The solicitor who is handling this is completely gullible, and simply agrees to everything these executors say. He also drafted the Will, which is very poorly drafted in my opinion (and not just my opinion) which has led to these problems.
My question is this. The Will specifies who pays for what. This Solicitor is now implying, (elsewhere in his correspondence) that the STEPS provisions override the clauses I have detailed above. He is saying that, as no set amount of money was specified to be set aside in the Will as a trust fund to pay for the above clauses it is entirely up to the Trustees (under STEPS) to decide how much to set aside from the estate, what to spend and for what purposes. As you can see, he is including general repairs to the property in this. Complete redecoration of the property has been mentioned by him. Are we liable to pay for redecoration?
Is he allowed to do this? The clauses indicate it is only 'structural' matters that the trustees can be liable for. But he seems to be saying that the Trustees (the executors are the Trustees) can do whatever they like, and have absolute discretion. I thought that this could only happen with a discretionary trust? But as far as I can understand, this Solicitor seems to be implying that the STEPS provisions turn a simple life interest trust into the equivalent of a discretionary one?
The person with the life interest does have quite substantial savings and a reasonable income of their own, so it is not the case that they would not be able to maintain the property without this assistance.
Any advice would be gratefully received!
There is a life interest in possession trust in the Will of a family member, for what was the family home. Left by a parent to an adult child who has a disability. Which is fine. I am happy that this is in existence.
Clauses in the Will state that the person in possession of this life interest is responsible for 'the basic maintenance and repair of the same'.
And then the Will states that the trustees are responsible for 'the insurance and structural repairs and improvements'. Exactly that. Nothing else.
Towards the end of the Will it states-
'the standard provisions and all the special provisions of the Society of Estate and Trust Practitioners (STEP) 2nd Edition shall apply'.
Now, the Solicitor acting for the executors is claiming that they need to spend a very substantial sum of money immediately, due to the 'maintenance and repair requirements of this property' and that
'such is the state of repair of the property' that further large sums of money will then have to be borrowed against the property to fund other works, 'in the near future'.
I am a remainderman in this property and am shocked at this. The property is in good general order and does not need any serious money spending on it now, and certainly nothing that would require a large lump sum immediately and then further substantial sums. A new central heating system and disability bathroom have recently been installed for instance. The kitchen is a bit dated (but so is mine!) but that's about it. The roof and windows are in good condition.
If there was a need for this expenditure I would agree to it, as I may one day inherit a share of the property. However, without going into the details, we are of the opinion that the executors are attempting to waste as much money as possible, for their own reasons, targeting family members (the beneficiaries) with whom they have fallen out. The solicitor who is handling this is completely gullible, and simply agrees to everything these executors say. He also drafted the Will, which is very poorly drafted in my opinion (and not just my opinion) which has led to these problems.
My question is this. The Will specifies who pays for what. This Solicitor is now implying, (elsewhere in his correspondence) that the STEPS provisions override the clauses I have detailed above. He is saying that, as no set amount of money was specified to be set aside in the Will as a trust fund to pay for the above clauses it is entirely up to the Trustees (under STEPS) to decide how much to set aside from the estate, what to spend and for what purposes. As you can see, he is including general repairs to the property in this. Complete redecoration of the property has been mentioned by him. Are we liable to pay for redecoration?
Is he allowed to do this? The clauses indicate it is only 'structural' matters that the trustees can be liable for. But he seems to be saying that the Trustees (the executors are the Trustees) can do whatever they like, and have absolute discretion. I thought that this could only happen with a discretionary trust? But as far as I can understand, this Solicitor seems to be implying that the STEPS provisions turn a simple life interest trust into the equivalent of a discretionary one?
The person with the life interest does have quite substantial savings and a reasonable income of their own, so it is not the case that they would not be able to maintain the property without this assistance.
Any advice would be gratefully received!
