Conditional gifts

[Arthur45]

Good morning,

My 94 year old mother's will was originally a simple four way division of her assets - which was mainly a house - between my brother, nephew, neice and myself.

Recently she moved house and now lives about 100 yards away from my nephew. Less than a week later she changed her will so that my nephew inherits her property, bank accounts, premium bonds (about £12,000 in total) et al provided he sells his house and divides the equity among the remaining three beneficeries.

There is unlikely to be any equity as he iis mortgaged to the hilt (and then some) although the mother constantly advises everyone will receive fifty thousand pounds.Who knows from where she imagines such a sum to be derived.

Leaving aside for a moment concerns regarding issues such as undue influence and testamentary capicity etc does anyone know of any good and current resources regarding Wills, Trusts & Probate where I might investigate if such a conditional gift is actually lawful ?

Thank you.

Arthur

[echat11]

Hi ARTHUR45

I think you need to gather as much information as possible. Your summary clearly shows that something has happened for your mother to change her will, i.e. moving closer to your nephew, zero equity in his house if it's sold etc. The fact that you state the following 'There is unlikely to be any equity as he iis mortgaged to the hilt (and then some)' would be be able to get information regarding this? If you could, then you could demonstrate to your mother, that there is in reality zero equity in your nephew's house. If not you need to get some free advice (30 minutes) from a specialist solicitor with the other members of the family.

Here is some information - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-a...content/103524

[Arthur45]

Hi ARTHUR45

I think you need to gather as much information as possible. Your summary clearly shows that something has happened for your mother to change her will, i.e. moving closer to your nephew, zero equity in his house if it's sold etc. The fact that you state the following 'There is unlikely to be any equity as he iis mortgaged to the hilt (and then some)' would be be able to get information regarding this? If you could, then you could demonstrate to your mother, that there is in reality zero equity in your nephew's house. If not you need to get some free advice (30 minutes) from a specialist solicitor with the other members of the family.

Here is some information - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-a...content/103524

Many thanks for taking the time to respond to my query and thank you for the link although I am aware of both The London Gazette and concepts such as undue influence. Nevertheless, it was appreciated. I actually undertook a search of The London and The Belfast Gazettes a few months ago that proved to be highly illuminating endeavour. A very useful resource.

Whilst undue influence is certainly a consideration, initially I am trying to establish whether making such a conditional gift is actually lawful in the first place. She is effectively gifting my nephew's equity (I use the term loosely) which is not her asset to gift.

Unfortunately, but somewhat unsurprisingly, we can get no information from my nephew or his wife .

As I said my mother is under the belief, based on who knows what, that everyone receives fifty thousand pounds.

My wife has repeatedly tried to explain that in order to do so my nephew would require £150,000 of equity from a property that was valued a couple of years ago in the region of £120,000. Even without a mortgage that sum would be rather optimistic.

Additionally we are advised by my mother that the bailiffs have called at the nephew's house (apparently he arrived home to find them waiting for his wife).

My nephew's wife also had, by her own admission and perhaps still has, an IVA and other debt issues - including, it was revealed, a £10,000 Career Development Loan. She used to work one day per week but has been furloughed.

My mother demonstrates no concept of money - proudly stating that, as she sold her last house for £380,000 and paid £340,000 for the current property, she had £80,000 to spend. My wife tried her best to point out the error in the maths but all my mother repeatedly said was "I can't do maths, I can't do percentages". It shows. She has always had significnat educational issues with numeracy and literacy - I used to write letters fon her behalf from age seven !

My nephew has a family of six (childrens' ages from 7 to 14) living in a two bedroom former local authority property. My mother has a four bedroomed house with large gardens front and rear, a double garage etc

One likes to think the best of people but these factors cannot be ignored when combined with their recent actions and lack of willingness to engage in any dialogue.

Howver, as I said in my original post, all of this may well be moot if such a conditional gift is unlawful from the outset. Hence this is my first line of research.



Arthur

[echat11]

Here's some more info - https://www.rochelegal.co.uk/news/ma...-in-your-will/

[Arthur45]

Many thanks for taking the time to respond to my query and thank you for the link although I am aware of both The London Gazette and concepts such as undue influence. Nevertheless, it was appreciated. I actually undertook a search of The London and The Belfast Gazettes a few months ago that proved to be highly illuminating endeavour. A very useful resource.

Whilst undue influence is certainly a consideration, initially I am trying to establish whether making such a conditional gift is actually lawful in the first place. She is effectively gifting my nephew's equity (I use the term loosely) which is not her asset to gift.

Unfortunately, but somewhat unsurprisingly, we can get no information from my nephew or his wife .

As I said my mother is under the belief, based on who knows what, that everyone receives fifty thousand pounds.

My wife has repeatedly tried to explain that in order to do so my nephew would require £150,000 of equity from a property that was valued a couple of years ago in the region of £120,000. Even without a mortgage that sum would be rather optimistic.

Additionally we are advised by my mother that the bailiffs have called at the nephew's house (apparently he arrived home to find them waiting for his wife).

My nephew's wife also had, by her own admission and perhaps still has, an IVA and other debt issues - including, it was revealed, a £10,000 Career Development Loan. She used to work one day per week but has been furloughed.

My mother demonstrates no concept of money - proudly stating that, as she sold her last house for £380,000 and paid £340,000 for the current property, she had £80,000 to spend. My wife tried her best to point out the error in the maths but all my mother repeatedly said was "I can't do maths, I can't do percentages". It shows. She has always had significnat educational issues with numeracy and literacy - I used to write letters fon her behalf from age seven !

My nephew has a family of six (childrens' ages from 7 to 14) living in a two bedroom former local authority property. My mother has a four bedroomed house with large gardens front and rear, a double garage etc

One likes to think the best of people but these factors cannot be ignored when combined with their recent actions and lack of willingness to engage in any dialogue.

Howver, as I said in my original post, all of this may well be moot if such a conditional gift is unlawful from the outset. Hence this is my first line of research.



Arthur

Thank you.

Once upon a time I enjoyed the benefit of access to a Westlaw account (among other legal resources). Oh happy days !

https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/westlaw

I am going to sign up for a free trial and hope that I discover something of value before the trial period expires.


Kind regards,


Arthur

[des8]

Contingent gifts are not illegal but It would be useful to know the exact wording of the will.
Whilst you state "my nephew inherits her property, bank accounts, premium bonds (about £12,000 in total) et al provided he sells his house and divides ....." does it impose a time limit on the sale of his property and when he takes possession of the estate?
If not what happens to your mother's estate in the meantime?

Was this a completely new will, or a codicil amending an existing will?
Was it drafted professionally by a solicitor?

[Arthur45]

Thank you.

Once upon a time I enjoyed the benefit of access to a Westlaw account (among other legal resources). Oh happy days !

https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/westlaw

I am going to sign up for a free trial and hope that I discover something of value before the trial period expires.


Kind regards,


Arthur

The will was made, we know not by whom, within a few days of her moving into her new house. The appointment was made by my nephew and he and his wife accompanied her to wherever. She doesn't know whom she saw although she does know the name of the town in which they were located. That wittles it down to one of about a dozen possibilities.

Conditional gifts can be unlawful - it all depends.

To use an extreme example by way of illustration - Suppose I left you my property on condition that you murdered my wife - such a condition would obviously be unlawful. Unfortunately, in practise, matters at law are rarely so clear cut.

There are many other examples but I have (as yet) been unable to find one that even remotely matches the case under consideration.

Therefore, whilst I continue to search the law reports for suitable precedents, I am also trawling other legal resources / law libraries regarding general principles that must be satisfied.

Arthur

[Manxman]

Sorry if I've missed this, but how do you know what is in the new will? Have you seen it?

[Arthur45]

Sorry if I've missed this, but how do you know what is in the new will? Have you seen it?

Fair question.

No - I have not seen it but this is how it was described by my mother.

Arthur